The 1997 Men's Ice Hockey World Championships was the 61st such event sanctioned by the

International Ice Hockey Federation The International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF; ; ) is a worldwide governing body for ice hockey. It is based in Zurich, Switzerland, and has 84 member countries. The IIHF maintains the IIHF World Ranking based on international ice hockey to ...

(IIHF). Teams representing 36 countries participated in several levels of competition, while three other teams competed in an exhibition tournament to gain experience before joining on an official basis in the 1998 competition. The competition also served as qualifications for group placements in the 1998 competition. The top Championship Group tournament took place in

Finland Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, ...

from 26 April to 14 May 1997, with matches played in

Helsinki Helsinki () is the Capital city, capital and most populous List of cities and towns in Finland, city in Finland. It is on the shore of the Gulf of Finland and is the seat of southern Finland's Uusimaa region. About people live in the municipali ...

Tampere Tampere is a city in Finland and the regional capital of Pirkanmaa. It is located in the Finnish Lakeland. The population of Tampere is approximately , while the metropolitan area has a population of approximately . It is the most populous mu ...

and

Turku Turku ( ; ; , ) is a city in Finland and the regional capital of Southwest Finland. It is located on the southwestern coast of the country at the mouth of the Aura River (Finland), River Aura. The population of Turku is approximately , while t ...

. Twelve teams took part, with the first round being split into two teams of six, and the six best teams going to a further group stage.

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

beat

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

in the final game, best of three, where they won 2–1 in games, and became world champions for the 21st time.

World Championship Group A (Finland)

First round

Group 1

Group 2

Second Round 1–6 Place

Teams that had played each other in the first round carried those results forward. First and second place played off for gold, third and fourth for bronze.

Consolation Round 7–12 Place

Teams that had played each other in the first round carried those results forward. Last place was not relegated to Group B, instead they had to play against three qualifiers from Group B for the last two openings in the 1998 Group A tournament. This was Germany's lowest finish since 1965. ''

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...

was sent to 1998 Group A Qualifier.''

Final round

Match for third place

Final

---- ----

World Championship Group B (Poland)

Played 12–21 April in

Katowice Katowice (, ) is the capital city of the Silesian Voivodeship in southern Poland and the central city of the Katowice urban area. As of 2021, Katowice has an official population of 286,960, and a resident population estimate of around 315,000. K ...

(

Spodek Spodek is a multipurpose arena complex in Katowice, Poland, opened on 9 May 1971. Aside from the main dome, the complex includes a gym, an ice rink, a hotel and three large car parks. It was the largest indoor venue of its kind in Poland until ...

) and

Sosnowiec Sosnowiec is an industrial city county in the Dąbrowa Basin of southern Poland, in the Silesian Voivodeship, which is also part of the Metropolis GZM municipal association.—— Located in the eastern part of the Upper Silesian Industrial Re ...

( Stadion Zimowy). With the announcement that Group A would be expanding from twelve to sixteen nations, Group B would also undergo significant changes. The winner and next year's host (

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

) were promoted. In addition, the remaining three best teams would win the opportunity to play in a qualifying tournament against the last place team from Group A, where the top two would be included in the Group A tournament.Summary at Passionhockey.com
/ref> ''

Belarus Belarus, officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Russia to the east and northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Belarus spans an a ...

, as winner, was promoted to Group A.

, as host, was also promoted to Group A.

Kazakhstan Kazakhstan, officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a landlocked country primarily in Central Asia, with a European Kazakhstan, small portion in Eastern Europe. It borders Russia to the Kazakhstan–Russia border, north and west, China to th ...

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

, and

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

were all promoted to the Qualifying tournament for Group A, along with

. No one was relegated.''

World Championship Group C (Estonia)

Played 22–28 March in

Tallinn Tallinn is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Estonia, most populous city of Estonia. Situated on a Tallinn Bay, bay in north Estonia, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland of the Baltic Sea, it has a population of (as of 2025) and ...

and

Kohtla-Järve Kohtla-Järve () is a city and Municipalities of Estonia, municipality in northeastern Estonia, founded in 1924 and incorporated as a town in 1946. The city is highly industrial, and is both a processor of oil shales and is a large producer of ...

