The 1962 Ice Hockey World Championships was the 29th edition of the

Ice Hockey World Championships The Ice Hockey World Championships are an annual international men's ice hockey tournament organized by the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF). First officially held at the 1920 Summer Olympics, it is the sport's highest profile annual ...

. The tournament was held in

Colorado Springs Colorado Springs is a home rule municipality in, and the county seat of, El Paso County, Colorado, United States. It is the largest city in El Paso County, with a population of 478,961 at the 2020 United States Census, a 15.02% increase since ...

and

Denver Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

from March 8 to March 18, 1962. This was the first World Championship hosted in North America that was not part of

ice hockey at the Olympic Games Ice hockey tournaments have been staged at the Olympic Games since 1920. The men's tournament was introduced at the 1920 Summer Olympics and was transferred permanently to the Winter Olympic Games program in 1924, in France. The women's tourname ...

.Summary and explanations (in french)
/ref> The World Championships were in jeopardy of being cancelled to the political situation in Europe and the Berlin Wall. Sweden won their third World, and their ninth

European European, or Europeans, or Europeneans, may refer to: In general * ''European'', an adjective referring to something of, from, or related to Europe ** Ethnic groups in Europe ** Demographics of Europe ** European cuisine, the cuisines of Europe ...

title. Canada, represented by the Galt Terriers, lost only to the Swedes finishing second, followed by the host Americans. In the 'B' pool the Australian team defeated Denmark for their first victory ever.

Political issues

The World Championships were scheduled to be hosted in Colorado Springs, Colorado, but the event was placed in jeopardy due to the political situation in Europe. When the Berlin Wall was constructed in 1961 by East Germany to prevent its citizens from fleeing to the West,

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two No ...

responded with travel restrictions which prevented the

East Germany national ice hockey team The East German national men's ice hockey team was a national ice hockey representing the German Democratic Republic (GDR). The first international game was played in East Berlin on 28 January 1951, losing 3–8 to Team Poland. The team compe ...

from attending the World Championships. Canadian Amateur Hockey Association president

Jack Roxburgh John Maxwell Roxburgh (February 14, 1901February 27, 1975) was a Canadian ice hockey administrator and politician. He organized minor ice hockey in his hometown of Simcoe, Ontario, co-founded the Ontario Juvenile Hockey Association in 1934, and ...

felt that politics should not affect sports, and the decision went against the goodwill and relations established by teams traveling behind the Iron Curtain. He called for the

International Ice Hockey Federation The International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF; french: Fédération internationale de hockey sur glace; german: Internationale Eishockey-Föderation) is a worldwide governing body for ice hockey. It is based in Zurich, Switzerland, and has 83 ...

to unite in opposition to the NATO decision. Teams from the Soviet Union and other communist countries ultimately chose to withdraw in protest of the NATO decision.

Qualifying Round (A/B)

With the absences of the USSR, Czechoslovakia, and East Germany, the top two nations from the 1961 'B' pool were elevated (Norway and Great Britain). The third and final spot was filled by a qualifying game between the only remaining 'B' pool nations. Switzerland qualified in Group A Austria qualified in Group B

World Championship Group A (United States)

Final Round

World Championship Group B (United States)

Final Round

Ranking and statistics

Tournament Awards

*Best players selected by the directorate: **Best

Goaltender In ice hockey, the goaltender (commonly referred to as the goalie) is the player responsible for preventing the hockey puck from entering their team's net, thus preventing the opposing team from scoring. The goaltender mostly plays in or near t ...

: Lennart Häggroth **Best

Defenceman Defence or defense (in American English) in ice hockey is a player position that is primarily responsible for preventing the opposing team from scoring. They are often referred to as defencemen, D, D-men or blueliners (the latter a reference to ...

John Mayasich John Edward Mayasich (born May 22, 1933) is an American former ice hockey player of American Croats, Croatian descent. He was a member of the U.S. ice hockey team that won a silver medal at the 1956 Winter Olympics and a gold medal at the 1960 W ...

**Best Forward:

Sven Tumba Sven Tumba (born ''Sven'' Olof Gunnar Johansson; 28 August 1931 – 1 October 2011) was one of the most prominent Swedish ice hockey players of the 1950s and 1960s. He also represented Sweden in football as well as golf and became Swedish champio ...

*Media All-Star Team: **Goaltender: Lennart Häggroth **Defence: Jack Douglas, Harry Smith **Forwards:

Jackie McLeod Robert John McLeod (April 30, 1930 – December 8, 2022) was a Canadian ice hockey player and coach. He played professionally for the New York Rangers for parts of six seasons from 1949 to 1954, and played eight seasons of senior hockey betwee ...

, Nisse Nilsson,

Ulf Sterner Ulf Ivar Erik "Uffe" Sterner (born 11 February 1941) is a Swedish former professional ice hockey forward. He played in nine IIHF World Championships for Sweden, where the team won seven medals: one gold, five silver, and one bronze. He was also a ...

Final standings

The final standings of the tournament according to

IIHF The International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF; french: Fédération internationale de hockey sur glace; german: Internationale Eishockey-Föderation) is a worldwide governing body for ice hockey. It is based in Zurich, Switzerland, and has 83 m ...

European championships final standings

The final standings of the European championships according to

Notes

References

Championnat du monde 1962
* * * {{IIHF Ice Hockey European Championships IIHF Men's World Ice Hockey Championships

World Championships A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game, ...

1962 Events January * January 1 – Western Samoa becomes independent from New Zealand. * January 3 – Pope John XXIII excommunicates Fidel Castro for preaching communism. * January 8 – Harmelen train disaster: 93 die in the wor ...

World Ice Hockey Championships, 1962 Sports competitions in Denver Sports competitions in Colorado Springs, Colorado

World Ice Hockey Championships The Ice Hockey World Championships are an annual international men's ice hockey tournament organized by the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF). First officially held at the 1920 Summer Olympics, it is the sport's highest profile annua ...

March 1962 sports events in the United States 1960s in Colorado Springs, Colorado 1960s in Denver