The 2008 Men's World Ice Hockey Championships was the 72nd such event hosted by the International Ice Hockey Federation. Teams representing 48 countries participated in four levels of competition. The competition also served as qualification for the 2009 competition. In the Division I Championship held in April, Austria and Hungary were promoted to the Championship division, while South Korea and Estonia were demoted to Division II. In the Division II competition, Romania and Australia were promoted, Ireland and New Zealand were relegated to Division III. Greece won the Division III qualification in February, and competed in the Division III competition from March to April. In that competition, North Korea and South Africa were promoted to Division II in 2009.
Contents
Championship
- Russia
- Canada
- Finland
- Sweden
- Czech Republic
- United States
- Switzerland
- Norway
- Belarus
- Germany
- Latvia
- Denmark
- Slovakia
- France
- Slovenia — relegated to Division I for 2009
- Italy — relegated to Division I for 2009
Division I
Twelve teams comprise Division I. They are broken into two groups, with the winner of each group gaining promotion to the World Championship pool for the following year.
Group A
- Austria — promoted to Championship pool for 2009
- Kazakhstan
- Poland
- Great Britain
- Netherlands
- South Korea — relegated to Division II for 2009
Group B
- Hungary — promoted to Championship pool for 2009
- Ukraine
- Japan
- Lithuania
- Croatia
- Estonia — relegated to Division II for 2009
Division II
Twelve teams comprise Division II. They are also broken into two groups competing to advance into Division I.
Group A
- Romania — promoted to Division I for 2010
- Belgium
- Serbia
- Israel
- Bulgaria
- Ireland — relegated to Division III for 2010
Group B
- Australia — promoted to Division I for 2010
- China
- Spain
- Mexico
- Iceland
- New Zealand — relegated to Division III for 2010
Division III
Division III is made up of six teams. The top two in each year’s tournament are promoted to Division II.
- North Korea — promoted to Division II for 2009
- South Africa — promoted to Division II for 2009
- Luxembourg
- Turkey
- Greece
- Mongolia
Division III Qualification
Three teams comprise the Division III Qualification with the winning team advancing to the 2008 Division III competition.
- Greece — qualified for the 2008 IIHF World Championship Division III
- Bosnia and Herzegovina
- Armenia