2021 Ice Hockey World Cup
The time has finally come for the 83rd edition of the IIHF Ice Hockey World Cup. The tournament where 16 nations participate will run between May 21st and June 6th. Livesportsontv.com will give you information on how to watch the games live on TV or live streaming. Make sure to tune in for the 2021 IIHF Ice Hockey World Cup and watch the world’s best ice hockey nations fight for the World Cup trophy.
2021 Ice Hockey World Cup
Date: May 21st – June 6th
Host country: Latvia
Teams: 16
Current champions: Finland (2019)
TV/Live Streaming Schedule
The wait has been long for the World Championship to start after last year’s cancelled event. The tournament was planned to be held in Belarus but after major political and security issues in the country the organizers decided on moving the tournament to Latvia. It will be the second time in the history that Latvia hosts a World Championship in Ice Hockey.
There will be a total of 16 teams participating in this year’s tournament, most of them well-known from previous tournaments. USA, Canada, Russia, Sweden, Finland and Czech Republic are some of the strongest contenders for the gold medal.
Group Stage & Playoff Schedule
The teams are divided into groups of 8, Group A and Group B. The group stage is completed when all teams from each group have played each other once. The four best seeded from each group will then proceed to the quarterfinals where the playing format will be as follow: 1A – 4B, 2A – 3B, 1B – 4A, 2B – 3A.
After the quarterfinals there will be a re-seeding where the following criteria will decide the playing order for the semifinals:
1. Seeding from the group stage
2. Points in the group stage
3. Goal difference in the group stage
4. Goals scored in the group stage
5. Seeding coming into the tournament
The highest ranked team will play the lowest ranked team and the second ranked team will play the third ranked team.
Group A:
ROC
Sweden
Czech Republic
Switzerland
Slovakia
Denmark
Belarus
Great Britain
Group B:
Canada
Finland
United States
Germany
Latvia
Norway
Italy
Kazakhstan
Odds favorites to win the 2021 Ice Hockey World Cup
The bookmakers have had their say on who they think are going to win the gold medal. Russia, competing under the name ROC, are the odds favorites coming into the tournament, closely followed by Canada and Sweden. Czech Republic, Finland and USA can’t be excluded from the group of potential World Cup winners as it all comes down to how many NHL players the teams will have available as the tournament begins.
The US team had a weak tournament in 2019 when they finished seventh. Canada on the other hand came close to their 27th World Cup gold medal as they lost against Finland in the final.
Both Canada and the US will have new head coaches leading the nations during the World Cup. Jack Capuano will be managing the US team while Gerard Gallant has been appointed as Canadian head coach for the upcoming tournament.
2021 Ice Hockey World Cup TV & Live Streaming Schedule
Livesportsontv.com will get you sorted with information on how to follow the tournament live on TV and live streaming. Check out the TV & Live Streaming schedule here where you find information on all upcoming games, including the World Cup, NHL and AHL.