The 2018

IIHF World Championship The International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF; ; ) is a worldwide governing body for ice hockey. It is based in Zurich, Switzerland, and has 84 member countries. The IIHF maintains the IIHF World Ranking based on international ice hockey tour ...

was an international

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 ...

tournament hosted by the Danish cities of

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a population of 1.4 million in the Urban area of Copenhagen, urban area. The city is situated on the islands of Zealand and Amager, separated from Malmö, Sweden, by the ...

and

Herning Herning () is a Denmark, Danish town in the Central Denmark Region of the Jutland peninsula. It is the main town and the administrative seat of Herning Municipality. Herning has a population of 51,782 (1 January 2025)

, held from 4 to 20 May 2018. The

IIHF The International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF; ; ) is a worldwide governing body for ice hockey. It is based in Zurich, Switzerland, and has 84 member countries. The IIHF maintains the IIHF World Ranking based on international ice hockey tourn ...

announced the winning bid on 23 May 2014 in

Minsk Minsk (, ; , ) is the capital and largest city of Belarus, located on the Svislach (Berezina), Svislach and the now subterranean Nyamiha, Niamiha rivers. As the capital, Minsk has a special administrative status in Belarus and is the administra ...

Belarus Belarus, officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Russia to the east and northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Belarus spans an a ...

.To Denmark in 2018
/ref>

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the southern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders North Korea along the Korean Demilitarized Zone, with the Yellow Sea to the west and t ...

made its debut at the World Championship, having played in the lower divisions previously. Sweden went undefeated at the tournament to win their second consecutive and eleventh overall title after defeating Switzerland in the final. The United States won the bronze medal game, defeating Canada 4–1. The official mascot of the tournament was a

swan Swans are birds of the genus ''Cygnus'' within the family Anatidae. The swans' closest relatives include the goose, geese and ducks. Swans are grouped with the closely related geese in the subfamily Anserinae where they form the tribe (biology) ...

, inspired by the Danish writer and poet

Hans Christian Andersen Hans Christian Andersen ( , ; 2 April 1805 – 4 August 1875) was a Danish author. Although a prolific writer of plays, travelogue (literature), travelogues, novels, and poems, he is best remembered for his literary fairy tales. Andersen's fai ...

's fairytale about ''

The Ugly Duckling "The Ugly Duckling" () is a Danish literary fairy tale by Danish poet and author Hans Christian Andersen (1805–1875). It was first published on 11 November 1843 in '' New Fairy Tales. First Volume. First Collection'', with three other tale ...

''.

Bids

There were two bids to host this championship. *

Denmark Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...

::Denmark is the only top-ranked IIHF country that has never hosted the tournament. The proposed arenas were the

Royal Arena The Royal Arena is a multi-use indoor arena in the Ørestad#Ørestad South, Ørestad South area of Copenhagen, Denmark. The ground was broken for construction on 26 June 2013 and the arena opened in February 2017. It has a capacity of 13,000 for ...

and the

Jyske Bank Boxen Jyske Bank Boxen is an indoor arena, located in Herning, Denmark, that is part of the Messecenter Herning. Opened in October 2010, it has a maximum capacity of 15,000. It hosts concerts, ice hockey, basketball, volleyball, team handball and gymnas ...

. Both arenas have a capacity of around 12,000 for hockey games. *

Latvia Latvia, officially the Republic of Latvia, is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is one of the three Baltic states, along with Estonia to the north and Lithuania to the south. It borders Russia to the east and Belarus to t ...

Riga Riga ( ) is the capital, Primate city, primate, and List of cities and towns in Latvia, largest city of Latvia. Home to 591,882 inhabitants (as of 2025), the city accounts for a third of Latvia's total population. The population of Riga Planni ...

::Latvia hosted the IIHF World Championship in

2006 2006 was designated as the International Year of Deserts and Desertification. Events January * January 1– 4 – Russia temporarily cuts shipment of natural gas to Ukraine during a price dispute. * January 12 – A stampede during t ...

. The proposed arenas were

Arena Riga Xiaomi Arena, formerly known as Arena Riga () is an indoor arena in Riga, Latvia. It is primarily used for ice hockey, basketball and concerts. Arena Riga holds a maximum of 14,500 and was opened on 15 February 2006. It was built to be used as ...

, and a secondary venue to be built. The decision was announced on 23 May 2014 in

. The final tally was 95-12 in favor of Denmark.

