photo: © INTERNATIONAL ICE HOCKEY FEDERATION
It’s famously difficult to predict anything – “especially the future,” as the Danes like to say – but predicting the 2025 IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship Division I, Group B may be impossible.
But let’s give it a try.
The six teams in the Estonia, Tallinn group are inside ten positions in the IIHF men’s rankings, ranging from Korea’s 22nd place to Croatia’s 32nd place.
Korea
The Korean team is the highest ranked team, and it’s the one that was relegated from Division I, Group A last season, and on merit, it must be considered a favorite in Tallinn as well. They have firepower up front, in Chong-Min Lee who scored 22 goals and 55 points in 62 games with Bloomington Bison in the ECHL, and a star-in-the-making on the blueline in 18-year-old Roy Chung who scored 19 points in 50 games with the Springfield Jr Blues in the NAHL.
Lithuania
As is the case with many of the nations in the lower divisions, most players in the Lithuanian team have had to leave their country to pursue hockey opportunities elsewhere. Paulius Gintautas, the team’s leading scorer last season, just finished his eleventh season in Norway where he was teammates with Ugnius Čižas, who finished second in team scoring last season. Nerius Alisauskas, 33, from the Slovak Extraliga will support then from the blueline.
China
China has taken the long way up, and while there’s still a couple of steps to go, the fact that it’s now playing in its third straight Div1B tournament is a good sign. Before that, they spent three years in the Div 2A group – the tournament was cancelled twice – having taken the step up in 2017. The next logical step would be Div1A, and it may not be a pipe dream.
With most of the players coming from Beijing Lions, the team knows exactly what the teams new, Canadian coach Perry Pearn wants. As always, goaltending is key, and Team China’s Boston Jr. Rangers Stephen Chen will be one of Pearn’s most important players.
Estonia
It’s the Estonian federation’s 90th anniversary season and nothing would bring more joy to the federation execs and the hockey fans in the country than a top finish on home ice. According to Finnish head coach Petri Skriko, the former NHLer, and Team Finland regular, anything is possible. “I expect it to be a close tournament,” he said. While Estonia is ranked 28th in the world, they did beat both Lithuania and China in pre-tournament games and suffered a 1-0 loss in their game against Korea. Team captain Robert Rooba is expected to score big goals. Another key player is unfortunately missing as Kristjan Kombe, 25, is playing in the Finnish Liiga final with KalPa Kuopio.
Spain
Unlike most of the other teams in the tournament, Spain builds its team on players from its domestic league, and it’s an interesting mix. Juan Muñoz represented Spain for the first time in 2006 when he played In the U18 D2 tournament and now he’s a 34-year-old veteran who’s played in Finland, Sweden, and the US, and is a five-time Spanish champion. Jaime Capillas Santoro has played in the Spanish final three years in a row, and while his C.H. Jaca lost the final to CG Puigcerdà this year, he led Spanish-born players in scoring with his 20 goals and 46 points in 18 games.
Croatia
Croatia returns to Division 1 for the first time since 2018. Last season, they blew through Division 2A undefeated and with a 26-6 goal difference. The step up is not going to be easy, but if the snowball starts to roll, Croatia will be a difficult team to beat.
The team’s most experienced player and the one the team’s Czech coach Vlastimil Wojnar will lean on, is forward Borna Rendulić who left Croatia for Finland as a teenager and made it all the way to the NHL where he played 15 games, for the Colorado Avalanche and the Vancouver Canucks. Even Ontario-born Mark Katic has NHL games on his resume.
The teams play a single round-robin series. Each teams plays each opponent once.
The name of the game is simple: The first-ranked team of the event will be promoted to the Division I Group A and the last-ranked team will be relegated to the Division II Group A.
But let’s give it a try.
The six teams in the Estonia, Tallinn group are inside ten positions in the IIHF men’s rankings, ranging from Korea’s 22nd place to Croatia’s 32nd place.
Korea
The Korean team is the highest ranked team, and it’s the one that was relegated from Division I, Group A last season, and on merit, it must be considered a favorite in Tallinn as well. They have firepower up front, in Chong-Min Lee who scored 22 goals and 55 points in 62 games with Bloomington Bison in the ECHL, and a star-in-the-making on the blueline in 18-year-old Roy Chung who scored 19 points in 50 games with the Springfield Jr Blues in the NAHL.
Lithuania
As is the case with many of the nations in the lower divisions, most players in the Lithuanian team have had to leave their country to pursue hockey opportunities elsewhere. Paulius Gintautas, the team’s leading scorer last season, just finished his eleventh season in Norway where he was teammates with Ugnius Čižas, who finished second in team scoring last season. Nerius Alisauskas, 33, from the Slovak Extraliga will support then from the blueline.
China
China has taken the long way up, and while there’s still a couple of steps to go, the fact that it’s now playing in its third straight Div1B tournament is a good sign. Before that, they spent three years in the Div 2A group – the tournament was cancelled twice – having taken the step up in 2017. The next logical step would be Div1A, and it may not be a pipe dream.
With most of the players coming from Beijing Lions, the team knows exactly what the teams new, Canadian coach Perry Pearn wants. As always, goaltending is key, and Team China’s Boston Jr. Rangers Stephen Chen will be one of Pearn’s most important players.
Estonia
It’s the Estonian federation’s 90th anniversary season and nothing would bring more joy to the federation execs and the hockey fans in the country than a top finish on home ice. According to Finnish head coach Petri Skriko, the former NHLer, and Team Finland regular, anything is possible. “I expect it to be a close tournament,” he said. While Estonia is ranked 28th in the world, they did beat both Lithuania and China in pre-tournament games and suffered a 1-0 loss in their game against Korea. Team captain Robert Rooba is expected to score big goals. Another key player is unfortunately missing as Kristjan Kombe, 25, is playing in the Finnish Liiga final with KalPa Kuopio.
Spain
Unlike most of the other teams in the tournament, Spain builds its team on players from its domestic league, and it’s an interesting mix. Juan Muñoz represented Spain for the first time in 2006 when he played In the U18 D2 tournament and now he’s a 34-year-old veteran who’s played in Finland, Sweden, and the US, and is a five-time Spanish champion. Jaime Capillas Santoro has played in the Spanish final three years in a row, and while his C.H. Jaca lost the final to CG Puigcerdà this year, he led Spanish-born players in scoring with his 20 goals and 46 points in 18 games.
Croatia
Croatia returns to Division 1 for the first time since 2018. Last season, they blew through Division 2A undefeated and with a 26-6 goal difference. The step up is not going to be easy, but if the snowball starts to roll, Croatia will be a difficult team to beat.
The team’s most experienced player and the one the team’s Czech coach Vlastimil Wojnar will lean on, is forward Borna Rendulić who left Croatia for Finland as a teenager and made it all the way to the NHL where he played 15 games, for the Colorado Avalanche and the Vancouver Canucks. Even Ontario-born Mark Katic has NHL games on his resume.
The teams play a single round-robin series. Each teams plays each opponent once.
The name of the game is simple: The first-ranked team of the event will be promoted to the Division I Group A and the last-ranked team will be relegated to the Division II Group A.