🇳🇴 NORWAY (NOR) Women’s National Ice Hockey Team (1988-)
The Norway’s women’s squad has only contended for the IHLC a single time, a 12-0 loss to Canada at the 1994 World Championship. The Isbjørnene has failed to qualify for a World Championship since 1997, and have yet to play for Olympic Gold in women’s hockey.
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🇰🇿 KAZAKHSTAN (KAZ) Men’s National Ice Hockey Team (1992-)
3 wins, 1 reign, 4 games with IHLC – ranked 16th
IHLC last held 13 February 1998
First competing internationally in 1992 after the USSR’s dissolution, Kazakhstan first competed for the IHLC in 1997, winning the title in their first attempt, and being the unlikely title holder at the start of the 1998 Olympics. While the Kazakhs have failed to win the IHLC since, they are a regular competitor on the championship stage, and have a regular flow of players who compete professionally in both the NHL and KHL.
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🇩🇰 DENMARK (DEN) Men’s National Ice Hockey Team (1949-)
5 wins, 4 reigns, 5 games with IHLC – ranked 14th
IHLC last held 24 May 2025
Despite holding the dubious record of one of the largest defeats in hockey, a 47-0 drubbing from Canada at the 1949 World Championship, the Danes emerged on the championship stage in 2003, entering the Top Division, where they have remained ever since. The Lions won their first IHLC in 2010, repeating again as champions in 2014, 2017 and 2025. With a growing contingent of NHLers now putting on the jersey, Denmark will surely be a major competitor in the future.
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🇳🇴 NORWAY (NOR) Men’s Junior National Ice Hockey Team (1978-)
Norway first joined the World Juniors scene in 1979, ping-ponging between the Top Division and lower pools in the 1980’s and early 1990’s. Norway remained in the lower divisions until promotion in 2005, where they have since returned again in 2010, 2013 and 2023, but have struggled in recent years to maintain any momentum in the Top Division.
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🇸🇰 SLOVAKIA (SVK) Men’s National Ice Hockey Team (1993-)
51 wins, 12 reigns, 60 games with IHLC – ranked 8th
IHLC last held 28 April 2018
Established out of the division of Czechoslovakia in 1992, the Slovak team was forced into Group C as a new squad in the World Championship stage. However, a chance exhibition game against France in 1993 led to Slovakia’s first IHLC win. Shockingly though, Slovakia managed to hold on to the IHLC for half a year, winning 18 straight (including wins over Canada, Russia and the United States) in their first ever reign, virtually unheard of in the modern era for emerging teams. Slovakia has continued to surprise, winning the 2002 World Championship and medalling at the 2022 Olympics, remarkably cracking the top ten in IHLC rankings in just over twenty years.
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🇩🇪 GERMANY (GER) Men’s Junior National Ice Hockey Team (1991-)
played as WEST GERMANY (FRG), 1976-90
The German junior team has been a constant at the World Junior Championship since the inaugural tournament in 1977, only missing the tournament three times between 1977 and 1998. But following relegation in 1998, the Träger der Adler have been on an elevator ride to and from the Top Division in alternating years, only staying for consecutive seasons from 2013-15 and 2021-26, but are looking to become a permanent mainstay in the future.
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🇨🇭 SWITZERLAND (SUI) Men’s National Ice Hockey Team (1909-)
75 wins, 24 reigns, 77 games with IHLC – ranked 6th
IHLC last held 25 May 2025
The Swiss squad has played for the IHLC since nearly the beginning, first contending in 1908 and winning their first IHLC title in 1934. However, like many western European teams following World War II, the Eisgenossen were forced out of championship play over more powerful Eastern European teams. However, in recent years the Swiss have made a resurgence, on the backs of more and more Swiss NHL players, to contend for glory, holding the IHLC for long periods of time, moving closer and closer to capturing their first ever World Championship.
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🇩🇰 DENMARK (DEN) Men’s Junior National Ice Hockey Team (1979-)
After decades of futility in the lower rungs of the World Junior Championship tournament, Denmark finally broke through to the Top Division in 2008, and despite some setbacks, returned in 2015 and have since become a regular in the Top Division, even finishing a surprising fifth in 2017. Look for the Lions to not only stay for good, but to make some larger splashes in the years to come.
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🇵🇱 POLAND (POL) Men’s National Ice Hockey Team (1926-)
3 wins, 3 reigns, 3 games with IHLC – ranked 18th
IHLC last held 13 April 1986
Poland was one of the rare Eastern European teams to compete for the IHLC in the pre-war era, winning their first IHLC at the 1931 World Championship, on home turf in Krynica. While the Eagles managed to contend during the Iron Curtain era of international hockey, winning two more IHLC titles, they have slipped in the post-Cold War era, not holding the IHLC since 1986, playing for the IHLC since 2004, and only qualifying for the top tier of the World Championship a handful of times since 1979.
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🇺🇸 UNITED STATES (USA) Men’s Junior National Ice Hockey Team (1973-)
60 wins, 20 reigns, 63 games with IHLC – ranked 5th
IHLC last held 30 July 2025
While the Americans have been part of every World Junior Championship in history, they never medalled until 1986, only winning a Silver and two Bronze before 2000. But the U.S. team has had something of a coming out in the new millennium, winning Gold seven times since start of the 21st century, and showcasing some of hockey’s most elite talent at the earliest stages of their career, ushering in an unprecedented era of success for Team USA.
