The 2025 international hockey men’s calendar saw the title competed over in six different countries over two continents in five tournaments, with seven different countries capturing the International Hockey Lineal Championship in only a three month-span of competition.

Czechia entered the calendar year with the IHLC in tow, with the possibility of holding the title throughout February’s Beijer Hockey Games, meaning the IHLC would miss the Four Nations Face-Off in Montréal and Boston the following week. However, a Finnish victory over the Czechs guaranteed either Finland or Sweden would bring the title from Stockholm to Montréal, and it ended up being the Leijonat, who dropped the title to the Americans in a 6-1 thumping. The Americans would retain the title in a hard-fought (literally and figuratively) tilt against Canada, but with their spot in the final guaranteed, and resting numerous starters, they dropped their final round robin game to Sweden, 2-1.

This meant that the IHLC would miss the epic Canada-USA finale in Boston, instead returning to the Euro Hockey Tour in April; Sweden would win their Nordic Euro Hockey Challenge opener against Finland before dropping three straight, meaning the Leijonat would enter May’s Czech Hockey Games with the title, with the home side winning the opening tilt before Sweden would win the final two matches in Brno. Thanks to these victories, it would Tre Kronor bringing the IHLC to the World Championships, co-hosted by Stockholm and Herning, Denmark.

Tre Kronor would open the tournament by winning six straight (over Slovakia, Austria, Finland, Latvia, Slovenia and France) by a staggering combined score of 25-3, before dropping the title to Canada in the Preliminary finale. Canada, forced to travel to Herning to face Denmark in the quarterfinals despite topping their group, were then stunned 2-1 by the Danes with a thrilling two-goal comeback in the final three minutes of regulation, sending the Lions to the medal round for the first time, one of the largest upsets in World Championship history. Switzerland ended the Danes’ dream run with a 7-0 thrashing in the Semifinals, setting up the Gold medal game between the Swiss, four-time Silver medallists (but never champions), against Team USA, who had not won World Championship Gold in nearly a century. In a tight battle, it took a Tage Thompson overtime strike to secure the Gold for the Americans, winning just their third title in history, and gaining a small measure of redemption for the Four Nations Face-Off.

The following games were contested over the men’s IHLC in 2025 (click for game recaps and boxscores):
1825. 🇨🇿 CZE 4-1 SWE 🇸🇪 – 06 Feb 2025 – BHG – Stockholm 🇸🇪
1826. 🇫🇮 FIN 3-0 CZE 🇨🇿 – 08 Feb 2025 – BHG – Stockholm 🇸🇪
1827. 🇫🇮 FIN 4-1 SWE 🇸🇪 – 09 Feb 2025 – BHG – Stockholm 🇸🇪
1828. 🇺🇸 USA 6-1 FIN 🇫🇮 – 13 Feb 2025 – FNF – Montréal 🇨🇦
1829. 🇺🇸 USA 3-1 CAN 🇨🇦 – 15 Feb 2025 – FNF – Montréal 🇨🇦
1830. 🇸🇪 SWE 2-1 USA 🇺🇸 – 17 Feb 2025 – FNF – Boston 🇺🇸
1831. 🇸🇪 SWE 2-1 FIN 🇫🇮 – 17 Apr 2025 – EHC – Gothenburg 🇸🇪
1832. 🇫🇮 FIN 2-0 SWE 🇸🇪 – 18 Apr 2025 – EHC – Gothenburg 🇸🇪
1833. 🇫🇮 FIN 5-0 SWE 🇸🇪 – 24 Apr 2025 – EHC – Rauma 🇫🇮
1834. 🇫🇮 FIN 3-0 SWE 🇸🇪 – 25 Apr 2025 – EHC – Hämeenlinna 🇫🇮
1835. 🇨🇿 CZE 4-2 FIN 🇫🇮 – 01 May 2025 – CHG – Brno 🇨🇿
1836. 🇸🇪 SWE 4-2 CZE 🇨🇿 – 03 May 2025 – CHG – Brno 🇨🇿
1837. 🇸🇪 SWE 6-2 FIN 🇫🇮 – 04 May 2025 – CHG – Brno 🇨🇿
1838. 🇸🇪 SWE 5-0 SVK 🇸🇰 – 09 May 2025 – WC – Stockholm 🇸🇪
1839. 🇸🇪 SWE 4-2 AUT 🇦🇹 – 10 May 2025 – WC – Stockholm 🇸🇪
1840. 🇸🇪 SWE 2-1 FIN 🇫🇮 – 12 May 2025 – WC – Stockholm 🇸🇪
1841. 🇸🇪 SWE 6-0 LAT 🇱🇻 – 14 May 2025 – WC – Stockholm 🇸🇪
1842. 🇸🇪 SWE 4-0 SLO 🇸🇮 – 16 May 2025 – WC – Stockholm 🇸🇪
1843. 🇸🇪 SWE 4-0 FRA 🇫🇷 – 17 May 2025 – WC – Stockholm 🇸🇪
1844. 🇨🇦 CAN 5-3 SWE 🇸🇪 – 20 May 2025 – WC – Stockholm 🇸🇪
1845. 🇩🇰 DEN 2-1 CAN 🇨🇦 – 22 May 2025 – WC – Herning 🇩🇰
1846. 🇨🇭 SUI 7-0 DEN 🇩🇰 – 24 May 2025 – WC – Stockholm 🇸🇪
1847. 🇺🇸 USA 1-0 SUI 🇨🇭 (OT) – 25 May 2025 – WC – Stockholm 🇸🇪 🏅

The IHLC Rankings for 2025 were as follows (total all-time wins and rankings in parentheses):
01. 🇸🇪 SWEDEN – 10 wins (226, 3rd)
02. 🇫🇮 FINLAND – 5 wins (150, 5th)
03. 🇺🇸 UNITED STATES – 3 wins (60, 7th)
04. 🇨🇿 CZECHIA – 2 wins (219, 4th)
T5. 🇨🇭 SWITZERLAND – 1 win (75, 6th)
T5. 🇩🇰 DENMARK – 1 win (5, 14th)
T5.  🇨🇦 CANADA – 1 win (339, 2nd)

By virtue of the Americans holding the IHLC, the title will skip the opening two legs of the Euro Hockey Tour, instead going straight to Milan for the 2026 Olympics, to be first competed for either in a to-be-announced pre-tournament exhibition game, or in Team USA’s official opener against Latvia on 12 February, meaning that the Olympic Gold and the IHLC will be unified for the tenth straight Games, dating back to Albertville 1992.

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