Ice hockey at the 2026 Winter Olympics – Men's qualification explained

Qualification for the men's ice hockey tournament at the 2026 Winter Olympics was determined by the IIHF World Ranking following the 2023 Men's Ice Hockey World Championships. A total of 12 men's hockey teams will qualify.[1] The hosts (Italy) along with the top eight teams in the world ranking receive automatic berths into the Olympics, while all other teams have an opportunity to qualify for the remaining three spots.[2] [3]

Qualified teams

EventDateLocationVacanciesQualified
Hosts1
2023 IIHF World Ranking2 June 20238






Final qualification tournaments29 August – 1 September 2024 Bratislava1
Riga1
Aalborg1
Total 12
Notes

Qualification seeding

To qualify directly, a nation had to be ranked in the top eight following the 2023 Men's Ice Hockey World Championships. In the IIHF World Ranking system, ranking points from the most recent year are weighted at full value, and points from each preceding year are worth 25% less.

    Qualified directly to Olympic tournament
    Entered in Final Olympic qualification
    Entered in Round 3
    Entered in Round 2
    Entered in Round 1 (cancelled)
    Did not enter Olympic qualification
Qualifying seedwidth=100TeamWC2023
(100%)		WC2022
(75%)		OLY2022
(75%)		WC2021
(50%)		WC2020
(25%)		Total
1160011601040120012004150
2142012001200116011204080
3152011201160106011604050
4150011001060112010403940
515601020940110010203835
614401040110096011003800
7146010601000104010003775
814001120960102010603735
913601000112010009603690
1015209409209209403610
11134096010209009003500
1212808808808809203270
1313009008608408003240
1412608608408408803175
1513208607009408403170
1612609208007807803135
1712208008207407402990
Host11608407408208602970
1812407807807207202950
1912008206608608202945
2011407407207607602805
2111807007607006602790
2211207206406607002645
2311007606006806802630
2410806806806406402580
2510406009005004802535
2610606606206006002470
2710206405806206202400
2810005805605805602285
299806205005605802245
309205605405405402170
319605405205205002140
8805204204604601950
328604804804404201925
900560—4805201710
338004203803403401655
347404003604003601600
357603404603003001585
368403603202002201505
820440—4204401470
377203004402402401455
780440—3604001390
6402803002802601280
386602203401401601190
700320—2602801140
396001604001001001095
405602202801801801070
415802002601601401040
42680240—2202001020
4344080240120120770
540120—40—650
500100—8080635
440460—380380630
45520140———625
480100—6060600
360—320320510
460————460
420————420

Olympic qualification Round 1

The round was cancelled. It was meant to be held between 8 and 12 November 2023, and consist of two groups of five teams. Teams entered in Group N were United Arab Emirates, Kyrgyzstan, Hong Kong, Kuwait and Georgia, while teams entered in Group O were Chinese Taipei, Thailand, Bosnia and Herzegovina, South Africa and Iran.[3]

Chinese Taipei, Thailand and South Africa accepted invitations to compete in Round 2. Georgia also entered Round 2 after the withdrawal of Mexico.

Olympic qualification Round 2

Twelve countries played in three tournaments to determine qualifiers for the next round. The three tournament winners were ranked by their qualification seedings and entered the next round as qualifier seven, eight and nine.

Group K

Tourney Name:Group K
Country:Iceland
City:Reykjavík
Size:x240px
Dates:14–17 December
Num Teams:4
Venues:1
Cities:1
Games:6
Goals:59
Points:15
Website:IIHF

The Group K tournament was held in Reykjavík, Iceland, from 14 to 17 December 2023.[4] [5]

All times are local (UTC±0).

--------

Group L

Tourney Name:Group L
Country:Netherlands
City:Tilburg
Size:x240px
Dates:15–17 December
Num Teams:4
Venues:1
Cities:1
Games:6
Goals:74
Points:13
Website:IIHF

The Group L tournament was held in Tilburg, Netherlands, from 15 to 17 December 2023.[6] [7] Mexico was entered into this group but withdrew and was replaced by Georgia.[3]

All times are local (UTC+1).

--------

Group M

Tourney Name:Group M
Country:Serbia
City:Belgrade
Size:x240px
Dates:14–17 December
Num Teams:4
Venues:1
Cities:1
Games:6
Goals:34
Points:6
Website:IIHF

The Group M tournament was held in Belgrade, Serbia, from 14 to 17 December 2023.[8] [9]

All times are local (UTC+1).

