World Championship The Ice Hockey World Championships are an annual ice hockey tournament organized by the International Ice Hockey Federation ( IIHF ) . First officially held at the 1920 Summer Olympics , it is the sport ' s highest profile annual international tournament . The IIHF was created in 1908 while the European Championships , the precursor to the World Championships , were first held in 1910 . The tournament held at the 1920 Summer Olympics is recognized as the first Ice Hockey World Championship . Between 1920 and 1968 , the Olympic hockey tournament was also considered the World Championship for that year . The first World Championship that was held as an individual event was in 1930 in which twelve nations participated . In 1931 , ten teams played a series of round - robin format qualifying rounds to determine which nations participated in the medal round . Medals were awarded based on the final standings of the teams in the medal round . This basic format would be used until 1992 ( although small variations were made ) . In 1951 , thirteen nations took part and were split into two groups . The top seven teams ( Pool A ) played for the World Championship . The other six ( Pool B ) played for ranking purposes . During a congress in 1990 , the IIHF introduced a playoff system . As the IIHF grew , more teams began to participate at the World Championships , so more pools ( later renamed divisions ) were introduced . The modern format for the World Championship features 16 teams in the championship group , 12 teams in Division I and 12 teams in Division II . If there are more than 40 teams , the rest compete in Division III . The teams in the championship play a preliminary and qualifying round , then the top eight teams play in the playoff medal round and the winning team is crowned World Champion . Over the years , the tournament has gone through several rule changes . In 1969 body - checking in all three zones in a rink was allowed , helmet s and goaltender mask s became mandatory in the early 1970s and in 1992 the IIHF started using the shootout . The current IIHF rules differ slightly from the rules used in the NHL . The World Championships have been open to all players , both professional and amateur , since 1977 . The IIHF requires that players are citizens of the country they represent and allow players to switch national teams provided that they play in their new nation for a certain period of time . Canada was the tournament ' s first dominant team , winning the tournament 12 times between 1930 and 1952 . The United States , Czechoslovakia , Sweden , Great Britain and Switzerland were also competitive during this period . The Soviet Union first participated in 1954 and soon became rivals with Canada . From 1963 until the nation ' s breakup in 1991 , the Soviet Union was the dominant team , winning 20 championships . During that period , only three other nations won medals : Canada , Czechoslovakia and Sweden . Russia first participated in 1992 and the Czech Republic and Slovakia started competing in 1993 . In the 2000s , the competition became more open as the " big seven " teams – Sweden , Canada , the Czech Republic , Russia , Finland , the United States and Slovakia - became more evenly matched . The 2010 World Championship was held in Cologne , Mannheim and Gelsenkirchen , Germany . In the final , the Czech Republic upset two - time defending champions Russia to win their sixth championship . Background . The International Ice Hockey Federation ( IIHF ) , the sport ' s governing body , was created on 15 May 1908 under the name Ligue Internationale de Hockey sur Glace ( LHG ) . In 1908 , organised ice hockey was still relatively new ; the first organised indoor ice hockey game took place on 3 March 1875 at Montreal ' s Victoria Skating Rink . In 1887 , four clubs from Montreal formed the Amateur Hockey Association of Canada ( AHAC ) and developed a structured schedule . Lord Stanley donated the Stanley Cup and the trustees decided to award it to either the best team in the AHAC , or to any pre - approved team that won it in a challenge . the Eastern Canada Amateur Hockey Association ( ECAHA ) was formed in 1905 , which mixed paid and amateur players in its rosters . The ECAHA eventually folded and as a result of the dissolution , the National Hockey Association ( NHA ) formed . The Ice Hockey European Championships , first held in Les Avants , Switzerland in January 1910 , were the precursor to the World Championships . It was the first official tournament meant for national teams , the participating nations were Great Britain , Germany , Belgium and Switzerland . In North America , professional hockey was continuing to grow , the National Hockey League ( NHL ) , the largest professional hockey league in the world , was formed in 1917 . The European Championships were held for five consecutive years but were not held between 1915 and 1920 due to World War I . History . 