The 2018 IIHF World Championship was an international ice hockey tournament hosted by the Danish cities of Copenhagen and Herning, held from 4 to 20 May 2018. The IIHF announced the winning bid on 23 May 2014 in Minsk, Belarus. South Korea made its debut at the World Championship, having played in the lower divisions previously.
Sweden went undefeated at the tournament to win their second consecutive and eleventh overall title after defeating Switzerland in the final. The United States won the bronze medal game, defeating Canada 4âÂÂ1.
The official mascot of the tournament was a swan, inspired by the Danish writer and poet Hans Christian Andersen's fairytale about The Ugly Duckling.
There were two bids to host this championship.
The decision was announced on 23 May 2014 in Minsk, Belarus. The final tally was 95-12 in favor of Denmark.
The seeding in the preliminary round was based on the 2017 IIHF World Ranking, which ended at the conclusion of the 2017 IIHF World Championship.
Denmark and Sweden played in separate groups, Denmark at the Jyske Bank Boxen while Sweden at the Royal Arena in Copenhagen.
Each team's roster consisted of at least 15 skaters (forwards, and defencemen) and 2 goaltenders, and at most 22 skaters and 3 goaltenders. All 16 participating nations, through the confirmation of their respective national associations, had to submit a "Long List" no later than two weeks before the tournament, and a final roster by the Passport Control meeting prior to the start of tournament.
16 referees and linesman were announced on 21 March 2018.
The schedule was released on 8 August 2017.
List shows the top skaters sorted by points, then goals.
<small>GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; +/â = Plus/minus; PIM = Penalties in minutes; POS = Position<br /> Source: IIHF.com</small>
Only the top five goaltenders, based on save percentage, who have played at least 40% of their team's minutes, are included in this list.
<small>TOI = Time on Ice (minutes:seconds); SA = Shots against; GA = Goals against; GAA = Goals against average; Sv% = Save percentage; SO = Shutouts<br /> Source: IIHF.com</small>
<small>Source: IIHF.com</small>
<small>Source: IIHF.com</small>
The 2018 IIHF Hall of Fame inductees and award recipients were honored during the World Championship medal ceremonies in Copenhagen.
IIHF Hall of Fame inductees
Award recipients