2025 Ice Hockey World Championship: What to watch out for

Stockholm's Avicii Arena is no stranger to hosting major ice hockey events. Opened in 1989, it has a capacity of 16,000, has been used for several previous IIHF World Championships and has hosted several NHL games as part of the North American league's Global Series. It will be the main venue in 2025, hosting the semifinals and the final — in addition to all the Group A games.

The Jyske Bank Boxen in Herning, Denmark opened in 2010 and has a capacity of 15,000. Since then it has hosted World and European championships in several sports, including the men's 2018 IIHF World Championship. Germany will be competing against hosts Denmark, the Czech Republic, the United States, Kazakhstan, Norway, Hungary and Switzerland in the preliminary round.

As the most successful nation in this tournament (28 gold medals), Canada, who last won it all in 2023, are usually one of the favorites. Due to the Stanley Cup playoffs and the long NHL season, it's always a crapshoot who will be available to wear the maple leaf at the worlds. This year, fans in Stockholm are in luck, as superstars Sidney Crosby (right) and Nathan MacKinnon (left) will be there.

The USA are now Canada's biggest rivals, although they haven't won a gold medal since 1933, unless you count the 1960 and 1980 Olympic gold medals. The Utah Mammoth's Clayton Keller (photo), coming off a 90-point NHL season, will lead the Americans' quest for gold. Among the other NHL stars on the roster are Tage Thompson of the Buffalo Sabres and Boston Bruins netminder Jeremy Swayman.

Co-hosts Sweden finished third last year but haven't won a gold medal since 2018. Still, playing on home ice always helps and may have been an incentive for players to report for the team despite the odd knock from a grueling NHL season. Among the Tre Kronor's stars to watch are Lucas Raymond of the Detroit Red Wings, Filip Forsberg of Nashville and New Jersey Devils goalie Jakob Markstrom.

The team arrived in Herning as the reigning world champions, having won gold back home in Prague in 2024. But this year's edition may not be quite as strong. Utah Mammoth netminder Karel Vejmelka (photo) is expected to get the bulk of the work in goal and superstar David Pastrnak is coming off another strong season with the Boston Bruins.

Teammates in Nashville and with Finland, Jusse Saros and Justus Annunen clearly know how to get around off the ice! Based on the past NHL season, Saros can expect to be the starter on whose back Finland's medal hopes will rest. Finland have had a disappointing couple of years since their last gold in 2022, but the Lions can never be counted out.

Germany may still not be among the top tier of nations in the world of ice hockey, but nobody takes them for granted anymore. Over the last decade Germany has sent more players to the NHL than ever before and has gone from just being happy to get out of the group stage to aspiring to medals. Germany achieved this goal for the first time in decades when they earned silverin 2023.

The Germans embark on their quest for a medal under a new captain, Moritz Seider of the Detroit Red Wings. The 24-year-old is well on the way to establishing himself as one of the top defensemen in the NHL. Other NHL stars bolstering Germany are goalie Philipp Grubauer of the Seattle Kraken and Chicago Black Hawks forward Lukas Reichel. Tim Stützle of the Ottawa Senators has also joined the team.

Russia have won the second most titles of all time (taking into account the former Soviet Union), with a total of 27 gold medals, but the Big Red Machine is absent from the Worlds for a fourth year running. The International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) suspended both it and Belarus following Russia's all-out invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. This ban has been extended through 2025-26.

No matter who wins, the fans are arguably the biggest stars at any Ice Hockey World Championship. Despite heated rivalries on the ice, fans from the various nations, often decked out in fancy dress, party together throughout the two weeks of games. Nobody can yet say which group of fans will be celebrating late into the night after the gold medals are handed out in Stockholm on May 25.