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The IIHF Women’s Ice Hockey World Championship is underway in Denmark, running from November 6 to November 16. This year’s tournament brings significant changes, including a shift to a November schedule and a revamped competition format.
Why is the tournament being held in November?
Since the tournament started in 1990, it has almost always taken place in the spring, aside from 2021 and 2022 when pandemic disruptions moved it to the summer. Hosting the event in November for the first time is designed to make participation easier for top players.
The North America-based Professional Women’s Hockey League (PWHL) launched in 2023 and is widely regarded as the best in the world. In previous years, the league had to pause its season for the Worlds, but the November schedule avoids this conflict because the PWHL regular season does not begin until December.
International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) President Franz Reindl told the SID news agency that this timing gives the women’s game a unique selling point, noting that the start of the PWHL season after the tournament guarantees the participation of the very best players.
How has the tournament format changed?
Earlier editions divided teams into stronger and weaker groups to minimize lopsided scores, reflecting a lack of balance where either Canada or the United States has won every tournament since its inception. Previously, all five teams in Group A advanced to the quarterfinals. Under the new format, four out of five teams advance from both groups.
Furthermore, the USA and Canada are placed in separate groups, ensuring that the marquee matchup cannot happen early in the competition. Group A consists of the USA, Czechia, Switzerland, Germany, and Austria, while Group B features Canada, Finland, Sweden, Japan, and Denmark.
Will Russia be competing at this tournament?
Russia will not participate in the current tournament. Although the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) ruled on October 30, 2026, that the IIHF must permit Russia to return to its tournaments for the 2026-2027 season, the ruling did not address this specific event. However, the CAS decision mandates that the IIHF include Russia at the 2027 tournament in Quebec City.
Who are the contenders?
Canada and the United States have won every edition of the World Championship and have shared all Olympic gold medals since women’s ice hockey joined the Winter Games in 1998, with Canada winning five and the USA three. This dominance is expected to continue in Herning and Esbjerg, although Canada brings a very different roster compared to the team that secured Olympic silver in Milano in February.
Teams attempting to break the North American dominance include Finland, the only other nation to reach a World Championship final, and Switzerland, which claimed the bronze medal in Milano.
Why are the USA and Canada not wearing their traditional uniforms?
An ongoing commercial rights dispute has forced the United States and Canada to wear generic kits supplied by the IIHF’s official partner. Hockey Canada announced in a statement that its players would wear True Hockey-designed jerseys rather than their standard Bauer jerseys that feature the national team logo. USA Hockey also confirmed that its players will compete in jerseys lacking the national emblem.
Hockey Canada stated that although they had yet to see the specific jersey Canada would wear, the team remains focused on the tournament and representing the country proudly on and off the ice.
