The 2024 international men’s hockey calendar saw four different nations capture the title throughout the year, with a European champion ensuring a more active back half of the year than Canada’s 2023 Gold medal victory originally allowed for.

As a consequence of winning the 2023 World Championships, the IHLC did not see any competition until the following year, as Canada was not part of the Euro Hockey Tour or any other international competition until the next May, where they brought the title to Czechia following exhibition wins in Austria and Hungary. Canada held the title through eight straight wins in the group round and quarterfinals (despite nearly losing in a historic collapse to Austria on 14 May), before being edged out by Switzerland in a shootout in the semifinals. This set up a Czechia-Switzerland Gold medal tilt, with a Lukáš Dostál shutout and a late David Pastrňák tally serving as the game winner in front of a home crowd in Prague, winning Czechia their first Gold medal since 2010, and keeping Switzerland from that ever-elusive first Gold medal.

Czechia brought the title to the start of the 2024-25 Euro Hockey Tour, with hosts Finland leaving November’s Karjala Tournament with the title, but the Czechs would complete a perfect sweep in Fribourg the following month, winning both the 2024 Swiss Ice Hockey Games and ensuring they would bring the IHLC into the new year, capping the year with a 5-3 victory over Sweden on 15 December.

The following games were contested over the men’s IHLC in 2024 (click for game recaps and boxscores):
1807. 🇨🇦 CAN 5-1 AUT 🇦🇹 – 05 May 2024 – EX – Vienna 🇦🇹
1808. 🇨🇦 CAN 4-0 HUN 🇭🇺 – 07 May 2024 – EX – Budapest 🇭🇺
1809. 🇨🇦 CAN 4-2 GBR 🇬🇧 – 11 May 2024 – WC – Prague 🇨🇿
1810. 🇨🇦 CAN 5-1 DEN 🇩🇰 – 12 May 2024 – WC – Prague 🇨🇿
1811. 🇨🇦 CAN 7-6 AUT 🇦🇹 (OT) – 14 May 2024 – WC – Prague 🇨🇿
1812. 🇨🇦 CAN 4-1 NOR 🇳🇴 – 16 May 2024 – WC – Prague 🇨🇿
1813. 🇨🇦 CAN 5-3 FIN 🇫🇮 – 18 May 2024 – WC – Prague 🇨🇿
1814. 🇨🇦 CAN 3-2 SUI 🇨🇭 – 19 May 2024 – WC – Prague 🇨🇿
1815. 🇨🇦 CAN 4-3 CZE 🇨🇿 (OT) – 21 May 2024 – WC – Prague 🇨🇿
1816. 🇨🇦 CAN 6-3 SVK 🇸🇰 – 23 May 2024 – WC – Prague 🇨🇿
1817. 🇨🇭 SUI 3-2 CAN 🇨🇦 (SO) – 25 May 2024 – WC – Prague 🇨🇿
1818. 🇨🇿 CZE 2-0 SUI 🇨🇭 – 26 May 2024 – WC – Prague 🇨🇿 🏅
1819. 🇨🇿 CZE 5-2 SWE 🇸🇪 – 07 Nov 2024 – KT – Karlovy Vary 🇨🇿
1820. 🇫🇮 FIN 4-0 CZE 🇨🇿 – 09 Nov 2024 – KT – Helsinki 🇫🇮
1821. 🇫🇮 FIN 5-4 SWE 🇸🇪 – 10 Nov 2024 – KT – Helsinki 🇫🇮
1822. 🇨🇿 CZE 3-1 FIN 🇫🇮 – 12 Dec 2024 – SHG – Pardubice 🇨🇿
1823. 🇨🇿 CZE 2-0 SUI 🇨🇭 – 14 Dec 2024 – SHG – Fribourg 🇨🇭
1824. 🇨🇿 CZE 5-3 SWE 🇸🇪 – 15 Dec 2024 – SHG – Fribourg 🇨🇭

The IHLC Rankings for 2024 were as follows (total all-time wins and rankings in parentheses):
01. 🇨🇦 CANADA – 10 wins (338, 2nd)
02. 🇨🇿 CZECHIA – 5 wins (218, 3rd)
03. 🇫🇮 FINLAND – 2 wins (145, 5th)
04. 🇨🇭 SWITZERLAND – 1 win (74, 6th)

By virtue of Czechia holding the IHLC, the title will next head to Stockholm for the 2025 Beijer Hockey Games, which by day two of the tournament will determine whether the title will come to North America for the Four Nations Face-Off (if held by Finland or Sweden), or if it will bypass the new NHL-hosted tournament completely and stay in Europe for April’s Euro Hockey Challenge (if held by Czechia or Switzerland).

Photo Credit: IIHF Worlds 2024 – IIHF – HHOF – IOC