After a year off due to the Olympics, the IIHF World Championships are back. We’ve got all the good stuff for you right here, including the schedule, how to watch, previews, and more.

This year is especially important because for the first time 10 teams will be competing.

How to watch

Where: Espoo, Finland

When: April 4 - 14

If you live on the eastern half of North America, you’re in luck! The time difference isn’t terrible — at least compared to the Olympics. The first game of the day is typically at 5:30 a.m. et (4:30 a.m. ct.). The last game of the day is typically at 12:30 p.m. et (11:30 a.m. ct).

Broadcast: We’ll update as we get more information on how to watch in each country.

US: NHL Network will be showing every Team USA game plus the semifinals, quarterfinals, and medal rounds. They will also show both Group A games on April 4, the first day.

Canada: TSN will have all of the Team Canada games plus the semifinals, quarterfinals, and medal rounds. Like NHL Network, they’ll also have both Group A games on the first day. It also looks like their schedule has various replays.

Finland: YLE is showing the Finnish matches and highlights that may include others.

Format

The 10 teams are split into two groups of five teams. They play a round-robin preliminary round. Every team from Group A advances while only the top three teams from Group B move on to the quarterfinals. The bottom two Group B teams are automatically relegated to Division 1 Group A.

In the quarterfinals, the top team from Group A plays the third place Group B team. The second places team from each group plays each other while the third place Group A team plays the first place Group B team. The fourth and fifth place Group A teams play each other. The winner of each game moves on to the semifinals and then either the Bronze Medal game or the Gold Medal game.

Group A

United States - Preview

Canada - Preview

Finland - Preview

Switzerland - Preview

Russia - Preview

Group B

Sweden - Preview

Germany - Preview

France - Preview

Japan - Preview

Czech Republic - Preview

Schedule

All times are in eastern daylight. Winners of each game will be in italics.

Preliminary Round

Thursday, April 4

5:30 a.m. - Sweden v Germany

9 a.m - Canada v Switzerland

11 a.m. - Japan v France

12:30 p.m. - United States v Finland

Friday, April 5

9 a.m - France v Czech Republic

12:30 p.m. - Switzerland v Russia

Saturday, April 6

5:30 a.m. - Czech Republic v Sweden

9 a.m - Finland v Russia

11 a.m. - Germany v Japan

12:30 p.m. - Canada v United States

Sunday, April 7

9 a.m - Sweden v France

12:30 p.m. - United States v Switzerland

Monday, April 8

5:30 a.m. - Czech Republic v Japan

9 a.m - Switzerland v Finland

11 a.m. - France v Germany

12:30 p.m. - Russia v Canada

Tuesday, April 9

5:30 a.m. - Japan v Sweden

9 a.m - Russia v United States

11 a.m. - Germany v Czech Republic

12:30 p.m. - Finland v Canada

Playoffs

Thursday, April 11 - Quarterfinals

5:30 a.m. - USA (A1) v Japan (B3)

7 a.m - Sweden (B4) v France (B5) ninth place game

9 a.m. - Canada (A2) v Germany (B2)

11 a.m. - Russia (A4) v Switzerland (A5)

12:30 p.m. - Finland (A3) v Czech Republic (B1)

Saturday, April 13 - Semifinals

9 a.m. - Canada v Finland

1 p.m. - USA v Russia

Sunday, April 14 - Medals

Bronze - 9 a.m.

Gold - 1 p.m.

History

In 18 years of Worlds, no country other than Canada nor the United States has won gold or silver. Canada has won gold 10 teams while the United States has won eight, including the last four. Canada also holds the streak for longest consecutive gold medal wins, from 1990 through 2004. Finland has, by far and away, the most silver medals at 12.

Past winners Year Location Gold Bronze Silver Fourth place Year Location Gold Bronze Silver Fourth place 1990 Canada, Ottawa Canada United States Finland Sweden 1992 Finland, Tampere Canada United States Finland Sweden 1994 USA, Lake Placid Canada United States Finland China 1997 Canada, Kitchener Canada United States Finland China 1999 Finland, Espoo/Vantaa Canada United States Finland Sweden 2000 Canada, Mississauga Canada United States Finland Sweden 2001 USA, Minneapolis Canada United States Russia Finland 2004 Canada, Halifax/Dartmouth Canada United States Finland Sweden 2005 Sweden, Linköping/Norrköping United States Canada Sweden Finland 2007 Canada, Winnipeg/Selkirk Canada United States Sweden Finland 2008 China, Harbin United States Canada Finland Switzerland 2009 Finland, Hämeenlinna United States Canada Finland Sweden 2011 Switzerland, Zürich/Winterthur United States Canada Finland Russia 2012 USA, Burlington Canada United States Switzerland Finland 2013 Canada, Ottawa United States Canada Russia Finland 2015 Sweden, Malmö United States Canada Finland Russia 2016 Canada, Kamloops United States Canada Russia Finland 2017 USA, Plymouth United States Canada Finland Germany

The tournament was not held in 2003 due to a SARS outbreak nor 2014 or 2018 due to the Olympics.