1920 – 1928 : Olympic Games . The IIHF considers the ice hockey tournament held at the 1920 Summer Olympics to be the first Ice Hockey World Championship . It was organized by a committee that included future IIHF president Paul Loicq . The tournament was played from 23 April to 29 April . Seven teams participated : Canada , Czechoslovakia , the United States , Switzerland , Sweden , France and Belgium . Canada , represented by the Winnipeg Falcons , won the gold medal , outscoring opponents 27 – 1 . The United States and Czechoslovakia won the silver and bronze medals respectively . Following the 1921 Olympic Congress in Lausanne , the first Winter Olympics were held in 1924 in Chamonix , France , though they were only officially recognized by the International Olympic Committee ( IOC ) as such in the following year . Subsequently , the Olympics and World Championships occurred concurrently , and every Olympic tournament until 1968 is counted as the World Championship . Canada won the gold medal at both the 1924 and 1928 Winter Olympics . In 1928 , the Swedish and Swiss teams won their first medals – silver and bronze , respectively – and a German team participated for the first time , finishing ninth . 1930 – 1953 : Canadian dominance . The first World Championship that was held as an individual event was in 1930 . It was held in Chamonix , France ; Vienna , Austria ; and Berlin , Germany . Canada , represented by the Toronto CCMs , defeated Germany in the gold medal game , and Switzerland won the bronze . Canada , represented by the Manitoba Grads , won the following year , and the Winnipeg Winnipegs won Gold for Canada at the 1932 Winter Olympics . At the 1933 World Championships in Prague , Czechoslovakia , the United States won the gold medal , becoming the first non - Canadian team to win the competition . As of 2009 , it is the only gold medal the United States has won at a non - Olympic tournament . Two days before the 1936 Winter Olympics in Germany , Canadian officials protested that two players on the British team — James Foster and Alex Archer — had played in Canada but transferred without permission to play for clubs in the English National League . The IIHF agreed with Canada , but Britain threatened to withdraw if the two could not compete . Canada withdrew the protest before the games started . Britain became the first non - Canadian team to win Olympic gold , with Germany taking bronze . Canada won the remainder of the World Championship tournaments held in the 1930s . The 1939 World Championships marked the first time that a team from Finland competed in the tournament . World War II forced the cancellation of the 1940 and 1944 Winter Olympics and the World Championships from 1941 to 1946 . Following World War II , Czechoslovakia ' s team was quickly improving . They won the 1947 World Championships , although a Canadian team had not participated in the event . In 1949 , they became the third nation to win a World Championship tournament that Canada participated in . During the run - up to the 1948 Winter Olympics in St . Moritz , Switzerland , a conflict broke out between the two American hockey bodies : the American Hockey Association ( AHA ) and th Amateur Athletic Union ( AAU ) . The AAU refused to support the AHA ' s team because they believed that AHA players were " openly paid salaries " and at the time , the Olympics were strictly for amateur players . A compromise was reached that the AHA team would be allowed to compete but would be considered unofficial and unable to win a medal . By the end of the tournament , the AHA team finished fourth in the standings but was disqualified . Both Czechoslovakia and the RCAF Flyers of Canada won seven games and tied when they played each other . The gold medal winner was determined by goal difference : Canada won the gold because they had an average of 13 . 8 compared to Czechoslovakia ' s average of 4 . 3 . At the 1952 Winter Olympics in Oslo , Norway , the Edmonton Mercurys won Canada ' s second consecutive Olympic gold medal . It was the last time that a Canadian team would win an Olympic gold medal in hockey for 50 years . The 1953 tournament featured only three teams that played all of their games : Sweden , West Germany , Switzerland . Sweden finished the tournament undefeated and won their first World Championship . 