# 2022 IIHF World U18 Championships

The 2022 IIHF World U18 Championship was the 23rd such event hosted by the International Ice Hockey Federation. Teams participated at several levels of competition. The competition also served as qualifications for the 2023 competition. On 28 February the IIHF "suspended all Russian and Belarusian National Teams and Clubs from participation in every age category and in all IIHF competitions or events until further notice", which resulted in a reformatting of the tournament. Due to the suspensions there are two open spots in the top division, two teams can be promoted for 2023 and no team will be relegated. Additionally, all eight teams will qualify for the QF round and will be reseeded according to their tournament ranking.
Sweden won their second world championship by beating USA in the final with score 6–4. Finland won bronze by beating Czechia in the bronze medal game with score 4–1.

## Top Division

The tournament was held from 23 April to 1 May 2022 in Landshut and Kaufbeuren, Germany.

### Seeding

Due to the suspension of Russia and Belarus, the groups were reseeded.

#### Updated Seeding
### Preliminary round

All times are local (UTC+2).

#### Group A

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | OTW | OTL | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | United States | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 24 | 7 | +17 | 9 | Advance to Quarterfinals |
| 2 | Czechia | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 12 | 13 | −1 | 5 | Advance to Quarterfinals |
| 3 | Canada | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 16 | 17 | −1 | 4 | Advance to Quarterfinals |
| 4 | Germany (H) | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 7 | 22 | −15 | 0 | Advance to Quarterfinals |

#### Group B

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | OTW | OTL | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Sweden | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 12 | 8 | +4 | 6 | Advance to Quarterfinals |
| 2 | Finland | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 13 | 7 | +6 | 6 | Advance to Quarterfinals |
| 3 | Switzerland | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 8 | 15 | −7 | 3 | Advance to Quarterfinals |
| 4 | Latvia | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 7 | 10 | −3 | 3 | Advance to Quarterfinals |
* 1 2 Sweden 4–3 Finland
* 1 2 Switzerland 4–3 Latvia

### Playoff round

Winning teams will be reseeded in accordance with the following ranking:
* higher position in the group
* higher number of points
* better goal difference
* higher number of goals scored for
* better seeding coming into the tournament (final placement at the 2021 IIHF World U18 Championships).
| Rank | Team | Group | Pos | Pts | GD | GF | Seed |
| 1 | United States | A | 1 | 9 | +17 | 24 | 5 |
| 2 | Sweden | B | 1 | 6 | +4 | 12 | 3 |
| 3 | Finland | B | 2 | 6 | +6 | 13 | 4 |
| 4 | Czechia | A | 2 | 5 | -1 | 12 | 7 |
| 5 | Canada | A | 3 | 4 | -1 | 16 | 1 |
| 6 | Switzerland | B | 3 | 3 | -7 | 8 | 8 |
| 7 | Latvia | B | 4 | 3 | -3 | 7 | 9 |
| 8 | Germany | A | 4 | 0 | -15 | 7 | 10 |

#### Bracket

| Quarterfinals | Quarterfinals | Semifinals | Semifinals | | Gold Medal Game | Gold Medal Game |
| 28 April – Landshut | 28 April – Landshut | | | |
| 1A United States | 13 | | | |
| 1A United States | 13 | 30 April – Landshut | 30 April – Landshut | | |
| 4B Latvia | 3 | 30 April – Landshut | 30 April – Landshut | |
| 4B Latvia | 3 | 1 United States | 6 | |
| 28 April – Landshut | 28 April – Landshut | | 1 United States | 6 | |
| 28 April – Landshut | 28 April – Landshut | 4 Czechia | 1 | |
| 2A Czechia | 8 | 4 Czechia | 1 | |
| 2A Czechia | 8 | | | | 1 May – Landshut | 1 May – Landshut |
| 3B Switzerland | 0 | | | | 1 May – Landshut | 1 May – Landshut |
| 3B Switzerland | 0 | | | | 1 United States | 4 |
| 28 April – Kaufbeuren | 28 April – Kaufbeuren | | | | | 1 United States | 4 |
| 28 April – Kaufbeuren | 28 April – Kaufbeuren | | | | 2 Sweden | 6 |
| 1B Sweden | 7 | | | | 2 Sweden | 6 |
| 1B Sweden | 7 | 30 April – Landshut | 30 April – Landshut | | | |
| 4A Germany | 1 | 30 April – Landshut | 30 April – Landshut | | | |
| 4A Germany | 1 | 2 Sweden | 2 | | | |
| 28 April – Kaufbeuren | 28 April – Kaufbeuren | | 2 Sweden | 2 | | | |
| 28 April – Kaufbeuren | 28 April – Kaufbeuren | 3 Finland | 1 | | Bronze Medal Game | Bronze Medal Game |
| 2B Finland (OT) | 6 | 3 Finland | 1 | | Bronze Medal Game | Bronze Medal Game |
| 2B Finland (OT) | 6 | | | | 1 May – Landshut | 1 May – Landshut |
| 3A Canada | 5 | | | | 1 May – Landshut | 1 May – Landshut |
| 3A Canada | 5 | | | | 3 Finland | 4 |
| | | | | | 4 Czechia | 1 |

