The schedule for the 2026 IIHF World Championship was today announced for the tournament taking place in Zürich and Fribourg, Switzerland, with the host Eisgenossen looking to finally conquer the tournament after consecutive Silver medal finishes, only three months after the conclusion of the 2026 Olympics in Milan.

Group A in Zürich will kick off with 2024’s finalists, the United States and hosts Switzerland, ending opening day with a Gold Medal rematch from Stockholm, both angling to top the group once again into the medal rounds. Their biggest contender will be the Finns, who round out a 1-2-3 punch before a notable drop-off in competition amongst the rest of the group. The fourth and final medal round spot will likely be a heated race between Germany, Latvia, Austria, Hungary and promoted Great Britain, who will not only be looking to avoid going home after the preliminary round, but going back to Division IA after relegation.

Group B, hosted in Fribourg, will see another powerful trio fighting for top position, with 2025 Bronze medalists Sweden, 2024 champions Czechia and 2025 Four Nations Face-Off champions Canada looking to lead the group, with Canada and Sweden kicking off the tournament on 15 May. Denmark and Slovakia are the likeliest candidates for the final playoff spot out of the group, while Slovenia, Norway and promoted Italy will almost certainly be in a three-way fight to avoid relegation to Division IA in 2026.

The tournament schedule is as follows:

The IHLC will almost certainly be brought to Switzerland by the winner of February’s Olympic tournament in Milan, who would be looking to join Sweden in 2006 and Finland in 2022 as the only teams to win the “double” of Olympic and World Champions in the same calendar year. Whether this will be possible, or who will descend on Switzerland with the title in the first place, remains to be seen!

Photo Credit: IIHF Worlds 2025 – IIHF – HHOF – IOC