1954 – 1962 : Canada - Soviet Union rivalry . The 1954 World Championships has been described by the IIHF as " the start of the modern era of international hockey . " It was the first year to feature the participation of the Soviet Union . The Soviet Union had only started playing ice hockey in 1946 , having previously focused on bandy . Led by coach Arkady Chernyshev and consisting of the top players in the nation , the Soviets finished their first six games undefeated . Canada , represented by the East York Lyndhursts , was also undefeated and , in the final game of the tournament , the two teams met for the first time in international competition . The Soviet Union won the game 7 – 2 , becoming the fifth team to win a World Championship tournament . The 1955 World Championship was held in West Germany , and the two teams again met in the final game of the tournament . The game was so high profile in Canada that announcer Foster Hewitt flew to Germany to provide play - by - play coverage . Both teams were undefeated and Canada , represented by the Penticton Vees , defeated the Soviets 5 – 0 to reclaim the World Championship . At the 1956 Winter Olympics in Cortina d ' Ampezzo , Italy , Canada ' s Kitchener - Waterloo Dutchmen lost to both the Soviets and the United States in the medal round and won the bronze . The Soviets went undefeated and won their first Olympic ice hockey gold medal . It would be seven years until the Soviet Union won another World Championship . The final game at the 1957 World Championships in Moscow was played at the Luzhniki Stadium . It was attended by at least 50 , 000 people , a tournament record until 2010 . ] ] The 1957 World Championships were held in Moscow . Canada and the United States did not participate in protest of the Soviet occupation of Hungary . Most of the games were held in the Luzhniki Sports Palace , but the Soviet officials decided to hold the final game in a nearby outdoor soccer stadium . The game was attended by at least 55 , 000 people , which stood as a World Championship attendance record until 2010 . In the final game , Sweden tied the Soviet Union to finish with six wins and one tie ( the Soviet Union had five wins and two ties ) and won the gold medal . Canada returned to the World Championship in 1958 and won two consecutive titles , with the Soviets winning silver both times . At the 1960 Winter Olympics in Squaw Valley , California , Canada , the Soviet Union , Czechoslovakia and Sweden were the top four teams heading into the Games . All four were defeated by the American team , which won all seven games en route to its first Olympic gold medal . In 1961 , Czechoslovakia defeated the Soviet Union and tied Canada to make it a three - way race for gold . In the final game , Canada defeated the Soviets 5 – 1 to win their nineteenth gold medal . The Trail Smoke Eaters became the final club team to represent Canada . The following year , Canada implemented a national team program , led by Father David Bauer . Canada would not win another world championship gold until 1994 . In 1962 , the World Championships were held in North America for the first time . The tournament was held in Denver , United States , and was boycotted by the Soviet and Czechoslovak teams . Sweden defeated Canada for the first time in the history of the competition and won their third gold medal . 1963 – 1976 : Soviet dominance . At the 1963 World Championships in Stockholm , the Soviet Union won the gold medal , beginning a streak of nine consecutive World Championship golds . The 1964 Winter Olympics in Innsbruck , Austria marked the first time that Canada failed to win an Olympic medal in hockey . The Soviet Union won all seven of their games and the gold medal , but Canada finished the tournament with five wins and two losses , putting them in a three - way tie for second place with Sweden and Czechoslovakia . Prior to 1964 , the tie - breaking procedure was based on goal difference from games against teams in the medal round and under that system , Canada would have placed third ahead of the Czechoslovaks . The procedure had been changed to count all games and that meant the Canadians finished fourth . However , the Olympics also counted as the World Championships , and under IIHF rules , Canada should have won a bronze . In April 2005 , the IIHF admitted that a mistake had occurred and announced that they had reviewed the decision and would award the 1964 Canadian team a World Championship bronze medal . However , two months later , the IIHF over - turned their decision and rejected an appeal in September . The Soviets dominated the remainder of the decade . Following 1963 , the team went undefeated in Olympic and World Championship competition for four years . Their streak was broken by Czechoslovakia at the 1968 Winter Olympics . Despite the loss , the Soviets still won gold . It was the last time that the Olympics were also counted as the World Championships . In 1969 , the Soviet Union and Czechoslovakia played " the most emotionally charged games in the history of international hockey . " The rights to host the tournament had originally been awarded to Czechoslovakia but they were forced to decline the rights following the Soviet - led Warsaw Pact invasion of the nation in August 1968 . The tournament was held in Stockholm , Sweden , and with these international tensions , the Czechoslovak team was determined to defeat the Soviets . They won both of their games 2 – 0 and 4 – 3 but despite these wins , the Czechs lost both of their games to Sweden and won bronze . With European teams constantly improving , the Canadian Amateur Hockey Association ( CAHA ) felt their amateur players could no longer be competitive and pushed for the ability to use players from professional