🇯🇵 JAPAN (JPN) Men’s Junior National Ice Hockey Team (1982-)
Japan, despite only qualifying for a single World Junior Championship in 1993, has the unique distinction of playing twice for the IHLC in the same tournament, despite being outscored 15-1. Japan has since bobbled between Division I and II, not regaining their success of the early 1990’s on the junior level.
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🇫🇷 FRANCE (FRA) Men’s National Ice Hockey Team (1905-)
21 wins, 10 reigns, 22 games with IHLC – ranked 11th
IHLC last held 04 May 2018
France played in the first ever men’s international hockey game in 1905, losing the inaugural IHLC to Belgium, before becoming the second ever champion in 1906. While France was a competitive squad in the pre-war era, Les Bleus were largely dormant during the Iron Curtain era of dominance, only coming back on to the championship stage in the early 1990’s. Since then, however, France has held the IHLC on a number occasions, and continue to qualify star players into the NHL and KHL.
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🇩🇪 EAST GERMANY (GDR) Men’s National Ice Hockey Team (1951-90)
2 wins, 2 reigns, 2 games with IHLC – ranked 19th
IHLC last held 14 April 1976
Following the split of Germany in 1949, the East German team was formed in 1951, and played for their first IHLC title in 1956. However, it would not be until 1969 when the GDR won its first IHLC from Sweden, their first of only two IHLC wins and reigns in their history, with their second and final win coming in 1976. The GDR competed at three Olympics as unified team with West Germany, only participating in the 1968 Olympics as their own team. The East Germans played their final IHLC game in 1985, before the team folded in 1990, just prior to Germany reunifying into a single country and team.
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🇦🇹 AUSTRIA (AUT) Men’s National Ice Hockey Team (1912-)
2 wins, 1 reign, 2 games with IHLC – ranked 20th
IHLC last held 02 February 1931
An early contender for the IHLC, the Austrian squad first played for the IHLC in 1928, and won its first title in a rain-soaked 1-0 upset over Canada in 1930, the Canadians’ first loss as a national team in nearly 18 years. While the team suffered as a result of the World War II delay, and the emergence of teams east of the Iron Curtain, the Eagles have found a resurgence in recent years, backed by a growing contingent of NHL players, to compete for the IHLC. Their last IHLC win may have been in 1931, but look for Austria to continue contending for years to come.
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🇧🇪 BELGIUM (BEL) Men’s National Ice Hockey Team (1905-)
4 wins, 2 reigns, 4 games with IHLC – ranked 15th
IHLC last held 06 March 1909
Belgium made history in Brussels on 04 March 1905 when club squad FBP Brussels defeated CP Paris, representing France, to win the first ever international ice hockey game, becoming the first ever International Hockey Lineal Champions in the process. Belgium was active in competing for the IHLC regularly throughout the first quarter century, and hosted the first ever Olympic hockey tournament at the 1920 Games in Antwerp, but following the outbreak of World War II, largely dropped from international competition, only recently moving its way up to Division II of the World Championship.
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🇫🇮 FINLAND (FIN) Men’s National Ice Hockey Team (1928-)
151 wins, 64 reigns, 166 games with IHLC – ranked 5th
current IHLC title holders (since 31 May 2026)
While the Finns have always been a major contender on the world hockey stage, they remarkably did not play for the IHLC until 1949, winning their first title in 1951. Since then, however, the Leijonat have been a consistent threat in the hockey world, amassing over 100 IHLC wins and nearly 50 reigns. Finland has finally begun to break through at major world tournaments, winning five World Championships after 50+ appearances, and their first Olympic Gold medal in 2022.
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🇰🇷 SOUTH KOREA (KOR) Women’s National Ice Hockey Team (1999-)
played at Olympics as UNIFIED KOREA (COR), 2018
Korea emerged as an IHLC by way of the 2018 Olympics in PyeongChang, where Korea hosted a historic unified squad with players from the North joining the South Koreans. While they did not get to contend for the IHLC, and finished last in the tournament, they will look climb their way into the women’s hockey medal picture in the future…for good.
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🇸🇮 SLOVENIA (SLO) Men’s National Ice Hockey Team (1992-)
A newcomer to the world stage, the Slovenian national team first competed for the IHLC in 2003 – however, it was not until a pair of major wins at the 2014 Olympics that the Risi grabbed the world’s attention, led by NHL star (and only Slovene NHLer) Anže Kopitar. Slovenia nearly won the IHLC only seven years after their first game, dropping a 3-2 shootout heartbreaker to Denmark to remain IHLC-less. Slovenia is beginning now to compete more regularly in the top pool of the World Championship, and look for them to break their IHLC winless streak very, very soon.
