The top teams in international hockey will converge on Zürich and Fribourg, Switzerland, starting this Friday 15 May, kicking off the premiere event of the annual global hockey calendar, the 2026 IIHF World Championship.

Group A, meeting in Zürich, sees defending World and Olympic champions Team USA facing off against the hosts and 2025 Silver medalists Switzerland, who are joined in the group by Finland, Germany, Latvia, Austria, Hungary and newly promoted Great Britain. The Americans will be looking to become just the third team to win the “double” of Olympic and World Championship Gold in the same season, and repeat as World champions for the first time in history, after their first title since 1933. The Swiss, who have finished second three times in the past decade, would love nothing more than to finally conquer their first Gold on home ice, while Finland will be the likely contender to upset both and top the group. The coveted fourth and final spot is a proverbial toss up, with the likelihood of upsets abound.

Group B, playing in Fribourg, features the previous two World champions, Czechia (2024) and Canada (2023), taking on Sweden, Slovakia, Denmark, Slovenia, Norway and newly promoted Italy. The group should be Canada’s to lose, given that both the Czechs and Swedes are not bringing their usual contingent of top-tier NHL superstars to Fribourg, while Team Canada will have the likes of stars Macklin Celebrini, Mat Barzal and Mark Scheifele. Like Group A, the fourth spot will likely fall to Slovakia or Denmark, but the potential for upsets (like Denmark last year) should keep things exciting throughout the competition.

Click here to see the full 2026 World Championship schedule

From the perspective of the IHLC, a few interesting facts related to this year’s World Championship:
– the United States enter as incumbent champions for just the fourth time (1981, 2005, 2007), and first in eighteen tournaments
– Team USA enters as the incumbent IHLC holder and Olympic champion for the first time since Canada in 2014, also the last Olympics before Milan 2026 to feature NHL players
– this is Zürich’s fourth time hosting (1939, 1953, 1998), and Fribourg’s second (1990); this is the eleventh time that Switzerland will host, and first since Bern and Kloten co-hosted in 2009
– Switzerland was awarded the 2026 World Championships after they were originally intended to be hosted in Zürich and Lausanne in May 2020, which were cancelled two months prior due to the COVID-19 pandemic
– of the ten previous times Switzerland has hosted the World Championship, Canada has won the most Gold medals (5: 1928, 1935, 1939, 1948, 1961), followed by the Soviet Union / Russia (3: 1971, 1990, 2009) and Sweden (2: 1953, 1998)
– the United States, looking to repeat as World Champions for the first time ever, will also look to become just the third nation to win Olympic and World Championship Gold in the same calendar year, after Sweden in 2006 (Turin Olympics, Rīga Worlds) and Finland in 2022 (Beijing Olympics, Tampere Worlds)
– Italy and Great Britain return to the Top Division for the first time since 2022 and 2024, respectively, after being promoted from Division IA in 2025
– returning 2025 tournament award winners to this year’s Worlds are Leonardo Genoni (MVP, top goaltender and media All-Star) and Dean Kukan (media All-Star), both of the host Swiss, as well as media All-Star Nick Olesen of Denmark

The Americans will enter with the International Hockey Lineal Championship, opening the tournament against the host Swiss at Swiss Life Arena on 15 May. Whether they can repeat as champions, the Eisgenossen can finally capture Gold, or if a past or new contender comes to the fore, this should make for an incredible tournament!

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