Denmark:
After qualifying for the quarter-finals in 2010 and 2016, Denmark will fancy their chances at the 2025 World Championships with the tournament partly being staged on home ice.
But they will be handicapped by the absence of their NHL stars (Nikolaj Ehlers (Winnipeg), Lars Eller (Washington), Oliver Bjorkstrand (Tampa Bay) and Frederik Andersen (Caroline Hurricanes) who played such a huge part, when they qualified for the Winter Olympics in Milan through a 4-1 win against Norway.
Mikael Gath’s troops were outscored 29-15 last year and finished in 13th place and Jesper Jensen Aabo will be hugely challenged to organize the Danish defense while goaltending duo of Frederik Dichow and Sebastian Dahm will have their work cut out for them against the traditional strong hockey nations.
The matches against Hungary and Kazakhstan, as well as Germany and Norway will be key for the Danes to maintain their hopes of reaching the playoff stages in the tournament.
Czech Republic:
The Czechs will arrive in Denmark brimming with confidence after coach Radim Rulik guided them to the World Championship title last year on home ice in Prague and now the question is if they can repeat the feat.
Certainly, anything less than a medal this year would be a disappointment for the Czechs who will be boosted by the presence of Boston winger David Pastrnak, who scored the winner against the Swiss in the 2024 final while Vancouver’s Filip Hronek, named Best Defenceman at the 2019 World Championships in Slovakia, is also at their disposal.
Karel Vejmelka ((2.58 GAA, 90.4 save percentage in 58 matches for Utah) is expected to be the prefered first choice for the goalkeeper position but he will have an enourmous job on his hands to emulate the performance of Lukas Dostal’s 2024 all-star performance.
The 39-year old veteran captain Roman Červenka , who was elected IIHF Male Player of the Year last season, will seek to inspire a squad of primarily Europe-based skaters to repeat their miracle from Prague.
Germany:
The Germans have advanced to the playoffs at seven of the last eight World Championships and they peaked in 2023 when they won silver medals in Finland, their first medals since 1953.
Another quarter-final berth seems within reach as the Germans have the luxury of arriving in Denmark with veteran NHL goaltender Philipp Grubauer (Seattle), defensive profile Moritz Seider (Detroit), and two young forwards in the face of Tim Stutzle (Ottawa) and JJ Peterka (Buffalo).
Judging from their severe defeats against Sweden (6-1), USA (6.1) and Switzerland (3-1) it would be a surprise if the Germans are able to challenge traditional powers in ice hockey also during this tournament but the hope is ripe within the camp, that coach Harald Kreis' team will again be able to challenge for medals if they hit form at the right time in Herning.
Switzerland:
It would be a mistake to underestimate Switzerland, who has taken major strides forward in the world of ice hockey during the last decade.
Under the leadership of coach Patrick Fischer, who has been in charge since 2015, the Swiss reached the final last year where they succumbed to the host nation in the final and have three silver medals to show for the last 13 years (2013, 2018, 2024).
Their team talisman, the 41-year old Andres Ambuhl, will play his last World Championshinship as he is set to retire after this season. Ambuhl will have the luxury of leading a strong team with the likes of New Jersey captain Nico Hischier and teammate Timo Meier up front, as well as Devils defenceman Jonas Siegenthaler, fellow blueliner Janis Moser (Tampa Bay) and 37-year-old goalie Leonardo Genoni.
Switzerland will kick off their tournament with a rematch of last year's final against the Czech Republic.
United States:
Despite all their quality, the U.S will have to search all the way back to 1933 to find the last time they won gold at the Ice Hockey World Championships.
The Americans, however, travel to Denmark with plenty of NHL experience in the squad and coach Ryan Warsofsky has enough veteran skill and depth at every position to give the U.S. hopes of reaching the final. They certainly seem to have plenty of firepower up front with Clayton Keller (Utah) coming off a career 90-point season and Tage Thompson (Buffalo) surpassing 40 goals for the second time this year.
In defense Brady Skjei (Nashville) adds nearly 700 games of NHL experience to the team while Utah sophomore Logan Cooley and Boston University blueliner Cole Hutson tops the list of up-and-coming talent in the squad.
The Americans have reached the final at the past 11 World Championships.
Norway:
Norway have been part of the Top A division ever since 2006 and have reached three quarter-finals since 2008.
After missing out on qualification for the 2022 - as well as the 2026 Olympics, Norway will be very keen to preserve their place among the world’s elite on the ice of their Nordic neighbouring country.
The Norwgians, however, arrive at the World Championships depleted of some of those names who have previously carried the hopes of the Scandinavians on their shoulders.
As such they will have to do without the services of NHL ace Mats Zuccarello (Minnesota) and AHL prospects Emilio Pettersen and Michael Brandsegg-Nygard. In addition they will be handicapped by the absence of long-time power forward Patrick Thoresen who retired from the national team at age 41 just like Henrik Haukeland.
Hungary:
Expectations are at a low-point for the Magyars who are back in the top division after a one-year absence.
No question they will be focused around outdoing the likes of Kazakhstan and Norway to escape relegation but that could be a tall order for a nation whose key profiles are veterans Istvan Sofron (37-year old), Istvan Bartalis (34), and Balazs Sebok (30).
Kazakhstan:
Kazakhstan recorded a 12th-place finish, one place ahead of Denmark at the World Championships last year. But it could be difficult to emulate that performance for the the former Soviet republic, who in Denmark will be without the services of veterans Nikita Boyarkin and Andrey Shutov who are both out injured.
Kazakhstan, who will mainly put their faith in veteran captain Roman Starchenko, and Nikita Mikhailis , will hope to have secured the necessary points to remain in the top division before the final three fixtures of their group campaign, when they clash against the Czechs, Americans, and Swiss.