#### Gold medal game
### Final standings

| Pos | Grp | Team | Pld | W | OTW | OTL | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Final result |
| 1 | B | Sweden | 6 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 27 | 14 | +13 | 15 | Champions |
| 2 | A | United States | 6 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 47 | 17 | +30 | 15 | Runners-up |
| 3 | B | Finland | 6 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 24 | 15 | +9 | 11 | Third place |
| 4 | A | Czechia | 6 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 22 | 23 | −1 | 8 | Fourth place |
| 5 | A | Canada | 4 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 21 | 23 | −2 | 5 | Eliminated in Quarter-finals |
| 6 | B | Switzerland | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 8 | 23 | −15 | 3 | Eliminated in Quarter-finals |
| 7 | B | Latvia | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 10 | 23 | −13 | 3 | Eliminated in Quarter-finals |
| 8 | A | Germany (H) | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 8 | 29 | −21 | 0 | Eliminated in Quarter-finals |

### Statistics
#### Scoring leaders

| Pos | Player | Country | GP | G | A | Pts | +/− | PIM |
| 1 | Jonathan Lekkerimäki | Sweden | 6 | 5 | 10 | 15 | +4 | 4 |
| 2 | Mattias Hävelid | Sweden | 6 | 4 | 8 | 12 | +4 | 0 |
| 3 | Jiří Kulich | Czech Republic | 6 | 9 | 2 | 11 | −6 | 2 |
| 4 | Isaac Howard | United States | 6 | 6 | 5 | 11 | +8 | 2 |
| 5 | Noah Östlund | Sweden | 6 | 4 | 6 | 10 | +3 | 6 |
| 6 | Logan Cooley | United States | 6 | 3 | 7 | 10 | +5 | 4 |
| 7 | Rutger McGroarty | United States | 6 | 8 | 1 | 9 | +8 | 27 |
| 8 | Cutter Gauthier | United States | 6 | 3 | 6 | 9 | +3 | 6 |
| 8 | Frank Nazar | United States | 6 | 3 | 6 | 9 | +7 | 4 |
| 8 | Liam Öhgren | Sweden | 6 | 3 | 6 | 9 | +4 | 2 |
GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; +/− = Plus–minus; PIM = Penalties In Minutes Source: IIHF

#### Goaltending leaders

(minimum 40% team's total ice time)
| Pos | Player | Country | TOI | GA | GAA | SA | Sv% | SO |
| 1 | Hugo Hävelid | Sweden | 298:28 | 12 | 2.41 | 170 | 92.94 | 0 |
| 2 | Topias Leinonen | Finland | 298:32 | 13 | 2.61 | 126 | 89.68 | 0 |
| 3 | Trey Augustine | United States | 238:36 | 11 | 2.77 | 93 | 88.17 | 0 |
| 4 | Simon Wolf | Germany | 151:35 | 17 | 6.73 | 137 | 87.59 | 0 |
| 5 | Michael Schnattinger | Czech Republic | 237:37 | 15 | 3.79 | 118 | 87.29 | 1 |
TOI = Time on ice (minutes:seconds); GA = Goals against; GAA = Goals against average; SA = Shots against; Sv% = Save percentage; SO = Shutouts Source: IIHF