leagues . At the IIHF Congress in 1969 , the IIHF voted to allow Canada to use nine non - NHL professional players at the 1970 World Championships . The rights to host the tournament were awarded to Canada for the first time – in Montreal and Winnipeg . However , the decision to allow the use of professionals was reversed in January 1970 . IOC president Avery Brundage was opposed to the idea of amateur and professional players competing together and said that ice hockey ' s status as an Olympic sport would be in jeopardy if the change was made . In response , Canada withdrew from International ice hockey competition . Canada ' s ice hockey team did not participate in the 1972 and 1976 Winter Olympics . Canada also waived their rights to host the 1970 World Championship , so it was held in Stockholm , Sweden instead . Led by goaltender Vladislav Tretiak and forwards Valeri Kharlamov , Alexander Yakushev , Vladimir Petrov and Boris Mikhailov , the Soviet Union won gold at the 1970 and 1971 World Championships and the 1972 Winter Olympics . 1972 marked the first time that both the Olympics and World Championships were held in the same year as separate events . At the World Championships in Prague , the Czechoslovak team ended the Soviet team ' s streak and won their first gold since 1949 . The Soviet team quickly returned to their winning ways , winning 1973 and 1974 World Championships . However , during the latter tournament , the Czechoslovak team defeated the Soviets 7 – 2 . It was one of the biggest margins the Soviet team had ever lost by in an official game . The 1976 World Championships were held in Katowice , Poland . On the opening day of the tournament , Poland defeated the Soviet Union 6 – 4 thanks to a hat - trick from forward Wieslaw Jobczyk and the goaltending of Andrzej Tkacz . It was one of the biggest upsets in international hockey history ; two months earlier at the 1976 Winter Olympics , Poland had lost 16 – 1 to the Soviets . The Soviets lost two more games and won the silver , and Czechoslovakia won gold . Poland finished seventh and was relegated to Pool B , the division in which teams play for ranking purposes and not the championship ( now known as Division I ) . 1976 – 1987 : First years of open competition and continued Soviet dominance . Günther Sabetzki became president of the IIHF in 1975 and helped to resolve the dispute with the CAHA . The IIHF agreed to allow " open competition " between all players in the World Championships , and moved the competition to later in the season so players not involved in the NHL playoffs could participate . However , NHL players were still not allowed to play in the Olympics , because of both the unwillingness of the NHL to take a break mid - season and the IOC ' s strict amateur - only policy . The IIHF also agreed to endorse the Canada Cup , a competition meant to bring together the best players from the top hockey - playing countries . The 1976 World Ice Hockey Championships in Katowice were the first to feature professionals although in the end only the United States made use of the new rule , recalling eight pros from the Minnesota North Stars and Minnesota Fighting Saints . The first fully open World Championship was held in 1977 in Vienna , Austria , and saw the first participation of active Canadian NHL players , including two - time NHL MVP Phil Esposito . Sweden and Finland also augmented their rosters with a few NHL and WHA players . Many of the players on the Canadian team were not prepared for the tournament and were unfamiliar with the international game . The team finished fourth , losing both games to the Soviet Union by a combined score of 19 – 2 . Czechoslovakia won gold , becoming the third team ( after Canada and the Soviet Union ) to win consecutive championships . With NHL players participating in the tournament , IIHF officials began to fear that true amateurs and young players were losing their places . As a result , full world championship status was given to the IIHF World Under - 20 Championship , which had been held annually since 1974 as an unofficial invitational tournament . Colloquially known as the World Junior Hockey Championship , the event was structured after the World Championships , but limited to players under the age of 20 . The World Under - 18 Championship was established in 1999 and typically held in April . It usually does not involve the top North American players because they are involved in University or junior league playoffs at the time . Starting in 1978 , the Soviet team won five consecutive World Championships , and had an unbeaten streak that lasted from 1981 through the 1984 Winter Olympics and until 1985 . During that period , Canada remained competitive , winning three bronze medals . World Championship tournaments were not held in 1980 , 1984 or 1988 – the Olympic years . The 1987 World Championships in Vienna were over - shadowed by several controversies . At the beginning of the tournament , the roster of the West German team included