. Along with the expansion of Group A, a provision was made to allow the best "Far East" team to qualify directly. Beginning in 1999 there would be a tournament to decide who that would be. But for now, the top placing "Far East" hockey nation was able to proceed directly from Group C to Group A. For this year, as well, promotion to Group B was available to the top three European teams, and there was no relegation.

First round

Group 1

Group 2

Final Round 21–24 Place

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

was promoted to Group A as the "Far East Qualifier",

Ukraine Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...

Slovenia Slovenia, officially the Republic of Slovenia, is a country in Central Europe. It borders Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the south and southeast, and a short (46.6 km) coastline within the Adriati ...

, and

Estonia Estonia, officially the Republic of Estonia, is a country in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, and to the east by Ru ...

were all promoted to Group B.''

Consolation Round 25–28 Place

World Championship Group D (Andorra)

Played 7–14 April in

Canillo Canillo () is one of the seven parishes which make up Andorra. Canillo is also the name of the main town of the parish. The parish is considered the religious center of Andorra with the Sanctuary and Chapel of Our Lady of Meritxell, patron sain ...

. With Group A expansion, four nations were promoted to Group C.

First round

Group 1

Croatia Croatia, officially the Republic of Croatia, is a country in Central Europe, Central and Southeast Europe, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. It borders Slovenia to the northwest, Hungary to the northeast, Serbia to the east, Bosnia and Herze ...

and

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the southern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders North Korea along the Korean Demilitarized Zone, with the Yellow Sea to the west and t ...

were promoted to Group C.''

Group 2

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

and

Yugoslavia , common_name = Yugoslavia , life_span = 1918–19921941–1945: World War II in Yugoslavia#Axis invasion and dismemberment of Yugoslavia, Axis occupation , p1 = Kingdom of SerbiaSerbia , flag_p ...

were promoted to Group C.''

Final Round 29–32 Place

Consolation Round 33–36 Place

Unofficial Group E

Three men's teams that were going to be included in Group D in 1998 played a tournament in

Ankara Ankara is the capital city of Turkey and List of national capitals by area, the largest capital by area in the world. Located in the Central Anatolia Region, central part of Anatolia, the city has a population of 5,290,822 in its urban center ( ...

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

from 19 to 24 February 1997.

Ranking and statistics

Tournament Awards

*Best players selected by the directorate: **Best

Goaltender In ice hockey, the goaltender (commonly referred to as goalie or netminder) is the player responsible for preventing the hockey puck from entering their own team's net, thus preventing the opposing team from scoring. The goaltender mostly plays ...

: Tommy Salo **Best

Defenceman Defence or defense (in American English) in ice hockey is a player position that is primarily responsible for preventing the opposing team from Goal (ice hockey), scoring. They are often referred to as defencemen, D, D-men or blueliners (the l ...

Rob Blake Robert Bowlby Blake (born December 10, 1969) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player and executive who most recently served as the general manager of the Los Angeles Kings of the National Hockey League (NHL). He was originally draft ...

**Best

Forward Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward. Forward may also refer to: People *Forward (surname) Sports * Forward (association football) * Forward (basketball), including: ** Point forward ** Power forward (basketball) ** Smal ...

Michael Nylander Michael Gunnar Nylander (born 3 October 1972) is a Swedish former professional ice hockey centre and coach. He played for fifteen seasons in the NHL, and represented the Swedish national team in multiple Olympics and World Championships. Play ...

*Media All-Star Team: **Goaltender: Tommy Salo **Defence: Rob Blake,

Teppo Numminen Teppo Kalevi Numminen (born July 3, 1968) is a Finnish former professional ice hockey defenceman who played in the National Hockey League (NHL). He played for Tappara and TuTo of the SM-liiga and the Winnipeg Jets, Phoenix Coyotes, Dallas Stars ...

**Forwards: Michael Nylander,

Martin Procházka Martin Procházka (, born March 3, 1972, in Slaný, Czechoslovakia) is a Czech former professional ice hockey player. Procházka was drafted 135th overall by the Toronto Maple Leafs in the 1991 NHL Entry Draft and played 32 games in the Nation ...

