2014 Olympic Winter Games

Olympics, Men:

Olympic men’s ice hockey tournament in Sochi 2014

Participants: Nations ranked 1-9 according to the 2012 IIHF Men’s World Ranking plus three qualifiers.

Seeding:
Group A: Russia (1), Slovakia (6), USA (7), Qualifier 3
Group B: Finland (2), Canada (5), Norway (8), Qualifier 2
Group C: Czech Republic (3), Sweden (4), Switzerland (9), Qualifier 1

The eight teams with the best records (the best two teams of each group and the two teams ranked third with the best record) advance to the quarter-finals.

Final Olympic Qualification (3 tournaments, 7-10 February 2013)

Nations ranked 10-18 plus the three winners from the Olympic Pre-Qualification.

Group D in Germany: Germany (10), Austria (15), Italy (16), Qualifier 3
Group E in Riga, Latvia: Latvia (11), France (14), Kazakhstan (17), Qualifier 2
Group F in Denmark: Denmark (12), Belarus (13), Slovenia (18), Qualifier 1

Olympic Pre-Qualification (3 tournaments, 8-11 November 2012)

Nations ranked 19-27 plus qualifiers from any preliminary qualification if required.

Group G in Budapest, Hungary: Hungary (19), Netherlands (24), Lithuania (25), Qualifier
Group H in Kyiv, Ukraine: Ukraine (20), Poland (23), Estonia (26), Spain (29)
Group J in TBA: Great Britain (21), Japan (22), Romania (27), Korea (28)

Olympic Preliminary Qualification (1 tournament, Sep./Oct. 2012)

Group K in Croatia: Croatia (30), Serbia (31), Mexico (32), Israel (33)
 

Olympics, Women:

Olympic women’s ice hockey tournament in Sochi 2014

Participants: Nations ranked 1-6 according to the 2012 IIHF Women’s World Ranking plus two qualifiers.

Seeding:
Group A: Canada (1), USA (2), Finland (3), Switzerland (4)
Group B: Sweden (5), Russia (6) + two qualifiers

Note: This is the only major change compared to 2010 as the preliminary round will take place in two tiers, as Group A will consist of teams ranked 1-4 while Group B will be comprised of teams ranked 5-8. Quarter-finals: 3A-2B & 4A-1B, semi-finals: 1A vs. winner 4A/1B, 2A vs. winner 3A/2B.

Final Olympic Qualification (2 tournaments, 7-10 February 2013)

Nations ranked 7-12 plus the two winners from the Olympic Pre-Qualification.

Group C in Bratislava, Slovakia: Slovakia (7), Norway (10), Japan (11), Qualifier 2
Group D in Germany: Germany (8), Kazakhstan (9), Czech Republic (12), Qualifier 1

Olympic Pre-Qualification (2 tournaments, 8-11 November 2012)

Nations ranked 13-18 plus qualifiers from any preliminary qualification if required.

Group E in Shanghai, China: China (13), France (16), Great Britain (17), Qualifier 2
Group F in Latvia: Latvia (14), Austria (15), Italy (18), Qualifier 1

Olympic Preliminary Qualification (2 tournaments, Sep./Oct. 2012)

Group G: Denmark (19), Croatia (22), Hungary (23), Spain (26)
Group H: Slovenia (20), Netherlands (21), Korea (24), Poland (25)