Miroslav Sikora , a Polish - German forward who had previously played for Poland at the 1977 World Under - 20 Championship . Sikora became a naturalized citizen of West Germany and played in the first three games , scoring a goal in a 3 – 1 win over Finland . Following the game , Finland launched a protest , demanding that the result be over - turned because the Germans had used an ineligible player . At the time , IIHF rules did allow players to switch nationalities under any circumstances and the IIHF agreed to overturn the result and award the two points to Finland . This angered German officials , who filed a protest in an Austrian court . The court agreed with the Germans , overturning the IIHF decision and allowing them to keep their points . The result affected the final standings because had the IIHF ' s decision stood , Finland would have advanced to the medal round instead of Sweden . However , the Finns finished out of the medal round , and Sweden won their first gold medal since 1962 . The tournament format also became controversial because the Soviet Union finished undefeated but the Swedish team , which had lost three games in the preliminary round , won because of an inflated 9 - 0 win over Canada . 1989 – 1992 : Fall of the Iron Curtain and more Soviet dominance . Before 1989 , players that lived in the Soviet Union , Czechoslovakia , and other nations behind the Iron Curtain were not allowed to leave and play in the NHL . In March 1989 , Sergei Pryakhin became the first member of the Soviet national team who was permitted to play for a non - Soviet team . Several Soviet players , including Igor Larionov and Viacheslav Fetisov , wanted to leave and play in the NHL . Soviet officials agreed to allow players to leave if they played one final tournament with the national team . Players agreed to this , and the Soviet Union won its 21st World Championship . Shortly after , Soviet players began to flood into the NHL . Many of the Soviet Union ' s top players left , including the entire " Green Unit " – Larionov , Fetisov , Vladimir Krutov , Sergei Makarov and Alexei Kasatonov . The following year , the Soviet team was in disarray but still managed to win the 1990 World Championships . It was the final championship the Soviet team would win . In 1991 , Swedish forward Mats Sundin – the first European player to be drafted first overall in the NHL – led his team to the gold medal . The Soviets won bronze – the last medal the team would ever win . The Soviet Union dissolved in December 1991 . Nine former soviet states became part of the IIHF and started competing in international competitions , including Belarus , Kazakhstan , Latvia and Ukraine . Russia was named the successor to the Soviet Union . With this flood of new teams , the IIHF expanded the number of spots from eight to twelve . From 1963 to 1991 , only four teams won a World Championship medal : the Soviet Union , Czechoslovakia ( failing to win a medal only three times ) , Sweden and Canada . The Soviets won a medal in every tournament they participated in ( 1954 to 1991 ) . At the 1992 World Championships , Sweden won their second consecutive gold . Finland won the silver medal , the nation ' s first ever World Championship medal ( the Finnish team had previously won a silver at the 1988 Winter Olympics ) . 1993 – present . Czechoslovakia split into the Czech Republic and Slovakia in January 1993 . The IIHF recognized the Czech Republic ' s team as the successor to Czechoslovakia and it retained its position in the top division . Slovakia ' s team started in the lowest division ( Pool C ) in 1994 and was forced to work its way up . Following this , the next decade was dominated by the so - called " big six " – Canada , the Czech Republic , Finland , Russia , Sweden and the United States . From 1992 to 1996 , five different teams won the World Championship . At the 1993 World Championships , Russia won its first title as an independent nation and the Czech Republic won its first medal ( bronze ) . In 1994 , the Canadian team finished the preliminary round undefeated and defeated Finland in the final to win their first World Championship since 1961 . The following year in Sweden , the Finnish team won its first ever World Championship . Led by their top line of Saku Koivu , Ville Peltonen and Jere Lehtinen , the Finns defeated rival Sweden in the gold medal game . At the 1995 Pool B championships , Slovakia , led by Peter Šťastný won Pool B and was promoted to the top division , where it has remained ever since . In 1996 , the Czech Republic won its first World Championship as an independent nation . During this period , the United States was the only one of the " big six " not to win the World Championship , although they did win the 1996 World Cup of Hockey . In the mid 1990s , several new teams such as Latvia , Belarus and Ukraine were quickly improving and older nations such as Austria , Italy and Switzerland were at risk of being relegated to Pool B . The IIHF feared that it would lose