List of IIHF World Championship medalists explained

The Ice Hockey World Championships is an annual event held by the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF). It was preceded by the European Championship which was held from 1910 to 1932. The first World Championship tournament was decided at the 1920 Summer Olympics. Subsequently, ice hockey was featured at the Winter Olympic Games, where the World Championship was decided when the two events occurred concurrently, until the 1968 Winter Olympics. The first three championships were contested at the Olympics, while the first World Championships that were an individual event were held in 1930.

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. From the 1920 Olympics until the 1976 World Championships, only athletes designated as "amateur" were allowed to compete in the tournament. Because of this, players from the National Hockey League and its senior minor-league teams were not allowed to compete, while the Soviet Union was allowed to use permanent full-time players who were positioned as regular workers of an aircraft industry or tractor industry employer that sponsored what would be presented as an after-hours amateur social sports society team for their workers. In 1970, after an agreement to allow just a small number of its professionals to participate was rescinded by the IIHF, Canada withdrew from the tournament. Starting in 1977, professional athletes were allowed to compete in the tournament and Canada re-entered, using some NHL players from those teams that were not good enough to reach the Stanley Cup playoffs.[1]

As of 2024, 87 tournaments have been staged. From 1920 to 1930, the Winter Olympic Games Ice Hockey Tournaments held counted as the World Championships and no tournaments in between were held. No championships were held from 1940 to 1946 due to World War II, nor during the Olympic years 1980, 1984 and 1988, nor in 2020 due to COVID-19 pandemic.[2] Ten national teams have won a gold medal at the World Championships, five more national teams have won medals. Canada has won 53 medals overall and 28 gold, the most of any nation. The Soviet Union, which began competing in the year of 1954 and last competed in 1991, captured a medal in each of 34 tournaments they entered.[3] In winning the 2006 World Championships, Sweden became the first nation in ice hockey history to win an Olympic gold as well as a separate World Championship in the same season.[4] In 2022, Finland repeated this achievement by winning the World Championships at home.