--------

Olympic qualification Round 3

Twelve countries played in three tournaments to determine qualifiers for the next round. Each tournament winner was ranked by their qualification seeding and entered the next round as qualifier four, five, or six. The tournaments were played between 8 and 11 February 2024.

Group G

Tourney Name:Group M
Country:Hungary
City:Budapest
Size:x240px
Dates:8–10 February
Num Teams:4
Venues:1
Cities:1
Games:6
Goals:42
Points:6
Website:IIHF

The tournament was held in Budapest, Hungary.

All times are local (UTC+1).

--------

Group H

Tourney Name:Group H
Country:Great Britain
City:Cardiff
Size:x240px
Dates:8–11 February
Num Teams:4
Venues:1
Cities:1
Games:6
Goals:56
Scoring Leader: Liam Kirk
Points:10
Website:IIHF

The tournament was held in Cardiff, Great Britain.

All times are local (UTC+0).

--------

Group J

Tourney Name:Group J
Country:Poland
City:Sosnowiec
Size:x240px
Dates:8–11 February
Num Teams:4
Venues:1
Cities:1
Games:6
Goals:32
Points:4
Website:IIHF

The tournament was held in Sosnowiec, Poland.

All times are local (UTC+1).

--------

Final Olympic qualification

Twelve countries will play in three tournaments to determine the qualifying teams for the Olympic tournament. The tournaments will be played between 29 August and 1 September 2024. On February 12, 2024, the IIHF announced that Belarus was disqualified from Olympic qualification forcing the redrawing of the final round and admitting the best second place finisher from the previous round, Hungary.[10] [11]

Group D

Tourney Name:Group D
Country:Slovakia
City:Bratislava
Size:x240px
Dates:29 August –
1 September 2024
Num Teams:4
Venues:1
Cities:1
Website:IIHF

The tournament will be held in Bratislava, Slovakia.

All times are local (UTC+2).

--------

Group E

Tourney Name:Group E
Country:Latvia
City:Riga
Size:x240px
Dates:29 August –
1 September 2024
Num Teams:4
Venues:1
Cities:1
Website:IIHF

The tournament will be held in Riga, Latvia.

All times are local (UTC+2).

--------

Group F

Tourney Name:Group F
Country:Denmark
City:Aalborg
Size:x240px
Dates:29 August –
1 September 2024
Num Teams:4
Venues:1
Cities:1
Website:IIHF

The tournament will be held in Aalborg, Denmark.

All times are local (UTC+1).

--------

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Qualification System - XXV Olympic Winter Games - Milano Cortina 2026 International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) Ice Hockey. 29 March 2023. www.olympics.com/. IIHF. 11 August 2024.
  2. News: 2026 Olympic men’s qualifiers set. IIHF. 31 October 2023. 31 October 2023.
  3. Web site: 2026 MEN’S OLYMPIC WINTER GAMES & QUALIFICATION TOURNAMENT PROGRAM. blob.iihf.com. 2023-10-31. https://web.archive.org/web/20231031133918/https://blob.iihf.com/iihf-media/iihfmvc/media/2023/owgq/2026_owg_men_qualification_hosting_231023.pdf. 2023-10-31. dead. 2023-11-01.
  4. Web site: IIHF - Home 2024 MEN’S OLYMPIC ICE HOCKEY QUALIFICATION ROUND 2, Group K. IIHF International Ice Hockey Federation.
  5. Web site: 2024 Men’s Olympic Ice Hockey Qualification Round 2 Group K. stats.iihf.com.
  6. Web site: IIHF - Home 2024 MEN’S OLYMPIC ICE HOCKEY QUALIFICATION ROUND 2, Group L. IIHF International Ice Hockey Federation.
  7. Web site: 2024 Men’s Olympic Ice Hockey Qualification Round 2 Group L. stats.iihf.com.
  8. Web site: IIHF - Home 2024 MEN’S OLYMPIC ICE HOCKEY QUALIFICATION ROUND 2, Group M. IIHF International Ice Hockey Federation.
  9. Web site: 2024 Men’s Olympic Ice Hockey Qualification Round 2 Group M. stats.iihf.com.
  10. Web site: IIHF upholds ban on Russia, Belarus for 2024-25 season. tsn.ca. 12 February 2024. 12 February 2024.
  11. Web site: Big change in Olympic qualification! Slovakia will have new opponents, a big derby awaits us (in Slovak). Šport.sk. 12 February 2024. 12 February 2024.

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