Two Down, Two Up

The four countries shown by their flags to the left will be playing IIHF hockey next season, but the reality is that two countries will be moving down to the Division-1A tournament while two countries will join the top-14 teams playing for the IIHF Men's World Hockey Championship. If you've been following the action, you may already know who is being relegated and promoted, but these four countries are the nations in question. Who's dropping down? Who's going up? Let's find out!

Great Britain came into the IIHF Men's World Hockey Championship as the 17th-ranked nation on the planet. They found themselves in a tough group that featured USA, Finland, Switzerland, Germany, and Latvia, but there was hope that they could qualify for a quarterfinal spot if they caught a few breaks against Austria and Hungary. If they could upset Latvia or Germany, Great Britain would likely not only qualify for the medal round, but they'd jump up in the IIHF rankings as well.

Things quickly changed for Great Britain after they dropped a 5-2 decision to Austria on May 16. A 5-1 loss to the USA, a 5-0 loss to Hungary, and a 4-1 loss to the Swiss put them in jeopardy of battling to stay out of relegation territory, but it didn't get any better in a 4-0 loss to Finland. Tack on a 6-0 loss to Latvia and a 6-3 loss to Germany, and the British went winless in Switzerland as they would be the Group A team who was relegated to the Division-1A tournament.

Defender Nathanael Halbert led the British in scoring with a goal and two assists from the blue line, and goaltender Mat Robson went 0-4-0 with a 4.94 GAA and an .875 save percentage. Veteran Liam Kirk led the way with 19 shots in the tournament, and Halbert had the best seat in the house most often as he served 10 penalty minutes.

Italy began the 2026 IIHF Men's World Hockey Championship as the 20th-ranked nation on the IIHF World Rankings, and they were in Group B with the likes of Canada, Sweden, Czechia, Slovakia, and Denmark. Italy likely was looking at the games against Slovenia and Norway as the ones they had to win if they hoped to avoid relegation. Without any NHL talent on their roster, this had to be a solid team effort from the Italians if they wanted to finish in a quarterfinal berth and remain as part of the top tournament. Otherwise, they'd be in a tough spot.

Canada handed them an expected loss by a 6-0 score on May 16, and Slovakia doubled the number of losses with a 4-1 decision. Italy entered the game on May 19 against Norway looking to reverse those fortunes, but the Norwegians played well in a 4-0 win. That Italian loss was followed by a 3-1 loss to Czechia and a 3-0 loss to Sweden. Needing a win desperately, the Italians gave Denmark everything they had, but fell short in the shootout by a 3-2 score. A final 5-1 loss to Slovenia resulted in Italy being the Group B team who is relegated to the Division-1A tournament next season that still needs a host.

Forward Tommy Purdeller had two goals and three points while forward Mikael Frycklund had three assists as the co-leader in points for Italy. Goaltender Davide Fadani was the only goalie to earn a point for Italy as he lost in the shootout while fellow netminder Damian Clara was 0-3-0 with a 3.35 GAA and a .921 save percentage. Defender Phil Pietroniro led the team in shots with 21 and forward Tommaso de Luca served three minor penalties to lead Italy in PIMs.

A country familiar with the teams in the top IIHF tournament will make its return as Kazakhstan earned a promotion back to the big dance. The 15th-ranked team in the IIHF rankings faced off against Lithuania, Japan, Poland, Ukraine, and France in the Division-1A tournament held from May 2-8 in Sosnowiec, Poland, and the Kazakhs emerged undefeated as they went 5-0-0 in the event. Two of those wins did come in the shootout, but Kazakhstan earned enough points for promotion to the 2027 IIHF Men's World Hockey Championship in Germany next May!

Kazakhstan's run in Sosnowiec saw them down Lithuania 4-1 on May 2, beat Japan 6-0, knock off Poland 3-2, defeat Ukraine 5-4 in the skills competition, and defeat France in the shootout as well. They scored the most goals in the tournament despite only scoring once on the power-play in eleven attempts, they tied Ukraine with the fewest shorthanded situations with eight, and they took the least amount of penalties with just 16 PIMs in the tournament on eight infractions.

Forward Artur Gatiyatov had a goal and four helpers while forward Arkadiy Shestakov had five helpers to tie for the team lead in scoring. Goaltender Andrey Shutov went 3-0-0 with a 1.30 GAA and a .933 save percentage as the top stopper, forward Vsevolod Logvin led with 17 shots, and defender Dmitri Breus was the goon with four PIMs.

Perhaps the one nation that should be celebrated for being promoted after everything the country has been through is Ukraine. It's hard not to be inspired knowing that this hockey team was able to focus on winning in Sosnowiec, Poland while friends, colleagues, and family are fighting for their lives back home. Ukraine certainly had a bumpier ride in getting to their promotion as the 27th-ranked team in the IIHF rankings went 3-1-1 in their five games, but that got them ten points and promotion from the Division-1A tournament!

Ukraine opened their tournament against the hosts on May 2, and Poland won that game by a 3-2 score. Ukraine would bounce back with a 2-1 win over Lithuania and a 3-2 win over France before dropping a 5-4 shootout decision to Kazakhstan. Ukraine capped off their tournament with a 3-1 win against Japan, and that was the victory needed to earn their promotion! Ukraine scored the second-most goals in the tournament, had a 5-for-17 power-play, and killed seven of eight shorthanded situations. They did commit twelve infractions, but were the second-least penalized team in the event.

Forward Danil Trakht led the tournament in scoring with four goals and four assists while forward Olexi Vorona had six helpers to tie for the lead in the tournament. Goaltender Bohdan Diachenko played every second for Ukraine, going 3-1-1 with a 2.17 GAA and a .923 save percentage. Olexander Peresunko led Ukraine with 15 shots, and both Yevgen Fedyeyev and Artem Hrebenyk sat for four minutes.

Both Kazakhstan and Ukraine will visit Mannheim and Dusseldorf, Germany as part of the 2027 IIHF Men's World Hockey Championship that's scheduled to run from May 14-30. Great Britain and Italy will await an announcement from the IIHF to know where they're headed for the 2027 IIHF Men's Division-1A World Hockey Championship, but it would seem they'll be joined by France, Poland, Lithuania, and the newly-promoted Estonia. Unfortunately for Japan, they'll be relegated to the Division-1B tournament, replacing promoted Estonia.

The quarterfinals for the 2026 IIHF Men's World Hockey Championship will be set after tomorrow's games, and we could see some intriguing matchups if things go as expected. Of course, that's why the games are played and upsets are a possibility, so we'll see who qualifies for the medal round at the IIHF Men's World Hockey Championship!

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!