Champions

Key
   The Summer Olympic Games Ice Hockey Tournament held that year counted as the World Championships (1 edition).
  *  The Winter Olympic Games Ice Hockey Tournament held that year counted as the World Championships (10 editions).
Number of times when national team has reached corresponding place at the time (or number of tournaments hosted by city / country at the time).
Second number indicates cumulative number of times when successor country and its predecessor per IIHF (Soviet Union, Czechoslovakia or unified Germany) has reached corresponding place at the time (or cumulative number of tournaments hosted by successor country and its predecessor at the time).
YearGoldSilverBronze4th placeHost city / citiesHost country / countries
scope=row style="background-color: #FFEEAA"Antwerp (1) (1)
scope=row style="background-color: #CFECEC"1924 *Chamonix (1) France (1)
scope=row style="background-color: #CFECEC"1928 *St. Moritz (1) (1)
scope=row1930Chamonix (2)
Berlin (1)
Vienna (1)
France (2)
Germany (1)
(1)
scope=row1931Krynica (1) Poland (1)
scope=row style="background-color: #CFECEC"1932 *Lake Placid (1) United States (1)
scope=row1933Prague (1) (1)
scope=row1934Milan (1) Italy (1)
scope=row1935Davos (1) (2)
scope=row style="background-color: #CFECEC"1936 *Garmisch-Partenkirchen (1) Germany (2)
scope=row1937London (1) (1)
scope=row1938Prague (2) (2)
scope=row1939Zürich (1) and Basel (1) (3)
1940–
1946
Competitions not held because of World War II
scope=row1947Prague (3) (3)
scope=row style="background-color: #CFECEC"1948 *St. Moritz (2) (4)
scope=row1949Stockholm (1) (1)
scope=row1950London (2) (2)
scope=row1951Paris (1) France (3)
scope=row style="background-color: #CFECEC"1952 *Oslo (1) and Drammen (1) (1)
scope=row1953Zürich (2) and Basel (2) (5)
scope=row1954Stockholm (2) (2)
scope=row1955Krefeld (1), Dortmund (1)
and Cologne (1)
(1/3)
scope=row style="background-color: #CFECEC"1956 *Cortina d'Ampezzo (1) (2)
scope=row1957Moscow (1) (1)
scope=row1958Oslo (2) (2)
scope=row1959Prague (4), Bratislava (1)
and Ostrava (1)
(4)
scope=row style="background-color: #CFECEC"1960 *Squaw Valley (1) United States (2)
scope=row1961Geneva (1) and Lausanne (1) (6)
scope=row1962Colorado Springs (1) and Denver (1) (3)
scope=row1963Stockholm (3) (3)
scope=row style="background-color: #CFECEC"1964 *Innsbruck (1) (2)
scope=row1965Tampere (1) (1)
scope=row1966Ljubljana (1) (1)
scope=row1967Vienna (2) (3)
scope=row style="background-color: #CFECEC"1968 *Grenoble (1) (4)
scope=row1969Stockholm (4) (4)
scope=row1970Stockholm (5) (5)
scope=row1971Bern (1) and Geneva (2) (7)
scope=row1972Prague (5) (5)
scope=row1973Moscow (2) (2)
scope=row1974Helsinki (1) (2)
scope=row1975Munich (1) and Düsseldorf (1) (2/4)
scope=row1976Katowice (1) Poland (2)
scope=row1977Vienna (3) (4)
scope=row1978Prague (6) (6)
scope=row1979Moscow (3) (3)
1980Competition not held during 1980 Olympics
scope=row1981Gothenburg (1) and Stockholm (6) (6)
scope=row1982Helsinki (2) and Tampere (2) (3)
scope=row1983Düsseldorf (2), Dortmund (2)
and Munich (2)
(3/5)
1984Competition not held during 1984 Olympics
scope=row1985Prague (7) (7)
scope=row1986Moscow (4) (4)
scope=row1987Vienna (4) (5)
1988Competition not held during 1988 Olympics
scope=row1989Stockholm (7) and Södertälje (1) (7)
scope=row1990Bern (2) and Fribourg (1) (8)
scope=row1991Turku (1), Helsinki (3) and Tampere (3) (4)
scope=row1992Prague (8) and Bratislava (2) (8)
scope=row1993Dortmund (3) and Munich (3) (3/6)
scope=row1994Bolzano (1), Canazei (1) and Milan (2) (3)
scope=row1995Stockholm (8) and Gävle (1) (8)
scope=row1996Vienna (5) (6)
scope=row1997Helsinki (4), Turku (2) and Tampere (4) (5)
scope=row1998Zürich (3) and Basel (3) (9)
scope=row1999Oslo (3), Lillehammer (1) and Hamar (1) (3)
scope=row2000Saint Petersburg (1) (1/5)
scope=row2001Cologne (2), Hanover (1)
and Nuremberg (1)
(4/7)
scope=row2002Gothenburg (2), Karlstad (1)
and Jönköping (1)
(9)
scope=row2003Helsinki (5), Tampere (5) and Turku (3) (6)
scope=row2004Prague (9) and Ostrava (2) (1/9)
scope=row2005Innsbruck (2) and Vienna (6) (7)
scope=row2006Riga (1) (1)
scope=row2007Moscow (5) and Mytishchi (1) (2/6)
scope=row2008Halifax (1) and Quebec City (1) (1)
scope=row2009Kloten (1) and Bern (3) (10)
scope=row2010Cologne (3), Mannheim (1)
and Gelsenkirchen (1)
(5/8)
scope=row2011Bratislava (3) and Košice (1) (1)
scope=row2012Helsinki (6)
Stockholm (9)
(7)
(10)
scope=row2013Stockholm (10)
Helsinki (7)
(11)
(8)
scope=row2014Minsk (1) (1)
scope=row2015Prague (10) and Ostrava (3) (2/10)
scope=row2016Moscow (6) and Saint Petersburg (2) (3/7)
scope=row2017Cologne (4)
Paris (2)
(6/9)
(5)
scope=row2018Copenhagen (1) and Herning (1) (1)
scope=row2019Bratislava (4) and Košice (2) (2)
2020Competition cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic[5]
scope=row2021Riga (2) (2)
scope=row2022Tampere (6) and Helsinki (8) (9)
scope=row2023Tampere (7)
Riga (3)
(10)
(3)
scope=row2024Prague (11) and Ostrava (4) (3/11)
2025Stockholm (11)
Herning (2)
(12)
(2)
2026Zürich (4) and Fribourg (2) (11)
2027Düsseldorf (3) and Mannheim (2) (7/10)
2028Paris (3) and Lyon (1) (6)

Medal table

Countries in italics no longer compete at the World Championships.[6]

RankNationGoldSilverBronzeTotal
1 28 16 9 53
2 / 27 10 10 47
3 / 13 13 22 48
4 11 19 18 48
5 4 9 3 16
6 2 9 9 20
7 1 2 2 5
8 1 2 1 4
9 0 4 8 12
10 / 0 3 2 5
11 0 0 2 2
12 0 0 1 1
Totals (15 nations) 87 87 87 261

Finals

Since the introduction of play-off rounds in 1992, the following national teams have made the finals.

CountryGoldSilverTotal finals
9716
718
6612
538
4913
123
033
011
Total 32 32 64

Most successful players

Boldface denotes active ice hockey players and highest medal count among all players (including these who not included in these tables) per type. "Position" denotes player position on the hockey rink (D – defenceman; F – forward; G – goaltender).[7] [8] [9] [10]

Multiple gold medalists

RankPlayerCountryPositionFromToGoldSilverBronzeTotal
1 G 1970 1983 10 2 1 13
2 D 1961 1973 10 1 1 12
3 F 1969 1983 9 2 1 12
4 F 1969 1981 9 1 1 11
5 F 1961 1971 9 1 10
6 D 1963 1971 9 9
7 F 1969 1979 8 2 1 11
D 1969 1979 8 2 1 11
F 1969 1979 8 2 1 11
D 1970 1982 8 2 1 11

Multiple medalists

The table shows players who have won at least 11 medals in total at the World Championships.