, Vladimír Vůjtek

Final standings

The final standings of the tournament according to

IIHF The International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF; ; ) is a worldwide governing body for ice hockey. It is based in Zurich, Switzerland, and has 84 member countries. The IIHF maintains the IIHF World Ranking based on international ice hockey tourn ...

Scoring leaders

List shows the top skaters sorted by points, then goals. Source

/small>

Leading goaltenders

Only the top five goaltenders, based on save percentage, who have played 40% of their team's minutes are included in this list. Source

/small>

IIHF Hall of Fame induction

The inaugural

IIHF Hall of Fame The IIHF Hall of Fame is a hall of fame operated by the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF). It was founded in 1997, and has resided at the Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto since 1998. Prior to 1997, the IIHF housed exhibits at the Interna ...

induction ceremony was held during the 1997 World Championships, with 31 members inducted. *Austria: Walter Wasservogel *Belgium:

Paul Loicq Paul Loicq (11 August 1888 – 26 March 1953) was a Belgian lawyer, businessman and ice hockey player, coach, referee and administrator. He played ice hockey for Belgium men's national ice hockey team and won four bronze medals from in 1910 to ...

*Canada: Father David Bauer, Gordon Juckes, Robert Lebel, Vic Lindquist,

Seth Martin Seth Martin (May 4, 1933 – September 6, 2014) was a Canadian ice hockey goalie. He played 30 games in the National Hockey League with the St. Louis Blues during the 1967–68 season. The rest of his career, which lasted from 1953 to 1 ...

Harry Sinden Harry James Sinden (born September 14, 1932) is a Canadian former ice hockey player, coach, and executive. He served as a coach, general manager, and team president for the Boston Bruins of the National Hockey League (NHL), and was the coach of ...

*Czech Republic: Vlastimil Bubník,

Jaroslav Drobný Jaroslav Drobný (; 12 October 1921 – 13 September 2001) was a world No. 1 amateur tennis and ice hockey champion. He left Czechoslovakia in 1949 and travelled as an Egyptian citizen before becoming a citizen of the United Kingdom in 1959, w ...

Vladimír Kostka Vladimír Kostka (20 August 1922 – 18 September 2009) was a Czech ice hockey coach and president of the Czechoslovak Ice Hockey Federation. Kostka was inducted into the IIHF Hall of Fame in 1997, and into the Czech Ice Hockey Hall of Fame in 2 ...

Václav Nedomanský Václav Nedomanský (born 14 March 1944) is a Czech former ice hockey forward. Nedomanský is best known as the first Czechoslovak hockey player to defect to North America to play. He was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2019. He is als ...

, Vladimír Zábrodský *Finland:

Urpo Ylönen Urpo Yrjö Juhani Ylönen (born 25 May 1943 in Käkisalmi, Finland) is a goaltending coach and a retired professional ice hockey player who played in the SM-liiga. He played for TuTo and TPS. He was inducted into the Finnish Hockey Hall of Fa ...

*France: Louis Magnus *Germany:

Erich Kühnhackl Erich Kühnhackl (born 17 October 1950) is a German former professional ice hockey player, born and raised in Czechoslovakia. He is one of the all-time greats of German ice hockey and was named Germany's ice hockey player of the 20th century in ...

Günther Sabetzki Günther Sabetzki (4 June 1915 in Düsseldorf, German Empire – 21 June 2000) was a German executive for several ice hockey leagues and organizations. Sabetzki was one of the founding members of the German Ice Hockey Federation in 1963. He w ...

*Great Britain:

Bunny Ahearne John Francis "Bunny" Ahearne (19 November 1900 – 11 April 1985) was a British ice hockey administrator and businessman. He served rotating terms as president and vice-president of the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) from 1951 to 19 ...

*Russia:

Vsevolod Bobrov Vsevolod Mikhailovich Bobrov ( rus, Все́волод Миха́йлович Бобро́в, p=ˈfsʲevələd bɐˈbrof; 1 December 1922 – 1 July 1979) was a Soviet athlete, who excelled in football, bandy and ice hockey. He is conside ...

