The 16th

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 ...

and 27th European Hockey Championships was held from February 12 to 20, 1949, in

Stockholm Stockholm () is the capital and largest city of Sweden as well as the largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people live in the municipality, with 1.6 million in the urban area, and 2.4 million in the metropo ...

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic countries, Nordic c ...

. The event was the first World Championships during the presidency of Canadian

W. G. Hardy William George Hardy (February 3, 1895 – August 28, 1979) was a Canadian professor, writer, and ice hockey administrator. He lectured on the Classics at the University of Alberta from 1922 to 1964, and served as president of the Canadian Aut ...

. The International Ice Hockey Federation allowed for an unlimited number of entrants, after rejecting a proposal to limit the event to eight teams. In the initial round, the ten teams participating were divided into three groups: two groups of three and one of four. In the second round, the top two teams in each group advanced to the medal round (for positions 1 through 6) with the remaining four teams advancing to the consolation round for places 7 through 10.

Czechoslovakia , rue, Чеськословеньско, , yi, טשעכאסלאוואקיי, , common_name = Czechoslovakia , life_span = 1918–19391945–1992 , p1 = Austria-Hungary , image_p1 ...

overcame tragedy to win their second world championship and ninth European Championship. In November 1948 six Czechoslovak players (

Ladislav Troják Ladislav Troják (15 June 1914 – 8 November 1948) was the first Slovak ice hockey player in the national team of Czechoslovakia and also the first Slovak hockey player with a title of World Champion ( 1947 World Championship). Troják wore ...

, Karel Stibor,

Zdeněk Jarkovský Zdeněk Jarkovský (3 October 1918 in Nový Bydžov, Austria-Hungary – 8 November 1948 in La Manche) was an ice hockey goaltender for the Czechoslovak national team. He won a silver medal at the 1948 Winter Olympics The 1948 Winter Oly ...

Vilibald Šťovík Vilibald Šťovík (9 October 1917 in Prague, Austria-Hungary – 8 November 1948 in La Manche) was an ice hockey player for the Czechoslovakian national team. He won a silver medal at the 1948 Winter Olympics The 1948 Winter Olympics, ...

Miloslav Pokorný Miloslav Pokorný (5 October 1926 in Prague, Czechoslovakia – 8 November 1948 in La Manche) was an ice hockey player for the Czechoslovak national team. He won a silver medal at the 1948 Winter Olympics The 1948 Winter Olympics, offic ...

and defenseman Zdeněk Švarc) were lost when their plane went missing crossing the

English Channel The English Channel, "The Sleeve"; nrf, la Maunche, "The Sleeve" ( Cotentinais) or ( Jèrriais), ( Guernésiais), "The Channel"; br, Mor Breizh, "Sea of Brittany"; cy, Môr Udd, "Lord's Sea"; kw, Mor Bretannek, "British Sea"; nl, Het Ka ...

. Despite the key losses to their roster, they defeated the Sudbury Wolves,

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by to ...

's representative, three to two. It was only the third defeat for the Canadians at a World Championship. The

Americans Americans are the citizens and nationals of the United States of America.; ; Although direct citizens and nationals make up the majority of Americans, many dual citizens, expatriates, and permanent residents could also legally claim Ame ...

were able to top the Czechoslovaks in the final round, which earned them a bronze medal, and kept the host Swedes off the podium.Story of the plane crash (in french)
/ref>

World Ice Hockey Championship (in Stockholm, Sweden)

First Round

Group A

Standings

Group B

Standings

Group C

Standings

Consolation Round – places 7 to 10

Standings

Final Round – places 1 to 6

Standings

Final rankings – World Championships

World Championships 1949
Czechoslovakia

Team members

Final rankings – European Championships

Citations

References

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External links

The event at SVT's open archive
{{IIHF Ice Hockey European Championships Men's World Championships IIHF Men's World Ice Hockey Championships International ice hockey competitions hosted by Sweden

International sports competitions in Stockholm Ice Hockey World Championships, 1949