RankPlayerCountryPositionFromToGoldSilverBronzeTotal
1 G 1970 1983 10 2 1 13
2 F 1964 1977 3 6 4 13
3 D 1961 1973 10 1 1 12
4 F 1969 1983 9 2 1 12
5 F 1969 1981 9 1 1 11
6 F 1969 1979 8 2 1 11
D 1969 1979 8 2 1 11
F 1969 1979 8 2 1 11
D 1970 1982 8 2 1 11
10 F 1978 1991 8 1 2 11
11 D 1977 1991 7 1 3 11
12 F 1957 1968 6 3 2 11
13 F 1970 1981 3 5 3 11
D 1968 1978 3 5 3 11
F 1970 1981 3 5 3 11

Best performers by country

Here are listed most successful players in the history of each of 15 medal-winning national teams – according to the gold-first ranking system and by total number of World Championships medals (one player if he holds national records in both categories or few players if these national records belongs to different persons). If the total number of medals is identical, the gold, silver and bronze medals are used as tie-breakers (in that order). If all numbers are the same, the players get the same placement and are sorted by the alphabetic order.

CountryPlayerPositionFromToGoldSilverBronzeTotal
G 1970 1983 10 2 1 13
F 1996 2006 5 1 2 8
F 1964 1977 3 6 4 13
Jonas Bergqvist
(by the gold-first ranking system)
F 1986 1998 3 3 1 7
Sven "Tumba" Johansson
(by total number of medals)
F 1952 1965 3 2 4 9
Alexander Ovechkin F 2005 2019 3 2 4 9
Eric Brewer
(by the gold-first ranking system)
D 2003 2007 3 3
Shane Doan &<br>Dany Heatley
(by total number of medals)
F 2003 2009 2 3 5
Atte Ohtamaa
(by the gold-first ranking system)
D 2014 2022 2 3 5
Ville Peltonen
(by total number of medals)
F 1994 2008 1 4 3 8
F/D 1935 1938 1 2 1 4
F 2000 2012 1 2 1 4
John Garrison &<br>John Mayasich
(by the gold-first ranking system)
D/F
F/D

1932
1956

1936
1962

1
1

1
1

1
1

3
3

Allen Van
(by total number of medals)
D 1939 1952 3 1 4
Reto Berra,
Roman Josi &<br>Nino Niederreiter
(by the gold-first ranking system)
G
D
F

2013


2024





3





3

Richard "Bibi" Torriani
(by total number of medals)
F 1928 1948 1 5 6
F/D 1930 1934 1 2 3
G
D/F
16 players D, F, G 1953 1953 1 1
F 1931 1947 2 2
27 players D, F, G 2023 2023 1 1

See also

References

General

External links

Notes and References

  1. News: IIHF World Men's Championship . . 12 May 2008 . 19 August 2007 . https://web.archive.org/web/20070819183703/http://www.hockeycanada.ca/4/7/1/4/index1.shtml . live .
  2. Web site: All Medalists: Men: IIHF World Championships. IIHF. 2 March 2010. 26 November 2009. https://web.archive.org/web/20091126014556/http://www.iihf.com/iihf-home/history/all-medallists/men.html. live.
  3. News: International hockey timeline . IIHF . 12 May 2008 . 14 July 2018 . https://web.archive.org/web/20180714164454/http://www.iihf.com/iihf-home/history/the-iihf/timeline.html . live .
  4. News: Sweden Completes 'Double' at IIHF Worlds . . 21 May 2006 . Associated Press . 12 May 2008 . https://web.archive.org/web/20080519120003/http://www.tsn.ca/canadian_hockey/story/?id=166553 . 2008-05-19 . dead .
  5. Web site: Steiss . Adam . 2020 IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship cancelled . iihf.com . IIHF . 21 March 2020 . 21 March 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200321150949/https://www.iihf.com/en/events/2020/wm/news/18344/2020-iihf-ice-hockey-world-championship-cancelled . live .
  6. Web site: IIHF - Medallists . 2022-02-21 . 2021-12-27 . https://web.archive.org/web/20211227205129/https://www.iihf.com/en/medalists . live .
  7. Web site: Ice Hockey / World Championships. AllCompetitions. 28 May 2023. 29 April 2024. 29 April 2024. https://web.archive.org/web/20240429154249/http://www.allcompetitions.com/hcki_wcm.php. live.
  8. Web site: Olympians Who Won a Medal at the World Ice Hockey Championships. Olympedia. 8 December 2023. 29 April 2024. 29 April 2024. https://web.archive.org/web/20240429044432/https://www.olympedia.org/lists/190/manual. live.
  9. Web site: Elite Prospects – Players' Statistics. Eliteprospects. 28 February 2024. 29 April 2024. 29 April 2024. https://web.archive.org/web/20240429154247/https://www.eliteprospects.com/stats. live.
  10. Web site: Eurohockey – Players' Statistics. Eurohockey. 9 June 2023. 29 April 2024. 29 April 2024. https://web.archive.org/web/20240429204343/https://www.eurohockey.com/players.html. live.