Venues

Qualified teams

Games mascot at IIHF World Championship semifinal 2018

; Qualified as host: * ; Automatic qualifier after a top 14 placement at the

2017 IIHF World Championship The 2017 IIHF World Championship, the 2017 edition of the annual Ice Hockey World Championships, was held from 5 to 21 May 2017 in Cologne, Germany and Paris, France. The official tournament mascots were Asterix (character), Asterix and Obelix, ...

: * * * * * * * * * * * * * ; Qualified through winning a promotion at the

2017 IIHF World Championship Division I The 2017 IIHF World Championship Division I was an international ice hockey tournament run by the International Ice Hockey Federation. Group A was contested in Kyiv, Ukraine from 22 to 28 April 2017 and Group B in Belfast, United Kingdom from 23 ...

: * *

Seeding

The seeding in the preliminary round was based on the 2017

IIHF World Ranking The IIHF World Ranking is a ranking of the performance of the national ice hockey teams of member countries of the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF). It is based on a formula giving points for each team's placings at IIHF-sanctioned tour ...

, which ended at the conclusion of the

. Denmark and Sweden played in separate groups, Denmark at the Jyske Bank Boxen while Sweden at the Royal Arena in Copenhagen. ;Group A * (2) * (3) * (6) * (7) * (10) * (11) *¹ (13) * (16) ;Group B * (1) * (4) * (5) * (8) * (9) * (12) *¹ (14) * (21) :¹ Denmark and France swapped sides so Denmark would not be in the same group as Sweden.

Rosters

Each team's roster consisted of at least 15 skaters ( forwards, and

defencemen 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 t ...

) and 2

goaltender In ice hockey, the goaltender (commonly referred to as goalie or netminder) is the player responsible for preventing the hockey puck from entering their own team's net, thus preventing the opposing team from scoring. The goaltender mostly plays ...

s, and at most 22 skaters and 3 goaltenders. All 16 participating nations, through the confirmation of their respective national associations, had to submit a "Long List" no later than two weeks before the tournament, and a final roster by the Passport Control meeting prior to the start of tournament.

Officials

16 referees and linesman were announced on 21 March 2018.

Preliminary round

The schedule was released on 8 August 2017.

Group A

2018-05-10 IIHF WC Czechia vs Russia 4-3

Group B

Playoff round

Quarterfinals

Semifinals

Bronze medal game

Gold medal game

Final ranking and statistics

Final ranking

Scoring leaders

List shows the top skaters sorted by points, then goals. ''GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; +/− = Plus/minus; PIM = Penalties in minutes; POS = Position''
Source
IIHF.com
/small>

Goaltending leaders

Only the top five goaltenders, based on save percentage, who have played at least 40% of their team's minutes, are included in this list. ''TOI = Time on Ice (minutes:seconds); SA = Shots against; GA = Goals against; GAA =

Goals against average Goals against average (GAA), also known as average goals against (AGA), is a statistic used in field hockey, ice hockey, lacrosse, soccer, and water polo that is the mean of goals allowed per game by a goaltender or goalkeeper (depending on spo ...

; Sv% = Save percentage; SO =

Shutout In team sports, a shutout (North American English, US) or clean sheet (Commonwealth English, UK) is a game in which the losing team fails to score. While possible in most major sports, they are highly improbable in some sports, such as basketba ...

s''
Source
IIHF.com
/small>

Awards

*Best players selected by the directorate: **Best

Goaltender In ice hockey, the goaltender (commonly referred to as goalie or netminder) is the player responsible for preventing the hockey puck from entering their own team's net, thus preventing the opposing team from scoring. The goaltender mostly plays ...

Frederik Andersen Frederik Andersen (born 2 October 1989) is a Danish professional ice hockey goaltender for the Carolina Hurricanes of the National Hockey League (NHL). He previously played for the Anaheim Ducks and Toronto Maple Leafs. Representing Denmark men ...

**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 Goal (ice hockey), scoring. They are often referred to as defencemen, D, D-men or blueliners (the l ...

John Klingberg John Andersson Klingberg (born 14 August 1992) is a Swedish professional ice hockey defenceman for the San Jose Sharks of the National Hockey League (NHL). He was drafted 131st overall in the 2010 NHL Entry Draft by the Dallas Stars. He is the y ...

**Best

Forward Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward. Forward may also refer to: People *Forward (surname) Sports * Forward (association football) * Forward (basketball), including: ** Point forward ** Power forward (basketball) ** Smal ...

