World Championship 2025 – overall ranking: the Czech Republic 1-3

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March 17, 2025

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Our tip: World Championship 2025 – overall position: the Czech Republic 1-3

09.05.2025 12:00

The upcoming Ice Hockey World Championships will take place in Sweden and Denmark in the cities of Stockholm and Herning.

The home Swedes are among the biggest favourites to win the overall championship, with odds of 4:1, the same as Canada. Sweden will have their fans on their backs, and an extremely strong roster can be expected, which will include a number of NHL players. Their willingness to participate is high, especially when they have the opportunity to fight for gold at home. Tre Kronor’s last national team win was in 2018, so the hunger for success is high among the Northmen.

Canada, on the other hand, will probably come with a weaker selection than the Czech Republic, Stockholm is not as attractive a destination as Prague. Many of the top stars have 4 Nations Cups in their legs, the Olympics await them next year, so the 2025 World Cup is not a big attraction. The line-up of the cradle of hockey will be younger, experience will be lacking. Playing on a wider rink is a partial handicap that cannot be overlooked. Motivation is another factor, overseas teams sometimes have the championship as a trip to Europe, where the game only starts in the quarter-finals.

The Americans are a bit more disciplined than Canada in this regard, the team is often filled out with young players who have come through a national team program that is sovereignly the best in the world, in addition to NHL players. But the Americans have finished without a medal three times in a row, despite last year’s stellar lineup that is unlikely to be repeated.

Also in partial decline are the Finns, who have aged out of the successful 2019-2022 generation, though they were very solid at this year’s EHT, or were the strongest of the top 4 in Europe. But they have finished without a precious metal in the last two years, and the team lacks stars and difference makers.

Anyway, the title from 2024 is defended by the Czech Republic, and Radim Rulík’s squad is to be reckoned with this time as well.

Although the national team this year will not have the same quality as last year’s championship, stars such as Nečas, Pastrňák or Gudas will not be in the nomination this time, which coach Rulík announced that he is counting on. On the other hand, the coaching staff still has plenty to choose from, as Czech hockey is on the rise. This is confirmed by the success in all age categories, both among men, juniors and women.

The Czech team did well during the year in the EHT, although players were spinning, and individuals shone through Europe in prestigious leagues such as the Swiss, Finnish and Swedish. In any case, the coaches show a great feeling for the composition of the players, a playing style based on skating and activity celebrates success. The team is growing productive goaltenders (Ticáček, Galvas etc..), the goaltending school is great and there is a huge overload of three spots among the goalies. Kořenář, Zajíček and NHL players will fight for the spot.

In any case, players like Tomášek (SHL scoring), Kovařčík (Liiga scoring), Kubalík, Zadina and other stalwarts who have had a great season could be back for the championship.

What to bet on:

The Czech team should be fighting for medals this year, the group in Herning is not too difficult, which can mean the first place. The road through the quarter-finals might not be that hard, the fight for medals is already open in the top 4.

Confidence:

7/10

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