2023 IIHF World Championship
The 2023 IIHF World Championship was co-hosted by Tampere, Finland, and Riga, Latvia. The tournament was held from 12 to 28 May 2023, organized by the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF).
| Tournament details | |
|---|---|
| Host countries | Finland Latvia |
| Venue(s) | 2 (in 2 host cities) |
| Dates | 12–28 May |
| Opened by | Sauli Niinistö |
| Teams | 16 |
| Final positions | |
| Champions | Canada (28th title) |
| Runner-up | Germany |
| Third place | Latvia |
| Fourth place | United States |
| Tournament statistics | |
| Games played | 64 |
| Goals scored | 354 (5.53 per game) |
| Attendance | 442,160 (6,909 per game) |
| Scoring leader(s) | Rocco Grimaldi (14 points) |
| MVP | Artūrs Šilovs |
As in the 2022 edition, the tournament saw several upsets: Kazakhstan's win over Norway, Hungary's win over France, Latvia's first-ever victory over Czechia, Norway’s second-ever win over Canada, as well as Kazakhstan's first-ever victory over Slovakia. The playoffs also saw major upsets, as Latvia reached the semi-finals for the first time after defeating favourite Sweden 3–1 in the quarter-finals, Germany upset Switzerland 3–1 and the reigning Olympic and World Champion Finland lost to Canada 4–1. Czechia finished in 8th place after losing to the United States (USA) 3–0 in the quarter-finals, which is that nation's worst placement to date in the history of the World Championship. Germany reached the final for the first time since 1930 after upsetting the top-seeded USA 4–3 in overtime.
Canada won its 28th title by beating Germany 5–2 in the final. The silver was Germany's first medal since 1953. Latvia claimed its first ever IIHF medal after defeating the USA 4–3 in overtime and finishing third.