: Sebastian Aho Source
IIHF.com
/small> *Media All-Stars: **MVP:

Patrick Kane Patrick Timothy Kane II (born November 19, 1988) is an American professional ice hockey winger (ice hockey), right winger for the Detroit Red Wings of the National Hockey League (NHL). He was selected by the Chicago Blackhawks with the List of ...

**Goaltender: Anders Nilsson **Defencemen:

Adam Larsson Nils Erik Adam Larsson (born 12 November 1992) is a Swedish professional ice hockey defenceman and alternate captain for the Seattle Kraken of the National Hockey League (NHL). He was selected fourth overall by the New Jersey Devils in the 2011 ...

Oliver Ekman-Larsson Oliver Oscar Emanuel Ekman-Larsson (; born 17 July 1991) is a Swedish professional ice hockey defenceman for the Toronto Maple Leafs of the National Hockey League (NHL). Known by his initials "OEL", Ekman-Larsson was selected sixth overall by the ...

**Forwards:

Rickard Rakell Rickard Lars Gunnar Roland Rakell (born 5 May 1993) is a Swedes, Swedish professional ice hockey Winger (ice hockey), right winger for the Pittsburgh Penguins of the National Hockey League (NHL). While playing for the AIK IF in Sweden, Rakell w ...

/ Sebastian Aho Source
IIHF.com
/small>

IIHF honors and awards

The 2018

IIHF Hall of Fame The IIHF Hall of Fame is a hall of fame operated by the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF). It was founded in 1997, and has resided at the Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto since 1998. Prior to 1997, the IIHF housed exhibits at the Interna ...

inductees and award recipients were honored during the World Championship medal ceremonies in Copenhagen. IIHF Hall of Fame inductees *

Daniel Alfredsson Daniel Alfredsson (; born 11 December 1972), nicknamed "Alfie", is a Swedish-Canadian former professional ice hockey player and assistant coach for the Ottawa Senators. He spent 18 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL), primarily with the ...

, Sweden *

Rob Blake Robert Bowlby Blake (born December 10, 1969) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player and executive who most recently served as the general manager of the Los Angeles Kings of the National Hockey League (NHL). He was originally draft ...

, Canada *

Chris Chelios Christos Konstantinos Chelios (born January 25, 1962) is an American former professional ice hockey defenseman. He was a three-time Stanley Cup champion: one with the Montreal Canadiens and two with the Detroit Red Wings. Chelios played for th ...

, United States *

Philippe Lacarrière Philippe Lacarrière (born 20 April 1938) is a French former ice hockey player and current ice hockey executive. After representing France at the Ice Hockey World Championships and Winter Olympics, Lacarrière joined the French Federation of Ice ...

, France *

Jere Lehtinen Jere Kalervo Lehtinen (born June 24, 1973) is a Finnish former professional ice hockey forward. A right winger, he was drafted in the third round, 88th overall, in the 1992 NHL Entry Draft by the Minnesota North Stars. Lehtinen played his enti ...

, Finland *

Bob Nadin Bob Nadin (born March 15, 1933) is a Canadian retired Official (ice hockey), ice hockey referee and administrator. He refereed at the 1972 Winter Olympics, and served as a referee supervisor for the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF), t ...

, Canada Award recipients *

Kirovs Lipmans Kirovs Lipmans (born 5 November 1940) is a Jewish Latvian business person and former ice hockey executive. He served as president of the Latvian Ice Hockey Federation from 1994 to 1995, and from 1998 to 2016; was a member of the Latvian Olympic ...

of Latvia received the

Paul Loicq Award The Paul Loicq Award is presented annually by the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) to honour a person who has made "outstanding contributions to the IIHF and international ice hockey". Named after Paul Loicq, who was president of the I ...

for outstanding contributions to international ice hockey. * Jesper Damgaard of Denmark received the

Torriani Award The Torriani Award is given annually by the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) to an ice hockey player with an "outstanding career from non-top hockey nation". It was inaugurated in 2015, and is awarded alongside the annual IIHF Hall of Fa ...

for a player with an outstanding career from non-top hockey nation.

References

External links

Official website
{{2017–18 in men's ice hockey IIHF World Championship 1 International ice hockey competitions hosted by Denmark 2017–18 in Danish ice hockey International sports competitions in Copenhagen Sport in Herning