Alexander Ragulin Alexander Pavlovich "Rags" Ragulin (; 5 May 1941 – 17 November 2004) was a Russian ice hockey player. He is considered one of the best defensemen in Soviet ice hockey history, winning three Olympic gold medals and ten world t ...

, Andrei Starovoytov,

Anatoly Tarasov Anatoly Vladimirovich Tarasov (; 10 December 1918 – 23 June 1995) was a Russian ice hockey player and coach. Tarasov is considered "the father of Russian ice hockey" and established the Soviet Union national team as "the dominant force in int ...

Vladislav Tretiak Vladislav Aleksandrovich Tretiak State Duma, MP ( rus, links=no, Владислав Александрович Третьяк, p=trʲɪˈtʲjak; born 25 April 1952) is a Russian former goaltender for the Soviet Union national ice hockey team. ...

*Sweden: Arne Grunander,

Anders Hedberg Anders Hedberg (born 25 February 1951) is a Swedish former professional ice hockey player who was one of the first European-born players to make an impact in North America. He played internationally for the Sweden men's national ice hockey team, ...

Sven Tumba Sven Tumba (born Sven Olof Gunnar Johansson; 28 August 1931 – 1 October 2011) was one of the most prominent Swedish ice hockey players of the 1950s and 1960s. He also represented Sweden in Association football, football as well as golf and bec ...

*Switzerland:

Bibi Torriani Richard "Bibi" Torriani (1 October 1911 – 3 September 1988) was a Swiss ice hockey player and coach, and luge athlete, also known as Riccardo Torriani. He played for HC Davos from 1929 to 1950, and served as Captain (ice hockey), captain of ...

*United States:

Walter A. Brown Walter Augustine Brown (February 10, 1905 – September 7, 1964) was an American sports executive. He was the founder and original owner of the Boston Celtics, operated the Boston Garden-Arena Corporation, and served as president of the Bosto ...

, Bill Cleary, Gerry Cosby,

John Mayasich John Edward Mayasich (Croatian: Meašić; born May 22, 1933) is an American former ice hockey player of Croatian descent. He was a member of the U.S. ice hockey team that won a silver medal at the 1956 Winter Olympics and a gold medal at the 1 ...

Citations

References

Official IIHF Pool A website (via Internet Archive)
* * {{Ice Hockey World Championships IIHF Men's World Ice Hockey Championships

World The world is the totality of entities, the whole of reality, or everything that Existence, exists. The nature of the world has been conceptualized differently in different fields. Some conceptions see the world as unique, while others talk ...

1997 Events January * January 1 – The Emergency Alert System is introduced in the United States. * January 11 – Turkey threatens Cyprus on account of a deal to buy Russian S-300 missiles, prompting the Cypriot Missile Crisis. * January 1 ...

International sports competitions in Helsinki Men's Ice Hockey World Championships Men's Ice Hockey World Championships 1990s in Helsinki Sports competitions in Tampere International sports competitions in Turku 1990s in Turku Men's Ice Hockey World Championships Sosnowiec Sports competitions in Katowice 20th century in Katowice 1996–97 in Polish ice hockey International ice hockey competitions hosted by Poland International ice hockey competitions hosted by Estonia 1996–97 in Estonian ice hockey 1996–97 in European ice hockey 1997 in Andorran sport 1990s in Tallinn Sports competitions in Tallinn Canillo International ice hockey competitions hosted by Andorra International ice hockey competitions hosted by Turkey Sports competitions in Ankara 1990s in Ankara Men's World Championships Sport in Kohtla-Järve

World Championship Group A (Finland)

First round

Group 1

Group 2

Second Round 1–6 Place

Consolation Round 7–12 Place

Final round

Match for third place

Final

World Championship Group B (Poland)

World Championship Group C (Estonia)

First round

Group 1

Group 2

Final Round 21–24 Place

Consolation Round 25–28 Place

World Championship Group D (Andorra)

First round

Group 1

Group 2

Final Round 29–32 Place

Consolation Round 33–36 Place

Unofficial Group E

Ranking and statistics

Tournament Awards

Final standings

Scoring leaders

Leading goaltenders

IIHF Hall of Fame induction

See also

Citations

References