advertising revenue if that happened , so the number of teams was increased to 16 starting in 1998 . From 1996 to 2001 , the Czech Republic won six consecutive World Championship medals , including World Championship gold from 1999 to 2001 , as well as gold at the 1998 Winter Olympics . In 2002 , the Czechs were favoured to win , but were upset in the quarter final by Russia . In the gold medal game between Russia and Slovakia , Slovakian Peter Bondra scored in the final two minutes of the game and the nation won its first ever World Championship . At the 2003 World Championships , Sweden made one of the biggest comebacks in tournament history , rallying from a 5 – 1 deficit in their quarterfinal game against Finland to win 6 – 5 . The gold medal game between Canada and Sweden went into overtime . Canada ' s Anson Carter scored the winning goal 13 minutes into play , but the goal had to be reviewed for ten minutes to determine if the puck had crossed the line . In a rematch between the two nations the following year , Canada won and repeated as champions . The 2004 – 05 NHL season was locked out , and eventually cancelled , because of a labour dispute between the league and the players . The 2005 World Championships , which featured more top players than normal , was won by the Czech Republic . At the 2006 Winter Olympics , Sweden won the gold medal over Finland . Three months later , Sweden defeated the Czech Republic and won the 2006 World Championships . They became the first team to win Olympic and World Championship gold in the same year . At the 2007 World Championship in Moscow , Canada defeated Finland to win the gold medal . The following year , the tournament was held in Canada for the first time . Russia defeated the home team to win their first gold medal since 1993 . The Russian team successfully defended their title with a 2 - 1 win over Canada in 2009 . In 2009 , NHL Players ' Association director Paul Kelly suggested that the World Championships be held every other year and that the NHL go on break to allow full player participation . IIHF president René Fasel responded that the tournament has television contracts and hosting commitments and that a large change would be difficult to put in place . The 2010 tournament took place in Germany . The first game , between Germany and the United States , was played at Veltins - Arena in Gelsenkirchen and was attended by 77 , 803 people , setting a new record for the most attended game in hockey history . The tournament was noted for having several surprising preliminary round results , including : Switzerland beating Canada for the first time in World Championship play ; Norway defeating eventual champions the Czech Republic ; and Denmark upsetting Finland and the United States en route to their first ever quarterfinal appearance . The German team , which had finished 15th in 2009 and only avoided relegation to Division I because they were set to host the 2010 tournament , advanced to the semi - finals for the first time since the new playoff format was adapted . They finished fourth , losing to Sweden in the bronze medal game . In the gold medal game , the Czech Republic upset the Russian team , winning gold and ending the defending champions ' 27 game winning streak . Tournament structure . The first World Championship to be held as an individual event was in 1930 . Twelve different nations participated . Canada ' s team was given a bye to the gold medal game , and the rest of the nations played an elimination tournament to determine which nation would also play for the gold . In 1931 , the World Championships switched to a similar format to what was used at the Olympics . Ten teams played series of round - robin format qualifying rounds were played to determine which nations participated in the medal round . Medals were awarded based on the final standings of the teams in the medal round . The format was changed several times in the 1930s , in some years there was a gold medal game , while in others the gold medal was awarded based on points . In 1937 , the tournament format was again switched to being similar to the version used at the Olympics . A preliminary round involving 11 teams was played , then the top four advanced to the medal round and medals were awarded based on points ; no gold medal game was played . A gold medal game was played in 1938 ; it was the last gold medal game played in the World Championships until 1992 . In 1951 , thirteen nations took part and were split into two groups . The top seven teams ( Pool A ) played for the World Championship . The other six ( Pool B ) played for ranking purposes . Generally eight teams played in the top - level Championship , although the number varied over the years , going as low as three ( in 1953 ) and as high as twelve ( in 1959 ) . The same format was used until 1992 . The format was criticized because often the gold medal winner was decided before the final game was played , such as at the 1988 Winter Olympics . During a congress in 1990 , the