World Ice Hockey Championship 2026: Sweden schedule and squad

Sweden's Erik Brannstrom (centre) celebrates with Jacob Larsson (left) and Simon Holmstrom
Sweden's Erik Brannstrom (centre) celebrates with Jacob Larsson (left) and Simon HolmstromJohan Nilsson/TT / Shutterstock Editorial / Profimedia

Sweden are looking for a third consecutive podium finish at the 2026 IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship, which is being hosted in the cities of Zurich and Fribourg in Switzerland.

Third in both 2024 and 2025, Sweden are looking to break their recent semi-final curse and reach the final this time around.

Sam Hallam's side last won the World Championship in 2018, but come into the tournament in Switzerland off the back of a disappointing seventh-placed finish at the 2026 Winter Olympics.

Here, Flashscore details the upcoming World Championship, Sweden's schedule and the playing squad selected to win gold again.

When and where is the 2026 World Championship?

The 2026 World Championship begins on May 15th running until May 31st in the cities of Zurich and Fribourg in Switzerland.

Group A matches will take place at the Swiss Life Arena in Zurich, while Group B games will be played at the BCF Arena in Fribourg.

The World Championship final will be held on May 31st in Zurich, where the semi-finals and third-place play-off will also take place.

2026 World Championship groups

Group A: USA, Switzerland, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Austria, Hungary, Great Britain

Group B: Canada, Sweden, Czech Republic, Denmark, Slovakia, Norway, Slovenia, Italy

Sweden's 2026 World Championship schedule

All times CEST

May 15th: Sweden vs Canada (16:20)

May 17th: Sweden vs Denmark (16:20)

May 18th: Czech Republic vs Sweden (20:20)

May 20th: Sweden vs Slovenia (20:20)

May 22nd: Italy vs Sweden (20:20)

May 23rd: Sweden vs Norway (20:20)

May 26th: Slovakia vs Sweden (16:20)

Sweden's 2026 World Championship squad

Tre Kronor announced their squad for the tournament in Switzerland on 11th May. 13 of the squad will be playing at the World Championship for the first time. 11 players have been selected from the National Hockey League, while seven featured in the domestic top flight, the Swedish Hockey League, this season.

Goaltenders: Arvid Soderblom, Magnus Hellberg, Love Harenstam

Defencemen: Jacob Larsson, Robert Hagg, Mattias Ekholm, Oliver Ekman Larsson, Erik Brannstrom, Albert Johansson, Tim Heed, Joel Persson

Forwards: Isac Hedqvist, Linus Karlsson, Simon Holmstrom, Lucas Raymond, Jack Berglund, Anton Frondell, Andre Petersson, Oskar Sundqvist, Jakob Silfverberg, Ivar Stenberg, Emil Heineman, Viggo Bjorck, Rasmus Asplund, Jacob de la Rose

Head coach: Sam Hallam

Sweden's history at the World Ice Hockey Championship

First participating in 1931, Sweden became world champions for the first time in 1953, in a tournament that was also hosted in Switzerland.

That was the first of 11 golds for Tre Kronor, who also have 19 silvers and 19 bronzes to their name, putting them fourth on the overall medal table behind only Canada, Soviet Union/Russia and Czechoslovakia/Czech Republic.

Their most recent title came in 2018, triumphing in Denmark to retain the crown they won in Germany & France 12 months earlier.

The bronze they took in 2024 ended something of a barren run in terms of podium finishes, but on home ice last year they were unable to go deeper into the tournament, falling to eventual winners United States in the semi-finals before beating co-hosts Denmark to third place.

Follow the 2026 Ice Hockey World Championship

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