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🇷🇺 RUSSIA (RUS) Men’s Junior National Ice Hockey Team (1992-)
played as SOVIET UNION (URS), 1973-91, COMMONWEALTH OF INDEPENDENT STATES (CIS), 1992
120 wins, 29 reigns, 125 games with IHLC – ranked 2nd
IHLC last held 29 December 2019
The first junior IHLC champion led the all-time rankings in wins for nearly the first half-century of championship junior hockey, dominating the first decade of junior hockey while turning out the future stars of the game that would overpower international hockey until the dissolution of the Soviet Union. Since becoming an independent nation, Russia is always a threat and medal contender, and continues to post impressive numbers while maintaining their spot atop the IHLC throne.
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🇷🇺 RUSSIA (RUS) Women’s National Ice Hockey Team (1994-)
played at Olympics as OLYMPIC ATHLETES FROM RUSSIA (OAR), 2018; RUSSIAN OLYMPIC COMMITTEE (ROC), 2022
played at World Championships as RUSSIAN OLYMPIC COMMITTEE (ROC), 2021-22
1 win, 1 reign, 1 game with IHLC – ranked 5th
IHLC last held 05 January 2009
An emerging squad on the women’s hockey front, Russia first played competitive women’s hockey in 1994, and played for their first IHLC three years later. Russia has played spoiler at past Women’s World Championship by upsetting Finland for bronze in both 2001 and 2013, and emerged as a new top European challenger for the mainstays in the women’s IHLC history with their first (and so far only) IHLC title in 2009.
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🇺🇦 UKRAINE (UKR) Men’s National Ice Hockey Team (1992-)
Following the split of the Soviet Union, the Ukrainian squad emerged in 1992, and first competed for the IHLC in 2001. After nearly winning the title following a 1-1 tie with the United States at the 2005 World Championship, the Ukraine has dropped off from the IHLC map for now, after being relegated to Division I in 2008, where they have yet to climb back into the Championship pool.
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🇨🇭 SWITZERLAND (SUI) Women’s National Ice Hockey Team (1987-)
While the Swiss team is considered by many to be the next emerging nation to break the “big four” of women’s hockey (Canada, USA, Sweden, Finland), the Eisgenossen have yet to win the IHLC after multiple attempts. However, the team has come a long way from their 10-0 drubbing in the first ever women’s international game in 1987, coming quite close at the 2014 Olympics, where they emerged a surprising Bronze medal winner, the first non-“big four” team to medal in Olympic women’s hockey.
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🇨🇳 CHINA (CHN) Women’s National Ice Hockey Team (1992-)
China has been a unique contender for the women’s IHLC, emerging as an unlikely threat at the 1992 World Championship – but more remarkable has been their ability to stay competitive in a nation not known for its hockey prowess. China has nearly upset the dominant Canadian squad on two occasions, at the 1996 Pacific Rim Championship and 1998 Nagano Olympics. China has played nearly twenty games but has yet to win the IHLC, and will surely continue to compete to win their elusive first title.
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🇨🇿 CZECHIA (CZE) Men’s Junior National Ice Hockey Team (1993-)
played as CZECHOSLOVAKIA (TCH), 1973-92, CZECH & SLOVAK REPUBLICS (CSR), 1993
47 wins, 24 reigns, 49 games with IHLC – ranked 6th
IHLC last held 19 April 2026
Since the split of Czechoslovakia during the 1993 World Junior Championship, the Czechs have remained in the Top Division, winning back-to-back Gold in 2000 and 2001. While they would not medal again for nearly two decades, they continue to remain a consistent threat in the tournament, looking to recreate the turn of the millennium magic in the future.
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🇨🇿 CZECHIA (CZE) Men’s National Ice Hockey Team (1993-)
played as BOHEMIA (BOH), 1905-20; CZECHOSLOVAKIA (TCH), 1920-92
219 wins, 82 reigns, 235 games with IHLC – ranked 4th
IHLC last held 03 May 2025
The Czechs has competed for the IHLC since nearly the beginning, first challenging for the IHLC as Bohemia in 1909, and then as Czechoslovakia for the majority of the 20th century, where they established their dominance as a major player. The Czechs were seemingly the only other European power to be able to compete with the mighty Soviet Union, shocking the Soviets (and the world) with a number of World Championship wins. And following the split of Czechoslovakia in 1992, the Czech team shocked the world again by winning the first Olympics with NHL players eligible to play in 1998.
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🇫🇮 FINLAND (FIN) Men’s Junior National Ice Hockey Team (1973-)
97 wins, 37 reigns, 104 games with IHLC – ranked 4th
IHLC last held 16 April 2026
The Leijonat, who have participated in every World Junior Championship and only once have ever faced relegation, have been five-time World Champions, in 1987, 1998, 2014, 2016 and 2019, with another ten-plus Silver and Bronze victories. The team has flip flopped between perennial medal contenders and sitting near the bottom of the Top Division, but are always a continual thorn in the sides of the tournament heavy hitters, and are always looking to play spoiler.
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🇳🇴 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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International Hockey Lineal Championship 