IIHF introduced a playoff system . As the IIHF grew , more teams began to participate at the World Championships , so more pools were introduced . Pool C games were first played in 1961 and Pool D was introduced in 1987 . In 2001 , the pools were renamed : Pool B became Division I , Pool C became Division II and Pool D became Division III . The modern format for the World Championship features a minimum of 40 teams : 16 teams in the main championship group , 12 teams in Division I and 12 teams in Division II . If there are more than 40 teams , the rest compete in Division III . The main group features 16 teams . The 16 teams are split into four groups ( Groups A through D ) based on their world ranking . The ranking is based on the standings of the last Winter Olympics and the last four World Championships . The results of more recent tournaments have a higher weight in the ranking . The last World Championship has 100 % value , the tournament before 75 % and so on . The Olympic tournament has the same value as the World Championship the same year . The teams play each other in a round robin format preliminary round , and the top 3 teams in each group advance into the qualifying round . The qualifying round is another round of group play with two groups of six . In the qualifying round , teams maintain their results from the preliminary round against other teams who have also advanced and only play against teams which they have not previously played against . The top four teams in each qualifying round group advance into the knockout playoff stage . In the quarterfinals , the first place team from one group plays the fourth place team from the other group , and the second place team from one group plays the third place team from the other group . The winners advance to the semi - finals . The winners of the semi - finals advance to the Gold medal game , and the losers advance to the Bronze medal game . The bottom four teams in the preliminary round play in another group as well ; this group will determine relegation . After a round - robin format , the bottom two teams are usually relegated to play in Division I the following year . Division I is split into two groups of six , both groups play in round robin tournaments independent of each other and the championship division . The top team from both divisions is promoted to the championship , while the bottom team is relegated to Division II . Division II works similarly to Division I , with two six - team groups where each last place team is relegated to the Division III group . There is no relegation from Division III . Between 1998 and 2004 , the IIHF held a " Far East " qualifying tournament for Asian teams with an automatic berth in the championship division on the line . Japan always won this tournament , but finished last at every World Championship except in 2004 , when they finished 15th . The IIHF discontinued the qualifying tournament following the 2004 tournament , and Japan was relegated to compete in Division I . Rules . Game rules . At the first tournament in 1920 , there were many differences from the modern game : games were played outdoors on natural ice , forward passes were not allowed , the rink was 56x18 metres ( the current International standard is 61x30 metres ) and two twenty minute periods were played . Each side had seven players on the ice , the extra position being the rover . Following the tournament , the IIHF held a congress and decided to adopt the " Canadian rules " – six men per side and three periods of play . At an IIHF congress in 1969 , officials voted to allow body - checking in all three zones in a rink similar to the NHL . Prior to that , body - checking was only allowed in the defending zone in international hockey . The IIHF later described the rule change as " arguably the most substantial and dramatic rule changes in the history of international hockey " because it allowed for a more aggressive game . The rule , which was first applied at the 1970 World Championships , was controversial : IIHF president Bunny Ahearne feared it would make ice hockey " a sport for goons . " Several other rule changes were implemented in the early 1970s : players were required to wear helmet s starting in 1970 and goaltender mask s became mandatory in 1972 . In 1992 , the IIHF switched to using a playoff system to determine medalists and decided that tie games in the medal round would be decided in a shootout . The IIHF decided to test a new rule in 1997 that would allow two - line passes . Prior to that , the neutral zone trap had slowed the game down and reduced scoring . At the 1997 World Championships , teams were allowed to decide if they wanted to test the rule . Although no team accepted the offer , the rule was adopted . The IIHF described it as " the most revolutionary rule change since allowing body - checking in all three zones in 1969 . [ . . . ] The new rule almost immediately changed the game for the better . The 1999 IIHF World Championship in Norway was a stark contrast to the finals the year before with many more goals scored and with end - to - end action – not defence – dominating play . " The current IIHF rules differ slightly from the rules used in the NHL . One difference between NHL and IIHF rules is rink dimensions : the NHL rink is narrower , measuring 61x26 metres ( 200x85 feet ) , instead of the international size of 61x30 metres ( 200x98 . 