## Division I
### Group A

The tournament was played in Piešťany, Slovakia, from 11 to 17 April 2022.
| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | OTW | OTL | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Promotion |
| 1 | Slovakia (H) | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 27 | 11 | +16 | 15 | Promoted to the 2023 Top Division |
| 2 | Norway | 5 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 26 | 12 | +14 | 12 | Promoted to the 2023 Top Division |
| 3 | France | 5 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 16 | 17 | −1 | 9 | |
| 4 | Kazakhstan | 5 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 15 | 23 | −8 | 6 | |
| 5 | Denmark | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 14 | 16 | −2 | 3 | |
| 6 | Japan | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 8 | 27 | −19 | 0 | |

### Group B

The tournament was played in Asiago, Italy, from 25 April to 1 May 2022.
| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | OTW | OTL | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Promotion |
| 1 | Hungary | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 19 | 3 | +16 | 15 | Promoted to the 2023 Division I A |
| 2 | Ukraine | 5 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 30 | 11 | +19 | 12 | Promoted to the 2023 Division I A |
| 3 | Italy (H) | 5 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 15 | 18 | −3 | 9 | |
| 4 | Slovenia | 5 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 12 | 12 | 0 | 6 | |
| 5 | Austria | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 11 | 24 | −13 | 3 | |
| 6 | Poland | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 11 | 30 | −19 | 0 | |

## Division II
### Group A

The tournament was played in Tallinn, Estonia, from 3 to 9 April 2022.
| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | OTW | OTL | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Promotion |
| 1 | South Korea | 5 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 33 | 9 | +24 | 12 | Promoted to the 2023 Division I B |
| 2 | Estonia (H) | 5 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 24 | 7 | +17 | 12 | Promoted to the 2023 Division I B |
| 3 | Great Britain | 5 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 20 | 9 | +11 | 11 | |
| 4 | Lithuania | 5 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 16 | 21 | −5 | 6 | |
| 5 | Romania | 5 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 6 | 21 | −15 | 4 | |
| 6 | Serbia | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 7 | 39 | −32 | 0 | |
* 1 2 South Korea 2–1 Estonia

### Group B

The tournament was played in Sofia, Bulgaria, from 21 to 24 March 2022.
| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | OTW | OTL | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Promotion |
| 1 | Croatia | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 18 | 2 | +16 | 9 | Promoted to the 2023 Division II A |
| 2 | Spain | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 9 | 7 | +2 | 6 | Promoted to the 2023 Division II A |
| 3 | Netherlands | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 10 | 12 | −2 | 3 | |
| 4 | Bulgaria (H) | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 19 | −16 | 0 | |
| – | China | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Withdrawn |
| – | Australia | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Withdrawn |
* ↑ China withdrew their team because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
* ↑ Australia withdrew their team on 22 January 2022 because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

## Division III
### Group A

The tournament was played in Istanbul, Turkey, from 11 to 17 April 2022.
| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | OTW | OTL | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Promotion |
| 1 | Chinese Taipei | 5 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 24 | 11 | +13 | 12 | Promoted to the 2023 Division II B |
| 2 | Belgium | 5 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 23 | 8 | +15 | 12 | Promoted to the 2023 Division II B |
| 3 | Iceland | 5 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 18 | 12 | +6 | 12 | |
| 4 | Israel | 5 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 15 | 19 | −4 | 6 | |
| 5 | Mexico | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 8 | 22 | −14 | 2 | |
| 6 | Turkey (H) | 5 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 8 | 24 | −16 | 1 | |
* 1 2 3 Chinese Taipei 3 Pts, +1 GD; Belgium 3 Pts, 0 GD; Iceland 3 Pts, –1 GD

### Group B

The tournament was played in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, from 17 to 22 April 2022.
| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | OTW | OTL | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Promotion |
| 1 | Bosnia and Herzegovina (H) | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 37 | 15 | +22 | 12 | Promoted to the 2023 Division III A |
| 2 | Luxembourg | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 20 | 36 | −16 | 3 | Promoted to the 2023 Division III A |
| 3 | South Africa | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 21 | 27 | −6 | 3 | |
| – | New Zealand | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Withdrawn |
| – | Hong Kong | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Withdrawn |
* ↑ New Zealand withdrew their team because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
* ↑ Hong Kong withdrew their team because of the COVID-19 pandemic.