The International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) confirmed on 19 May 2017 that Finland will host the 2022 IIHF World Championship from 13 to 29 May 2022. Tampere and Helsinki are the host cities for the World Championships, with Tampere's brand-new Nokia Arena serving as the major venue.
The venue in Helsinki was relocated from Helsinki Halli, formerly known as Hartwall Arena, to Helsinki Ice Hall in the midst of the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022, due to the former's ownership by Russian billionaires.
Venues:
1. Tampere: Nokia Arena
Capacity: 13,455
2. Helsinki: Helsinki Ice Hall
Capacity: 8,200
Participants:
Qualified as host:
Finland
Automatic qualifier after the cancellation of the 2021 IIHF lower division championships:
Canada
Czech Republic
Denmark
Germany
Great Britain
Italy
Kazakhstan
Latvia
Norway
Slovakia
Sweden
Switzerland
United States
Qualifier after Russia and Belarus being expelled:
Austria
France
Pursuant to a December 2020 ruling by the Court of Arbitration for Sport on doping sanctions, Russian athletes and teams were prohibited from competing under the Russian flag or using the Russian national anthem at any Olympic Games or world championships through 16 December 2022, and could only compete as "neutral athlete[s]." For IIHF tournaments, the Russian team was to play under the name "ROC". Instead of the Russian national anthem being played at the 2021 World Championship, Piano Concerto No.1 by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky was to be played.
However, on 28 February 2022, the IIHF decided to expel ROC and Belarus from the tournament due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Austria and France replaced Russia and Belarus.
Seeding:
The seedings in the preliminary round are based on the 2021 IIHF World Ranking, as of the end of the 2021 IIHF World Championship, using the serpentine system.
Group A (Helsinki):
Canada (1)
Germany (5)
Switzerland (8)
Slovakia (9)
Denmark (12)
Kazakhstan (13)
France (15)
Italy (17)
Group B (Tampere):
Finland (2)
United States (4)
Czech Republic (6)
Sweden (7)
Latvia (10)
Norway (11)
Great Britain (16)
Austria (18)
Rosters:
Each team's roster consists of at least 15 skaters (forwards, and defencemen) and 2 goaltenders, and at most 25 skaters and 3 goaltenders. All 16 participating nations, through the confirmation of their respective national associations, had to submit a "Long List" no later than two weeks before the tournament, and a final roster by the Passport Control meeting prior to the start of the tournament.
Preliminary round:
The groups were announced on 7 June 2021, with the schedule being revealed on 18 August 2021.