5 feet ) . Another rule difference between the NHL and the IIHF rules concerns how icings are called . In the NHL , a linesman stops play due to icing if a defending player ( other than the goaltender ) touches the puck before an attacking player is able to , in contrast to the IIHF rules where play is stopped the moment the puck crosses the goal line . The NHL and IIHF differ also in penalty rules . The NHL , in addition to the minor and double minor penalties called in IIHF games , calls major penalties which are more dangerous infractions of the rules , such as fighting , and have a duration of five minutes . This is in contrast to the IIHF rule , in which players who fight are ejected from the game . Beginning with the 2005 – 06 season , the NHL instituted several new rules . Some of them were already used by the IIHF , such as the shootout and making the two - line pass legal . Others which were not picked up by the IIHF , such as requiring smaller goaltender equipment and the addition of the goaltender trapezoid to the rink . However , the IIHF did agree to follow the NHL ' s league ' s zero - tolerance policy on obstruction and required referees to call more hooking , holding and interference penalties . In 2006 , the IIHF voted to eliminate tie games and institute a three point system : wins in regulation time would be worth three points , overtime wins would be two points and over - time losses would be worth one point . The system was first used at the 2007 World Championships . Player eligibility . The World Championships have been open to all players , both professional and amateur , since 1977 . The IIHF lists the following requirements for a player to be eligible to play : If a player who has never played in an IIHF competition changes their citizenship , they must participate in national competitions in their new country for at least two consecutive years and have an international transfer card ( ITC ) . If a player who has previously played in an IIHF tournament wishes to change their national team , they must have played in their new country for four years . A player can only do this once . Divisions . As of 2009 , the IIHF World Championships are split up into four different divisions . This is the alignment of the divisions , accurate as of the 2009 IIHF World Ranking . Teams that are not ranked are not included here , for a full list of IIHF members , see List of members of the International Ice Hockey Federation . Keys : Championship . The Championship division comprises the top sixteen hockey nations in the world . The 74th championship was held between 7 and 23 May 2010 in Cologne , Mannheim and Gelsenkirchen , Germany . An IIHF rule is that the host of the next tournament cannot be relegated , which is in place to help make a tournament more successful . A . The IIHF recognizes Bohemia , which joined in 1908 , and Czechoslovakia as the predecessors to the Czech Republic , which officially became a member in 1993 . < br > B . The IIHF recognizes the Soviet Union , which joined in 1952 , as the predecessor to Russia , which officially became a member in 1992 . Division I . Twelve teams compose Division I . They are broken into two groups , with the winner of each group gaining promotion to the World Championship pool for the following year . The tournament was held 15 – 21 April 2012 . Group A games were played in Ljubljana , Slovenia , and Group B games were in Krynica Zdrój , Poland . Division II . Division II comprises twelve teams . They are also broken into two groups competing to advance into Division I . Group A games were held in Reykjavik , Iceland , 12 - 18 April 2012 and Group B games were held in Sofia , Bulgaria , 2 - 8 April 2012 . C . The IIHF recognizes Yugoslavia , which joined in 1939 , as the predecessor to Serbia , which officially became a member in 2007 . Division III . Division III is made up of two groups of four teams . The top two in each year ' s tournament are promoted to Division II . The most recent Division III tournament was held in Erzurum , Turkey 15 – 21 April 2012 . Directorate Awards . Since 1954 , the IIHF has given awards for play during the World Championship tournament . Voted on by the tournament directorate , the first awards recognised the top goaltender , forward and defenceman . In 1999 , an award for the most valuable player was added . There is also an all - star team voted on by members of the media . In 2004 , Canadian Dany Heatley became the first player to lead in scoring , win the MVP award , win the best forward award and be named to the all - star team in the same year . He repeated the feat in 2008 .