We’re halfway through the preliminary round at the 2025 IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship. In Herning, we’ve seen games turn this way and that, some epic fightbacks and a few memorable upsets. But what have IIHF.com writers Lucas Aykroyd and Andy Potts made of the tournament to date?

1. What has been your favourite moment so far? 

Aykroyd: The 6-5 U.S. overtime win over Norway was certainly pure entertainment, if not a coach-pleaser. But in a slightly different vein, I can’t resist a nice bit of hand-eye coordination, and Switzerland’s Damien Riat provided a highlight-reel example with his opening goal in the 3-0 win over the Americans. The Lausanne HC veteran got his stick on Tim Berni’s airborne centering pass and batted the puck up and over U.S. netminder Joey Daccord. Echoes of baseball and football flair there!

Potts: There are a few already. The sheer ‘what did I just watch?’ of Norway’s fightback against the USA, a classy OT winner for the Czechs in a back-and-forth opener. But probably my highlight so far was Hungary’s win over Kazakhstan. It’s refreshing to see a promoted country trust its younger players – this year’s Hungarian roster is very slightly younger than the team that won Division IA last season – and it’s great to see that rewarded. And it makes for a fascinating battle at the foot of the table, with teams taking points off each other in the race to survive.

2. Usually, you know what you can expect from players and teams at the IIHF WM – any surprises?

Potts: Kazakh goalie Maxim Pavlenko stands out. A young player with fairly modest experience – he played just seven games for his club this season, and that in Russia’s second tier – shouldn’t be backstopping a big win on his World Championship debut. Yet this 22-year-old from Aksu has done just that. He’s fun to watch, too: quick to leave his crease and try to seize control of situations. Sure, it’s a high-risk strategy and when it goes wrong, it goes very wrong. But so far he’s done a respectable job compensating for the absence of Kazakhstan’s more experienced goaltenders, notwithstanding the Hungary game.

Aykroyd: The Hungarians don’t win a lot of games at the top-division level. So for them to defeat Kazakhstan 4-2 was newsworthy in itself. But the fact that they scored a goal within the first 15 seconds of both the first and third periods was downright shocking. Let’s put this in context. The 2015 Canadian gold-medal team in Prague is the most powerful offensive force we’ve seen at the Ice Hockey World Championships in the 21st century, totalling 66 goals in 10 games. However, the closest that Sidney Crosby-captained team came to matching Hungary’s quick-strike attack on Tuesday was a Brent Burns goal 27 seconds into the 9-0 quarter-final rout of the Belarusians.

3. What player has stood out as a possible MVP candidate?

Aykroyd: It’s hardly an original choice, but in Group B, David Pastrnak – who got the winning goal in last year’s gold medal game against the Swiss – has already separated himself from the pack with six points in three games for the defending champion Czechs. That includes game-winners against both Norway and Denmark. The Boston Bruins superstar also assisted on Roman Cervenka’s overtime goal versus Switzerland on Day One. “Pasta” is doing what Mikko Rantanen is doing for the Dallas Stars in the Stanley Cup playoffs. He looks dialed in, and you can tell he’s still got another level to reach.

Potts: Can’t argue with Pastrnak as the leading contender in Group B. But it possibly isn’t coincidence that the only perfect team (albeit from three games rather than four) is Germany – a classic case of a roster that is more than the sum of its parts. It’s hard to shake the suspicion that the individual prizes will have a Canadian accent, given the stacked roster they’ve taken to Stockholm. In Herning, it feels like we’re seeing a greater reliance on team play rather than individual brilliance.

4. What are you most looking forward to in the second half of the preliminary round?

Aykroyd: I’ll be watching how the U.S. team progresses and matures building up to that showdown with the Czechs on 20 May. It’s not just about whether 2025 is the year they finally break the gold-medal drought dating back to 1933. You’ve also got a slew of bubble candidates for the 2026 Olympic team, including the likes of forwards Clayton Keller, Tage Thompson, and Logan Cooley. The two goalies – Jeremy Swayman and Joey Daccord – are also in the mix. And even though defenceman Zach Werenski is coming off a career year with 81 points in 82 games, the U.S. is so deep in blueline talent that he could use a statement tournament here to shore up his odds of going to Milan. Who can USA Hockey rely on at crunch time? Stay tuned.

Potts: I’m looking at the other end of the standings. Building off what I said about Hungary, we’re set for a real race to secure top-flight status in Group B. At the time of writing, two points separate the bottom four and all of them have reason to believe they can beat the drop. Often, this quickly turns into a two-way fight hinging on a single ‘win-or-bust’ game; this year, it could be a case of ever-changing permutations until the music stops for the preliminary round. Norway’s games against Denmark (May 17) and Hungary (May 19) won’t be for the faint-hearted, but there’s potential for fantastic sporting drama right there.

5. There are a good number of players who have been coming to the IIHF WM for so many years – who is your "golden warrior" of 2025?

Potts: Andres Ambuhl’s record-breaking longevity continues to impress, but in terms of impact I’d go with Roman Cervenka in Group B. A leader on and off the ice, he’s still a game-changing player on the Czech offence at the age of 39 and, by the end of this tournament, he should have his country’s record for appearances at an Ice Hockey World Championship.   

Aykroyd: Ambuhl played his first Ice Hockey World Championship in Czechia in 2004 before Sidney Crosby had played a single NHL game. Let that fact soak in. You can see the 41-year-old Swiss legend – the all-time games leader at this tournament – enjoying what is almost certainly his final international run, taking extra time to sign autographs for fans when he comes off the ice. Tempus fugit!