The 2026 IIHF Congress concluded today in Zürich, Switzerland, with a number of major announcements made, the main one being the surprising reversal on the status of Russia and Belarus’ team participation following the original extension of their competition ban, which has been in place since 2022.
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Category Archives: IHLC News
🇨🇦 Claude Lemieux: 1965-2026
Claude Lemieux, the pesky forward with a penchant for clutch performances, a multitude of trophies and medals, and one of a handful of players to win the Stanley Cup with three different clubs, sadly passed away today at the age of 60, just days after appearing in Montréal during the Canadiens’ current playoff run.
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🇷🇺 Sergei Shirokov Retires From Hockey At KHL Awards
Russian winger Sergei Shirokov, a mainstay of both the KHL and Russian national team, announced his retirement at the 2026 KHL Awards ceremony in Moscow during his acceptance speech for the Gimayev Prize, leaving the game after nearly two decades in pro hockey, capped with a Gagarin Cup, two World Championships and an Olympic Gold medal.
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Sharipzyanov, Anas Big Winners At 2026 KHL Closing Ceremony
The Kontinental Hockey League formally wrapped their eighteenth season tonight in Moscow with their annual Closing Ceremony, awarding the league’s top teams, players and executives for their performance this year, with six former IHLC winners taking home trophies.
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🇬🇧 🇮🇹 Great Britain, Italy Relegated From 2026 IIHF World Championship
Division IA relegation at the 2026 World Championships came a full day before the end of group round competition, with Great Britain and Italy being relegated after a single year back up at the Top Division, meaning they will miss the 2027 Worlds in Germany.
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🇷🇺 Lokomotiv Yaroslavl Repeat As Gagarin Cup Champions
Two years removed from being swept in their Gagarin Cup finals debut, Lokomotiv Yaroslavl is now in the midst of building a dynasty, repeating as champions with a 3-2 victory over Ak Bars in Game Six of the finals in Kazan.
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🇨🇦 🇺🇸 Five Players Join Triple Gold Club Following Victoire Walter Cup Win
Following the Montréal Victoire’s first Walter Cup championship, and the first title for a Canadian club, there are now five new members of the unofficial Women’s Triple Gold Club, as Canadians Marie-Philip Poulin, Laura Stacey, Ann-Renée Desbiens and Erin Ambrose, along with American Hayley Scamurra, have now added a Walter Cup to their existing Olympic and World Championship Gold medals.
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🇨🇦 Montréal Victoire Win 2026 Walter Cup, First For Canada
After two disappointing consecutive semifinal losses in the PWHL playoffs, the Montréal Victoire finally climbed the proverbial mountain, defeating the Ottawa Charge in four games to win the club’s, and Canada’s, first ever Walter Cup championship.
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🇺🇸 Hannah Brandt Retires After Fleet’s Playoff Elimination
After announcing before the 2025-26 PWHL season that it would be her last in order to focus on her studies, Hannah Brandt made her retirement from hockey official at the age of 32, following an illustrious career capped with one Olympic and three World Championship Gold medals, but falling short of the Triple Gold Club after the Boston Fleet were eliminated from the Walter Cup postseason by Ottawa.
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IHLC Preview – 2026 World Championship
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.
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🇰🇿 🇺🇦 Kazakhstan, Ukraine Promoted To 2027 World Championship
The Division IA World Championship tournament in Sosnowiec, Poland saw the top two spots for promotion to the 2027 World Championship in Germany settled in a thrilling tournament, with Kazakhstan clinching the first spot, while Ukraine snagged the final spot on the last day of competition, clinching their returns to the Top Division for the first time since 2025 and 2007, respectively.
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🇸🇮 Anže Kopitar Retires Following Kings Playoff Elimination
Slovenian forward Anže Kopitar, both the most decorated Slovene and Los Angeles King in hockey history, played his final game after confirming that this season would be his last, retiring at age 38 with two Stanley Cups, and an assortment of individual trophies, including a Messier, three Lady Byng and two Selke awards.
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🇨🇿 Jakub Klepiš Retires At 41 After Playoff Elimination
Czech journeyman forward Jakub Klepiš, a veteran of nearly a quarter century across multiple clubs in Czechia, Russia, Sweden and the United States, confirmed his retirement from hockey at the age of 41, following Sparta Prague’s elimination from the 2026 Czech Extraliga playoffs.
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🇫🇷 France Promoted To 2027 Women’s World Championship
After three years stuck in Division IA, and just three months removed from a disappointing last place finish at the Milan Olympics, France clinched their spot at the 2027 Women’s World Championship in Québec, Canada, after a 3-1 defeat of Slovakia locked them into promotion at the Division IA Championship in Budapest, Hungary.
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🇸🇪 Linus Omark Confirms Retirement Following Luleå Elimination
Swedish winger Linus Omark, a mainstay on the Swedish national team for over a decade with a World Championship Gold, Swedish and Swiss League title to his name, confirmed his retirement from the game at the age of 39, following his club, Luleå, being eliminated in the semifinals of the Swedish Hockey League playoffs.
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🇺🇸 Jonathan Quick Retires At 40 Following Final Game
Jonathan Quick, the winningest American goalie in NHL history, confirmed that his start for the New York Rangers against Florida yesterday evening would be his last, capping a 19-season pro career that saw Quick capture three Stanley Cups and an Olympic Silver medal.
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🇨🇦 🇨🇿 Edmonton, Calgary & Prague Named As 2028 World Cup Hosts
Making its return for the first time in twelve years, the NHL today announced the host cities for the World Cup of Hockey, with group play to be split between Calgary, Alberta, Canada and Prague, Czechia, with the semifinal and final to be hosted in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.
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🇺🇸 Heise, Curl & Zumwinkle Join Triple Gold Club
By virtue of the United States‘ thrilling overtime victory over Canada to capture Olympic Gold in Milan, three forwards on Team USA have now joined the Triple Gold Club, as Taylor Heise, Britta Curl and Grace Zumwinkle all added Olympic Gold to their existing World Championship Gold and Walter Cup titles.
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🇮🇹 Italy Becomes First New Women’s IHLC Contender Since 2022
On the biggest stage in international hockey, the host nation that nobody expected to make a splash has done just that, with Italy officially locking up their spot in the Quarterfinals, and becoming the first nation since Hungary and Czechia, both in 2022, to contend for the International Hockey Lineal Championship.
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IHLC Preview – 2026 Winter Olympics (Men’s)
For the first time since Sochi 2014, NHL professionals will return to the Olympic Games, marking the first true “best on best” tournament in over a decade (and for only the sixth time ever), with the world’s top players across twelve national teams converging on Milan, Italy.
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International Hockey Lineal Championship 