Ice Hockey World Championship 2022 Predictions & Preview
Where and when?
With the 2022 Men´s Ice Hockey World Championship just around the corner, it is high time we took a closer look at the teams and how it should all pan out. It will be the 85th edition of the tournament organized by the IIHF and will be played in Finland between 13 and 29 May.
14 teams are set to compete in Tampere and Helsinki in two different groups. Initially, there should have been 16 teams but both Russia and Belarus were expelled because of the current political circumstances.
Schedule
Teams have been divided into two groups consisting of seven teams. During the preliminary round, each team will play single matches against all the other countries in their group. The top four teams from each group will qualify for the knockout stage which will be a classic single-elimination style tournament starting with the quarter-finals.
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IIHF 2022 predictions: Group A
The original venue for group A was supposed to be the massive Helsinki Halli or the former Hartwall Arena. However, due to the arena being owned by Russian oligarchs the venue was moved to the legendary and smaller Helsinki Ice Hall.
It will be all about Canada in this group as one of the main favorites and the defending champions shouldn´t have too much trouble finishing at the top. Slovakia, Germany, and Switzerland are right below them hoping to spoil the party or at least make their life difficult. Overall, they lack the talent to seriously threaten them and have to be more than content if they secure a top 4 finish.
Teams like Italy and Kazakhstan are clear outsiders and will hardly win any points but Denmark seems like a team that could raise a few eyebrows. With some notable results from the past and with a very solid team they put together, it wouldn´t surprise us if we saw them in the knockout phase.
Prediction: Group A Winner – Canada for 1.55 @ 22Bet
IIHF 2022 predictions: Group B
There will be no lack of drama and tight matches in group B where the competition is much tougher than in group A. As the tournament hosts and the reigning vice-champions, Finland should come out on top playing in their brand-new Nokia Arena in Tampere.
Their main competitors will be their neighbor Sweden while one can never forget about the ever-dangerous United States. The U.S. hasn´t won a gold medal since 1960, but they are definitely one of the main title contenders and could very well steal the first place from Finland and Sweden.
The top three places should be reserved for those teams with the Czech Republic and Latvia most probably battling it out for the last quarter-final berth. Norway, Great Britain, and Austria are a part of the lower echelon of the group and miles behind the favorites without any real chances.
Prediction: Group B Winner – Finland for 2.00 @ 22Bet
Who is going to win it?
Even though both Finland and Sweden have a couple of high-profile NHL players and look more than formidable, Canada will be eager to defend their title after a poor Olympic result. They will have more quality at their disposal for this tournament after they were without NHL players during the Olympics so expect them to rebound with strong performances and convincing wins from the opening round.
Canada will also have the advantage of playing in a much weaker group than their main counterparts which should provide them with more stamina and that extra edge in crucial elimination matches.
Prediction: 2022 IIHF World Championship Winner – Canada for 5.00 @ 22Bet
Check our daily IIHF 2022 predictions:
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