The 2025 IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship delighted fans in Stockholm and Herning in May with thrilling action and heroic performances. Now it’s time to take a look back at 10 takeaways from the last major IIHF men’s tournament before the 2026 Olympics in Milan.

1. America’s time has finally come

Tage Thompson’s 1-0 overtime winner against Switzerland in the gold medal game ended a stunning 92-year WM championship drought for the Americans. The country that produces more NHLers than any other except archrival Canada needed this moment badly. It’s another feather in USA Hockey’s cap this season after winning a second straight World Juniors in Ottawa and the Women’s Worlds gold in Ceske Budejovice. And it sets a positive tone as the U.S. men seek to win their first Olympic title in February since the 1980 “Miracle on Ice” in Lake Placid.

2. Swiss, Swedes need more killer instinct

For the second consecutive year, Switzerland and Sweden settled for the silver and bronze medals respectively after dominating the preliminary round. The Swiss, in fact, have been shut out two years running in the final, including last year’s 2-0 loss to the Czechs in Prague. It’s particularly shocking considering that coach Patrick Fischer had 2025’s highest-scoring team (47 goals). Yet in the gold medal game, they looked nervous and played too much on the perimeter compared to earlier games. It was similar with Sweden, which fell in the semi-finals by four goals to a “Big Six” nation for the second straight year (6-2 to the U.S. in 2025, 7-3 to the Czechs in 2024). Tre Kronor still struggles to get clutch performances when the spotlight is brightest.

3. Goalies as MVP is a trend

Switzerland’s Leonardo Genoni was full value for his 2025 MVP honours. Also voted to the all-star team, the canny veteran posted a tournament-leading 0.99 GAA, 95.3 save percentage, and four shutouts, including a shutout streak of 243:37 that beat the old record held by Finland’s Pekka Rinne (2015). Genoni becomes the third goalie named MVP in the last four years, joining Finland’s Jussi Olkinuora (2022) and Latvia’s Arturs Silovs (2023).

4. No upset is too unthinkable

Most experts figured a Canadian quarter-final win over Denmark was as sure as the next sunrise. Granted, the Danes had nipped Canada 3-2 in the 2022 preliminary round, but they appeared to have no chance this year against Sidney Crosby, Nathan MacKinnon, and Ryan O’Reilly in a do-or-die situation. However, coach Mikael Gath’s underdogs defied the experts, outshooting Canada 22-10 in the third period and getting late goals from Nikolaj Ehlers and Nick Olesen for an historic 2-1 upset. Proving you can never take any opponent for granted, this result joins the “Miracle on Ice” and the 4-3 Belarus win over Sweden in the 2002 Olympic quarter-finals among international hockey’s all-time greatest shockers.

5. Age is just a number

Genoni, 37, wasn’t the only player over the age of 35 to impress at this Ice Hockey World Championship. Crosby, 37, also showed he’ll be a force to be reckoned with in Milan, as the legendary Canadian captain totalled 12 points in eight games. Czech captain Roman Cervenka, 39, racked up 14 points, leaving him just one back of linemate and tournament scoring leader David Pastrnak. And although Andres Ambuhl was sad to lose his all-time record 151st WM game to the U.S., the Swiss icon showed he could still play with four tournament goals at age 41 before retiring.

6. Raising your level can be tough

Naturally, teams don’t get to choose who they face or in what order at this tournament. But it’s hard not to wonder if Switzerland might have had a better outcome in the gold medal game if it had not won the five preceding games against non-medal contenders by an aggregate of 30-1 (Norway, Kazakhstan, Hungary, Austria, Denmark). Such lopsided victories tend to create a false sense of security. Perhaps as the 2026 host nation, the Swiss will receive a preliminary-round wake-up call that incites them to finally go get that elusive gold medal.

7. Never count out those smaller nations

It wasn't only a big year for fourth-place Denmark. Who thought that Austria would claim its first quarter-final berth since 1994? How about Slovenia – home to fewer than 160 registered male players – beating out France for survival to 2026? And how many people foresaw that Hungary would break new ground by staying in the top division for a second straight year? It’s all a testament to the growth of hockey and increasing parity worldwide.

8. Timing is everything

Norwegian hockey fans fondly recall how their national team made the quarter-finals and Patrick Thoresen placed second in tournament scoring with 18 points in 2012. That’s about as good as life has gotten for the Polar Bears. But realistically, Norway deserves credit for remaining among the world’s top 16 teams each year since 2006. And after likely deserving a better fate against numerous preliminary-round opponents, coach Tobias Johansson’s men finally came through in the end with a hard-fought 1-0 win over Hungary to book their tickets for 2026. Timing is everything!

9. Scoring is Finland’s Achilles heel

It’s been a rough ride for the Finnish men since their thrilling 4-3 gold-medal victory over Canada in 2022 in Tampere. Sometimes, it’s hard to remember that they are the defending Olympic champs. The Finns have crashed out of the quarter-finals three years in a row, coming seventh (2023), eighth (2024), and seventh (2025). A recurring theme is lack of offensive production. In those years, they scored 29, 22, and 24 goals respectively. It’s hard to go deep – even with world-class goaltending and a commitment to team defence – if you can’t light the red lamp more frequently. This year, the Finns had the fourth-worst power play (13 percent). Will these woes cease in Milan?

10. Bubble candidates for Milan stepped up

It’s too soon to tell exactly who will crack the 2026 Olympic rosters for the deep medal contenders. Hot starts next season could alter the picture further. But multiple bubble candidates in Stockholm and Herning certainly helped their cases. Besides the golden goal-scorer Thompson, the U.S. got strong performances from the likes of Clayton Keller, Zach Werenski, and Logan Cooley. For Canada, Travis Konecny, Macklin Celebrini, and Brandon Montour stepped up. Sweden saw good things from Leo Carlsson and Samuel Ersson. The competition to play on the world’s biggest stage in Milan will provide delicious intrigue in the months ahead.