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🇸🇰 SLOVAKIA (SVK) Women’s National Ice Hockey Team (1995-)
The Slovak squad played in their first International Hockey Lineal Championship tilt at the 2010 Olympics, where they were crushed 18-0 by Canada, tied for the largest defeat in the history of Team Canada. While now in Division 1B, they will surely look to their male counterparts for inspiration in acting as spoilers on the world stage, en route to championship play, and potentially an IHLC title.
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🇱🇻 LATVIA (LAT) Men’s National Ice Hockey Team (1932-40, 1991-)
3 wins, 2 reigns, 3 games with IHLC – ranked 17th
IHLC last held 27 May 2023
Latvia emerged as an IHLC contender in the 1930s, playing for the IHLC first in 1935, and then again in 1936 before being occupied by the Soviet Union in 1941. It was not until the dissolution of the USSR in 1991 that the Latvians began to emerge as a contender once again, with NHLers like Artūrs Irbe and Sandis Ozoliņš leading the way. Latvia won its first IHLC from Finland in 2003, only holding the title for a single day – however, Latvia continues to improve, needing two decades before their second title on home ice at the World Championships.
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🇰🇿 KAZAKHSTAN (KAZ) Men’s Junior National Ice Hockey Team (1992-)
Since becoming a sovereign nation, Kazakhstan emerged to the Top Division in 1998, but after four straight seasons at the top they fell back all the way to Division IB, clawing back in 2008-09 but since falling back into Division I. They have reemerged for the 2019 Worlds, looking to stay in the Top Division for a more permanent stay. Continue reading
🇧🇾 BELARUS (BLR) Men’s Junior National Ice Hockey Team (1992-)
1 win, 1 reign, 1 game with IHLC – ranked 9th
IHLC last held 02 January 2005
Belarus quickly joined the ranks of the Top Division at the World Junior Championship soon after their formation as an independent nation, making the top ranks for the first time in 2001. They have largely alternated between the Top Division and Division IA in recent years, but have racked up surprising wins over the likes of the United States, Finland and Germany over the years.
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🇷🇴 ROMANIA (ROU) Men’s National Ice Hockey Team (1931-)
Romania first competed for the IHLC in 1934, one of only three games in which they played for the IHLC. This match was also their closest attempt, as they went on to be crushed by Britain in 1937, and by Czechoslovakia in their third and most recent game, forty years later in 1977. The Tricolori have failed to qualify for the World Championship’s top pool since 1977, working to claw their way out of Division IB in the last few years.
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🇭🇺 HUNGARY (HUN) Men’s National Ice Hockey Team (1927-)
1 win, 1 reign, 1 game with IHLC – ranked 21st
IHLC last held 30 March 2007
First playing for the IHLC in 1933, Hungary began to build momentum before the Cold War relegated the team back into relative obscurity, seemingly only playing as a punching bag for the more powerful likes of the Soviet Union and Czechoslovakia to practice on. However, the Maygars stunned the hockey world by taking the IHLC from Sweden in March 2007, before losing it the next day back to Tre Kronor, leaving Hungary tied for the shortest total IHLC reign in history. However, Hungary continues to improve, and will surely look to improve on and increase their tiny IHLC record.
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🇸🇰 SLOVAKIA (SVK) Men’s Junior National Ice Hockey Team (1993-)
7 wins, 3 reigns, 7 games with IHLC – ranked 8th
IHLC last held 30 December 2017
Slovakia quickly joined the Top Division of the World Championship after separating from Czechia during the 1993 World Championship, earning Bronze in just their fourth tournament in 1999. They won a second bronze in 2015 on the backs of a stunning goaltending performance from Denis Godla, have never been relegated since their promotion in 1996, and continue to always play the role of spoiler on the world stage, looking to make a larger impact in the coming years.
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🇩🇪 GERMANY (GER) Men’s National Ice Hockey Team (1910-)
played as WEST GERMANY (FRG), 1949-90
played at Olympics as UNITED TEAM OF GERMANY (EUA), 1956-64
23 wins, 13 reigns, 24 games with IHLC – ranked 10th
IHLC last held 14 April 2018
Germany’s national hockey team, much like the country in the 20th century, has had a wild share of ups and downs – first winning the IHLC in 1909, the team suffered during years during and between both World Wars, and the division of Germany left the team’s successor, West Germany, weakened and less of a threat. While the West did manage to capture the IHLC on a few occasions, it was not until reunification that Träger der Adler has regained its footing again, with a smattering NHL stars helping Germany to win the IHLC in the modern era.
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🇯🇵 JAPAN (JPN) Men’s National Ice Hockey Team (1930-)
1 win, 1 reign, 1 game with IHLC – ranked 22nd
IHLC last held 01 November 1997
Japan first burst on to the international scene in 1930, quite an anomaly for an Asian squad in the largely European / North American dominated hockey scene. Japan competed for their first IHLC in 1957, and made a number of World Championship appearances thanks to the IIHF allowing a “Far East” competitor to play in tournaments they otherwise wouldn’t have qualified for, before winning their first and only IHLC forty years later from Canada. While Japan has not played for the IHLC since, they have stayed a mainstay of Division IA, looking to reach the World Championship’s top pool once again.
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🇱🇻 LATVIA (LAT) Men’s Junior National Ice Hockey Team (1992-)
After a quarter century of futility in Division I and II, Latvia has emerged as a recent contender on the Top Division stage, first breaking through in 2009, returning in 2012, 2017 and 2022. While their debut game was a 16-0 thrashing from Canada, their scores and skills have continuously improved, and look for Latvia to work hard to keep a permanent seat in the Top Division in the coming years. Continue reading
International Hockey Lineal Championship 