Kazakhstan, Ukraine promoted to top division of 2027 IIHF World Championship

After finishing in the top two spots of the Division IA World Championship this week, Kazakhstan and Ukraine have advanced to the top division of the 2027 IIHF World Championship next spring.

Kazakhstan is back in the main event after spending five years finishing anywhere between 10th and 15th. The team was relegated after the 2025 tournament in Sweden and Denmark after finishing 15th place, falling down to the second tier alongside France. Kazakhstan won all five games, including three in regulation and two in overtime. Kazakhstan finished the tournament with 13 points total.

Ukraine, meanwhile, will make its main division tournament reappearance after last participating in Russia back in 2007. The team had fallen to Division IB for a few years, often grinding between the two Division I events. Ukraine had finished as low as fifth in Division IB in 2019, nearly getting relegated to Division IIA in the process. But a recent string of strong performances, including a third-place finish a year ago, seemed to spark the result.

Lithuania has been relegated to Division IB for 2027, with Estonia taking its place. France, who’s as relegated in 2025, came up one spot short of promotion, taking third place in DIA.

The 2027 IIHF Men’s World Championship will take place in Germany. Notably, Russia and Belarus are still banned from IIHF competition, with Ukraine set to play in its first top division event at any level since the invasion in 2022.

Kazakhstan and Ukraine will replace the two bottom teams from the top division following the 2026 tournament’s conclusion on May 31. The main event will take place in Switzerland, with USA looking to go back-to-back at the event for the first time ever.

The 2026 IIHF Men’s World Championship will run from May 15-31 with 16 teams set to chase gold.