The 1951 Ice Hockey World Championships was the 18th

World Championship 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 ...

and the 29th

European Championship A European Championship is the top level international sports competition between European athletes or sports teams representing their respective countries or professional sports clubs. In the plural, the European Championships also refers t ...

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey in North America) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an Ice rink, ice skating rink with Ice hockey rink, lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. Tw ...

for international teams. The tournament took place in France from 9 to 17 March and the games were played in the capital city, Paris. Thirteen nations took part, and were first split into two groups. The seven best teams were placed in the first group, and the six others were placed into the "Criterium Européen", which would later become the B Pool. Each group was played in a round robin format, with each team playing each other once.

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

, represented by the

Lethbridge Maple Leafs The Lethbridge Maple Leafs were, at times, a senior, intermediate, and junior ice hockey team in Lethbridge, Alberta. They are best known for winning the 1951 World Ice Hockey Championships. The Maple Leafs were a men's senior ice hockey team fro ...

, became world champions for the 14th time. Highest ranking European team

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finished second, winning their fifth European Championship, finishing ahead of the Swiss on

goal differential Goal difference, goal differential or points difference is a form of tiebreaker used to rank sport teams which finish on equal points in a league competition. Either "goal difference" or "points difference" is used, depending on whether matches ar ...

by three. This tournament would be the last time

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

hosted the elite division of the World Championships until

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, when

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

co-hosted the championship alongside

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World Championship Group A (France)

Table

Critérium européen – Junior European Championship (World Championship Group B) (France)

Table

World Championship medals

European Championship medals

Citations

References

Complete results
* * {{IIHF Ice Hockey European Championships IIHF Men's World Ice Hockey Championships World Ice Hockey Championships, 1951 International ice hockey competitions hosted by France

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. The IIHF was created in 1908 while the I ...

International sports competitions in Paris