Following a nail-biting winner-take-all relegation game, it was the Austrian squad that emerged victorious to keep their spot in the Top Division, eliminating Japan from the Top Division and sending them to Division IA for the first time in a decade in the opening day of elimination round competition at the 2026 Women’s World Championships in Herning, Denmark.
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Category Archives: IHLC News
🇨🇦 🇫🇮 🇺🇸 Hockey Hall Of Fame Inducts Class Of 2026
The Hockey Hall Of Fame tonight inducted their 2026 Class, inducting six legendary players to their ranks with a number of tremendous international achievements.
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🇸🇪 Sweden Moves Into First In All-Time Junior IIHF Rankings
By virtue of their 2-1 win over Czechia in their Five Nations Tournament finale on home ice in Nyköping, going a perfect 4-0 by a combined score of 19-6, the Juniorkronorna clinched their 130th IHLC victory, passing Canada for the first spot in the all-time IHLC Rankings.
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🇦🇹 Austria Becomes Second New Women’s IHLC Contender In 2026
After Team USA dispatched Germany earlier today at the Women’s World Championships in Esbjerg, Denmark, a tilt tomorrow was officially set up with Austria, meaning that for the second time this year, a new contender will face off for the International Hockey Lineal Championship.
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IHLC Preview – 2026 Women’s World Championship
The IIHF Women’s World Championship is returning to Denmark for the second time in four years, as the debut November edition of the tournament sees the reigning Olympic and World champion Americans looking to defend their crownin the 25th edition of the tournament from 06-16 November, with games in Herning and Esbjerg.
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🇩🇪 Franz Reindl Named New IIHF President
After a two-round vote to replace IIHF President Luc Tardif, Franz Reindl today was voted in as new President of the International Ice Hockey Federation, following stints as an IIHF Council member and President of the German Ice Hockey Federation.
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🇨🇦 Claire Thompson Confirms Retirement, Pivot To Medical Career
Defender Claire Thompson, the first Canadian woman to join the Triple Gold Club at the age of 27, today confirmed her retirement from hockey just one year later, hanging up her skates to pursue a medical career full-time.
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🇨🇦 2027 World Junior Championship Schedule Released
The schedule for the 2027 IIHF World Junior Championship has been released, with the defending champion Swedes looking to repeat as champions for the first time in history, while hosts Canada will look to regain Gold on home ice for the first time since 2023.
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🇸🇪 John Klingberg Confirms Retirement From Hockey At Age 34
Swedish defender John Klingberg, a two-way weapon whose career was hampered by nagging injury problems, today confirmed his retirement from hockey at the age of 34, after a dozen-year NHL career, along with two World Championship and a World Junior title to his name.
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🇩🇪 2027 World Championship Schedule Released
The schedule for the 2027 IIHF World Championship was today announced for the tournament taking place in Düsseldorf and Mannheim, Germany, with the hosts set to kick off the tournament with an epic opener at Veltins-Arena in Gelsenkirchen, trying to break the international attendance record set when Germany last hosted in 2010.
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🇷🇺 In Memoriam – Lokomotiv Yaroslavl 2011-12
Today marks the anniversary of the tragic air disaster of Yak-Service Flight 9633 on 07 September 2011, that crashed near Yaroslavl, Russia, and killed the entire roster and staff of Lokomotiv Yaroslavl of the KHL, and all but one of the flight crew members, when a pilot error caused the aircraft to fail its takeoff, running off the runway and crashing into a tower mast.
Then-IIHF president René Fasel declared the crash as “the darkest day in the history of our sport,” as fans from across the world, and in particular Russia and the eight other nations represented by team players and staff, mourned for the shocking and tragic loss. On this sad anniversary, TheIHLC.com commemorates this deep loss, and remember those who perished in the accident.
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🇷🇺 🇧🇾 IIHF Provides Ruling On Russia, Belarus 2026-27 Eligibility
After a surprising pivot at the 2026 IIHF Congress in May, where the International Ice Hockey Federation announced that the blanket ban on Russia and Belarus’ participation on international hockey would be lifted in place of a case-by-case tournament review, the IIHF today confirmed each nation’s eligibility for IIHF tournaments for the 2026-27 season.
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🇨🇭 Reto Berra Announces Retirement From National Team At 39
Swiss goaltender Reto Berra, a consistent backstop for the Eisgenossen for over two decades, today confirmed his retirement from the Swiss national team, announcing he would continue his pro career, at age 39, with HC Fribourg-Gottéron of the Swiss National League.
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🇨🇦 Macklin Celebrini Named 2026 IIHF Male Player Of The Year
Canadian forward Macklin Celebrini, the sophomore phenom whose electric Olympic performance was followed up by captaining his country at the IIHF World Championship, was today awarded the IIHF’s Male Player Of The Year Award.
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🇨🇦 🇫🇮 🇺🇸 Hockey Hall Of Fame Announces Class Of 2026
The Hockey Hall Of Fame today announced their Class of 2026 to be inducted on 09 November, with first-ballot nominees Patrice Bergeron and Carey Price joining Pekka Rinne, Keith Tkachuk, Cindy Curley and Brian Burke, who will all enter the ranks of the Hall in Toronto.
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🇫🇷 IOC Confirms 2030 Olympic Ice Hockey Moving From Nice To Lyon
Nearly two years after the International Olympic Committee awarded the 2030 Winter Olympics to the French Alps, with Nice set to host ice sports (including hockey), today the IOC Executive Board approved the plan to move ice sports nearly 500 kilometres north to Lyon, after political upheaval in Nice left the Games without a venue.
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🇺🇸 Caroline Harvey Named 2026 IIHF Female Player Of The Year
On the day she is set to be the top draft pick in the 2026 PHWL Draft, American defender Caroline Harvey was today awarded the IIHF’s Female Player Of The Year Award for the 2025-26 season, capping a season in which she won the Patty Kazmaier Award as top NCAA player, along with MVP honours at the 2026 Olympics in Milan.
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Frankel, Pannek Highlight Top Winners At 2026 PWHL Awards
The Professional Women’s Hockey League completed its awards distribution for the 2025-26 season at an awards ceremony in Detroit, Michigan, with six IHLC holders representing Canada and the United States taking home trophies following the league’s third season.
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🇨🇦 Kyle Calder: 1979-2026
Kyle Calder, the Canadian journeyman forward who saw his thirteen season pro career take him to the U.S., Canada, Sweden and Kazakhstan, along with capturing World Championship Gold and World Junior Championship Silver, sadly passed away today at the age of 47 after a brief illness.
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Staal’s Conn Smythe Wraps Up 2026 NHL Awards
The National Hockey League completed its awards distribution for the 2025-26 season with the conclusion of the Stanley Cup Finals, with twelve IHLC holders representing four countries taking home trophies handed out over the past month.
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