The IIHF today released the schedule for the men’s tournament at the 2018 Olympics in PyeongChang, with the tournament beginning on Wednesday, 14 February, while both hosts Korea and defending champions Canada begin the tournament the following day.

The tournament will follow a different format from Sochi, being condensed to a five day preliminary round (rather than six), and expanding to four games per day, with the exception of opening day. The tournament begins with Russia vs. Slovakia and the United States vs. Slovenia from Group B, then Group C in the 15 February early games, before hosts Korea take on Czechia at the same time as Canada opening their Gold Medal defence against Switzerland, hoping to be the first team with three straight golds since 1992, and their fourth in five Olympiad.

Of course, the tournament dynamic will be much different, as for the first time since 1994 NHL players will not be present at the tournament, due to a controversial fight between the NHL, IOC and IIHF earlier in the year. While European teams like Russia, Sweden or Finland have an obvious advantage due to their professionals available to them from European leagues, Canada and the United States are poised to play spoiler with a blend of pro players in Europe and amateurs, and previously less dominant nations like Switzerland or Germany could surprise as well.

UPDATE (5 Dec.): As a result of Russia’s ban from the 2018 Olympics, approved athletes will be able to participate under the Olympic Flag as the “Olympic Athletes From Russia” team; the schedule below has been adjusted to reflect this change.

The tournament schedule is as follows:

Wednesday, 14 February
🇷🇺 Olympic Athletes From Russia vs. Slovakia 🇸🇰
🇸🇮 Slovenia vs. United States 🇺🇸

Thursday, 15 February
🇫🇮 Finland vs. Germany 🇩🇪
🇳🇴 Norway vs. Sweden 🇸🇪
🇨🇿 Czechia vs. Korea 🇰🇷
🇨🇦 Canada vs. Switzerland 🇨🇭

Friday, 16 February
🇸🇰 Slovakia vs. United States 🇺🇸
🇷🇺 Olympic Athletes From Russia vs. Slovenia 🇸🇮
🇫🇮 Finland vs. Norway 🇳🇴
🇩🇪 Germany vs. Sweden 🇸🇪

Saturday, 17 February
🇨🇦 Canada vs. Czechia 🇨🇿
🇰🇷 Korea vs. Switzerland 🇨🇭
🇷🇺 Olympic Athletes From Russia vs. United States 🇺🇸
🇸🇰 Slovakia vs. Slovenia 🇸🇮

Sunday, 18 February
🇩🇪 Germany vs. Norway 🇳🇴
🇨🇿 Czechia vs. Switzerland 🇨🇭
🇨🇦 Canada vs. Korea 🇰🇷
🇫🇮 Finland vs. Sweden 🇸🇪

Tuesday, 20 February
Qualifier – 5D vs. 12D
Qualifier – 6D vs. 11D
Qualifier – 7D vs. 10D
Qualifier – 8D vs. 9D

Wednesday, 21 February
Quarterfinal – 1D vs. E4
Quarterfinal – 2D vs. E3
Quarterfinal – 3D vs. E2
Quarterfinal – 4D vs. E1

Friday, 23 February
Semifinal – F1 vs. F4
Semifinal – F2 vs. F3

Saturday, 24 February
Bronze Medal Game

Sunday, 25 February
Gold Medal Game

The IHLC champion prior to the tournament will likely be determined by the end of December’s Channel One Cup in Russia, as defending champions Sweden will start the season on the Euro Hockey Tour circuit. However, this year’s EHT will differ from past years as both November’s Karjala Tournament and the Channel One Cup will feature fields of six teams, with Canada being invited to both tournaments, while Switzerland and Korea will play in each tournament once, respectively. There are many possibilities for where the IHLC will end up, but it is pretty certain the title will make its way through PyeongChang come February!

Photo Credit: Sochi 2014 – IIHF – HHOF – IOC