The 2023 IIHF World Championship is hosted by the cities of Riga, Latvia, and Tampere, Finland. The tournament was originally scheduled to take place in Saint Petersburg, Russia, but the IOC called for Russia to lose all hosting rights for international sporting events due to the invasion of Ukraine. Seedings for the tournaments are taken from the 2022 IIHF World Ranking at the end fo the IIHF World Championship. Let’s look at the Hockey odds for each of the 16 teams, as well as the format and group divisions and some thoughts on the participants.
Hockey News: IIHF World Championship Odds
| Team | Odds |
|---|---|
| Canada, Finland | +250 |
| Sweden | +400 |
| United States | +700 |
| Czech Republic | +800 |
| Switzerland | +1000 |
| Germany | +2000 |
| Slovakia | +2500 |
| Demark | +5000 |
| Latvia | +6500 |
| Norway | +8000 |
| Kazakhstan | +20000 |
| France, Austria | +30000 |
| Slovenia, Hungary | +50000 |
Group A (IIHF ranking)
Finland (1)
United States (4)
Sweden (5)
Germany (9)
Denmark (10)
France (13)
Austria (15)
Hungary (20)
Group B (IIHF Ranking)
Canada (2)
Czech Republic (6)
Switzerland (7)
Slovakia (8)
Latvia (11)
Norway (12)
Kazakhstan (16)
Slovenia (19)
The tournament will run from May 12 until May 28, with pool play running from May 12-23 and bracket play running from May 25-28. The top four teams from each group will advance to the quarterfinals, with the first round on May 25. The semifinals will take place on May 27, and the championship and third-place game will take place on May 28.
Finland is the defending champion, with two victories in the last three years. They took down Canada in the final, relegating the Canadians to the silver medal. This reversed the outcome from the 2021 final, when the Canadians stopped the Finns. The United States met the Czech Republic in the third-place game last year, with the Czechs taking bronze. In 2020, the IIHF canceled the World Hockey Championship because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Canada brings a strong roster, as 22 of their 24 players also have jobs in the National Hockey League. The United States also has a lot of NHL talent on the roster, but none of their players are top stars. Also, this tournament hasn’t historically been as important to the United States as the Olympic medal has been. Even so, the United States has historically underperformed in both the IIHF tournament and the Olympics.
Switzerland last saw a medal in 2018, when they earned a silver medal after falling to Sweden in the final. The Swiss make for an interesting dark horse, because they have some NHL talent, and they tend to be a feisty bunch on the ice.
Since the tournament doesn’t start until May, of course, you’ll want to watch the final rosters when they come out, as well as injury updates. Check back here to get more content as the tournament date approaches.
IIHF World Championship Betting Odds
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