Ice Hockey World Championship 2025 – Schedule, Groups & Teams at a Glance (as of May 14, 2025)

The 2025 Ice Hockey World Championship is one of the biggest international sporting events of the year. From May 9 to 25, a total of 16 nations will compete for the prestigious world championship title in Sweden and Denmark . The preliminary round matches will be played in two historic arenas: Group A will play at the Globe Arena in Stockholm , and Group B at Jyske Bank Boxen in Herning .

Major ice hockey nations like Canada, Finland, Sweden, and the USA are once again participating, as are outsiders like Kazakhstan and Hungary. For the German national team, the tournament began on May 10th – with ambitious goals and strong competition.

The Ice Hockey World Championship follows the proven format of recent years: 16 teams will initially compete in two preliminary groups of eight nations each. The tournament will be played in a round-robin format, meaning each team will play seven matches in the group phase.

The four best-placed teams in each group advance to the quarterfinals , from which the title is played in a knockout format . The knockout round consists of four quarterfinal matches, two semifinals, a third-place match, and the grand final , which will be held in Stockholm on May 25, 2025 .

While the group stage will still take place at both venues (Stockholm and Herning), the playoff matches will be entirely concentrated in the Swedish capital. This is where the new world champion will be crowned – and the decisive matches will take place in front of up to 16,000 spectators at the Globe Arena .

A total of 16 national teams will compete in the 2025 Ice Hockey World Championship, divided into two preliminary round groups. Each group will play its matches at a fixed venue:

• Group A plays at the Globe Arena in Stockholm (Sweden)
• Group B competes in the Jyske Bank Boxen in Herning (Denmark) .

The German national team is seeded in Group B and will face, among others, world champions Czech Republic, the USA and Switzerland.

• Sweden
• Finland
• Canada
• Austria
• Latvia
• Slovakia
• France
• Slovenia

• Germany
• USA
• Czech Republic
• Switzerland
• Denmark
• Norway
• Kazakhstan
• Hungary

After the preliminary round, the top four teams from each group qualify for the quarterfinals. From then on, each match will determine who will advance to the tournament.

The Group A matches will take place at the Globe Arena in Stockholm – one of the most iconic arenas in international ice hockey. There, eight nations will compete for four quarterfinal spots. Here is the complete Group A schedule for the 2025 Ice Hockey World Championship:

• Fri., May 9, 4:20 PM: Austria vs. Finland
• Fri., May 9, 8:20 p.m.: Sweden vs. Slovakia
• Sat., May 10, 12:20: Slovenia vs. Canada
• Sat., May 10, 4:20 PM: Sweden vs. Austria
• Sat., May 10, 8:20 PM: France vs. Latvia
• Sun., May 11, 12:20: Slovakia vs. Slovenia
• Sun., May 11, 4:20 PM: Latvia vs. Canada
• Sun., May 11, 8:20 PM: Finland vs. France
• Mon., May 12, 4:20 PM: Austria vs. Slovakia
• Mon., May 12, 8:20 PM: Finland vs. Sweden
• Tue., May 13, 4:20 PM: Slovenia vs. Latvia
• Tue., May 13, 8:20 p.m.: Canada vs. France
• Wed., May 14, 4:20 PM: Slovakia vs. France
• Wed., May 14, 8:20 PM: Latvia vs. Sweden
• Thurs., May 15, 4:20 PM: Finland vs. Slovenia
• Thurs., May 15, 8:20 p.m.: Canada vs. Austria
• Fri., May 16, 4:20 p.m.: Austria vs. France
• Fri., May 16, 8:20 PM: Sweden vs. Slovenia
• Sat., May 17, 12:20: Finland vs. Latvia
• Sat., May 17, 4:20 PM: France vs. Sweden
• Sat., May 17, 8:20 PM: Canada vs. Slovakia
• Sun., May 18, 4:20 PM: Slovenia vs. Austria
• Sun., May 18, 8:20 p.m.: Slovakia vs. Latvia
• Mon., May 19, 4:20 PM: France vs. Slovakia
• Mon., May 19, 8:20 p.m.: Canada vs. Finland
• Tue., May 20, 12:20: Latvia vs. Austria
• Tue., May 20, 4:20 PM: Slovakia vs. Finland
• Tue., May 20, 8:20 PM: Sweden vs. Canada

Group B will play its matches at Jyske Bank Boxen in Herning, Denmark . For the German national team, it will be the venue for the preliminary round – with seven key matches that will determine their place in the quarterfinals.

Here is the complete schedule for Group B:

• Fri., May 9, 4:20 p.m.: Switzerland vs. Czech Republic
• Fri., May 9, 8:20 PM: Denmark vs. USA
• Sat., May 10, 12:20: Norway vs. Kazakhstan
• Sat., May 10, 4:20 PM: Germany vs. Hungary
• Sat., May 10, 8:20 PM: Denmark vs. Switzerland
• Sun., May 11, 12:20: USA vs. Hungary
• Sun., May 11, 4:20 PM: Germany vs. Kazakhstan
• Sun., May 11, 8:20 PM: Norway vs. Czech Republic
• Mon., May 12, 4:20 p.m.: USA vs. Switzerland
• Mon., May 12, 8:20 p.m.: Czech Republic vs. Denmark
• Tue., May 13, 4:20 PM: Norway vs. Germany
• Tue., May 13, 8:20 PM: Kazakhstan vs. Hungary
• Wed., May 14, 4:20 PM: USA vs. Norway
• Wed., May 14, 8:20 PM: Kazakhstan vs. Denmark
• Thurs., May 15, 4:20 PM: Switzerland vs. Germany
• Thurs., May 15, 8:20 p.m.: Czech Republic vs. Hungary
• Fri., May 16, 4:20 PM: Hungary vs. Denmark
• Fri., May 16, 8:20 p.m.: Switzerland vs. Norway
• Sat., May 17, 12:20 PM: USA vs. Germany
• Sat., May 17, 4:20 PM: Czech Republic vs. Kazakhstan
• Sat., May 17, 8:20 PM: Denmark vs. Norway
• Sun., May 18, 4:20 PM: Kazakhstan vs. USA
• Sun., May 18, 8:20 PM: Hungary vs. Switzerland
• Mon., May 19, 4:20 p.m.: Germany vs. Czech Republic
• Mon., May 19, 8:20 p.m.: Hungary vs. Norway
• Tue., May 20, 12:20: Switzerland vs. Kazakhstan
• Tue., May 20, 4:20 PM: Czech Republic vs. USA
• Tue., May 20, 8:20 PM: Germany vs. Denmark

The four best teams in Group B advance to the quarter-finals – so for Germany, every point counts.

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After the preliminary round concludes on May 20, 2025, the decisive phase of the World Cup begins: the final round . The top four teams from each group qualify for the quarterfinals , which will take place on May 22. The top-placed teams will face the fourth-placed teams from the other group in a crossover format.

The four quarterfinal matches will take place two in Stockholm and two in Herning . Starting with the semifinals (May 24) , the tournament will move entirely to the Globe Arena in Stockholm . The third-place match and the grand final on Sunday, May 25, 2025, will also be played there.

Since the group stage is still ongoing, the pairings for the final round have not yet been determined . However, one thing is clear: whoever slips up in the quarterfinals is out – from then on, it's all or nothing in the classic knockout format.