World Men's Hockey Begins in Switzerland

IIHF President Rene Fasel is excited about Switzerland hosting the world championship. (Getty Images)The International Ice Hockey Federation returns to a familiar place for its World Ice Hockey Championships as Switzerland hosts the 73rd edition of the event, beginning today and running through May 10.

It will be the 10th time that Switzerland has hosted the men’s world championships, more than any other country.

IIHF President Rene Fasel tells Around the Rings the passion that the Swiss have for hockey will create an exciting atmosphere.

“I am excited about this championship in Switzerland, because the fans are very passionate about their hockey team,” Fasel said. “We will have two weeks of hockey fiesta.”

The tournament returns to Europe after being held last year in Canada, the first time the event was not held on the continent since 1962.

“It was good once, but we should really think it over before we go back,” Fasel said. “We think Europe is the best location for the tournament as most of the teams are based there, which makes for better attendance and atmosphere.”

A total of 16 teams divided into four groups will play at the 17,131-seat Post Finance Arena in Bern and the 9,000-seat Eishalle Schluefweg in Zurich.

Group B, featuring defending champion Russia, host Switzerland, Germany and France, and Group C, which includes the United States, Sweden, Latvia and Austria are playing in Bern.

Games in Group A, with last year’s runner-up Canada, Slovakia, Belarus and Hungary, and Group D, with Czech Republic, Finland, Norway and Denmark, are being held in Zurich.

Russia and Canada, the champion and runner-up at the 2008 World Championships in Canada, are among the top contenders, with host Switzerland, the U.S. and Sweden among the other top contenders.

“There are high expectations The Post Finance Arena in Bern will be the primary venue for the tournament. (Getty Images) for the Swiss team, but Russia, Canada, other teams are also strong,” Fasel said.

A total of 56 games will be played in the tournament, with 24 to be played in the preliminary round, 18 in the qualifying round, six in the relegation round, four in the quarterfinals and two in the semifinals as well as the gold and bronze medal games.

The tournament will feature fewer NHL players at the beginning, due to the ongoing Stanley Cup playoffs. But, more of those players are expected to join their national teams once their NHL squads are eliminated from that competition.

MoreDefending champion Russia will be among the 16 teams in the field. (Getty Images) than 230,000 tickets have been sold for the event so far, surpassing the 220,000 sold at last year’s worlds in Canada. Officials expect to sell 350,000 by the end of the tournament.

The record for most tickets sold at the event was 500,000 at the 2004 tournament in the Czech Republic.

Czech car company Skoda returns to provide sponsorship for a record-setting 20th consecutive year. Swiss watch firm Tissot is the other major sponsor of the event.

The event is anticipated to attract a vast worldwide television audience, with an estimated 600 million viewers expected to watch over 3,400 hours of tournament coverage on 20 broadcast networks in 14 countries.

The gold medal game will decide the championship on May 10, with the bronze medal contest to determine third place a day earlier.

Running concurrently with the end of the tournament is the IIHF Annual Congress in Bern May 8-10. The host for the 2014 world championships will be decided at the congress, with Ukraine, Austria, Hungary and Belarus the candidates.

Written by Greg Oshust.