2019 IIHF World Championship
The 2019 IIHF World Championship was hosted from 10 to 26 May 2019 by Slovakia. It was the second time that Slovakia has hosted the event as an independent country, as was the case in 2011. The host cities were Bratislava and Košice, as announced by the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) on 15 May 2015 in Prague, Czech Republic.
| Tournament details | |
|---|---|
| Host country | Slovakia |
| Venue(s) | 2 (in 2 host cities) |
| Dates | 10–26 May |
| Opened by | Andrej Kiska |
| Teams | 16 |
| Final positions | |
| Champions | Finland (3rd title) |
| Runner-up | Canada |
| Third place | Russia |
| Fourth place | Czech Republic |
| Tournament statistics | |
| Games played | 64 |
| Goals scored | 412 (6.44 per game) |
| Attendance | 470,853 (7,357 per game) |
| Scoring leader(s) | William Nylander (18 points) |
| MVP | Mark Stone |
Finland won their third title by defeating Canada in the final. The Finns had 18 first-timers for the 2019 IIHF World Championship and were widely regarded as an outsider to win any medal at all. Despite this, the Finns won their third World Championship and lost only two games in the tournament (against the USA, and Germany). Russia secured the bronze medal after a penalty-shootout win over the Czech Republic. This tournament was also the first time since the 2006 IIHF World Championship that both promoted teams (Great Britain and Italy) stayed in the top division.