2025 IIHF World Championship Set to Begin in May

STOCKHOLM, Sweden — Sixteen nations will compete for gold at the 2025 IIHF World Championship, starting Friday, May 9. The tournament will feature Team USA, which aims to break its gold medal drought that dates back to 1933.

The teams have been divided into two groups of eight. Each team will play in a round-robin format during the preliminary round, with the top four from each group advancing to the quarterfinals. After that, the tournament shifts to a single-elimination format that will culminate in the gold medal game on Sunday, May 25.

In the last four tournaments, Team USA has come close, securing bronze medals three times. Despite their efforts, they have not reached the top podium since the early days of the tournament. Meanwhile, Czechia has emerged as the defending champion, winning gold in 2024.

Scores from recent matchups include Finland defeating Austria 2-1 and Czechia edging Switzerland 5-4 in overtime. Other notable scores showed the USA dominating Denmark 5-0 and Canada shutting out Slovenia 4-0.

Fans can catch select games featuring Team USA live on NHL Network. For those interested in streaming the games, services like ESPN+ offer trials. Canadian viewers can enjoy comprehensive coverage of the event on TSN, with options to stream on TSN.ca and its app.

The tournament will be held at Avicii Arena in Stockholm for Group A teams, while Group B will play at Jyske Bank Boxen in Herning, Denmark. The championship games will also take place in Sweden.