Six teams will compete in the tournament, with the winner earning a position in the top division of the 2027 U18 Worlds and the team finishing sixth going down to Group B. Leading the way will be favoured Switzerland, followed by four teams – Ukraine, Kazakhstan, Slovenia and Hungary – who competed at this level last year. The host team, Poland, was promoted by winning Division I Group B in 2025.
All games will be streamed on IIHF.tv.
Here are the six teams based on last year’s finishes:
Switzerland
The Swiss were disappointingly relegated from the top division of last year’s U18 Worlds and will play in Division I for the first time since 2006. Anything less than a speedy return to the top flight will be a disappointment, and they will be favoured to do so.
Switzerland will have its full squad available as forwards Yanis Lutz and Maxime Sauthier have been eliminated from the OHL and QMJHL playoffs, respectively. Big winger Jonah Neuenschwander, already a veteran of 47 National League games, will be there too. Fabrice Bouvard led the team in scoring at the Hlinka Gretzky Cup with five points in four games.
Ukraine
Like many of the country’s national teams, Ukraine’s U18 team has been on the rise in recent years and has finished second at each of the last two IA tournaments and might be the biggest threat to upset Switzerland. Last year, Ukraine lost only to promoted Denmark and outscored its other opponents 23-7.
The team should again be strong in goal, where both Illia Bobrov and Nikita Oleksiienko can return from last year’s squad. Other returnees include 16-year-old defenceman Yehor Ostapenko and a trio of forwards who all play U20 in Czechia: Artem Ratushniak, Sviatoslav Vasiak and Myroslav Spaskin.
Kazakhstan
Another team that probably has its sights set on going up is Kazakhstan, which played in the top division as recently as 2024 and hasn’t played lower than Division IA since 2013. Last year’s team finished third, following a 3-2 loss to Ukraine on the last day.
Kazakhstan’s preliminary roster includes a mix of players based in Kazakhstan as well as junior and youth leagues in Russia and the USA. Although they have five who are age-eligible, the only confirmed returnee so far from last year’s team is defenceman Svyatoslav Yevplov. The team will probably be without Beksultan Makysh, whose Windsor Spitfires are still in the OHL playoffs.
Slovenia
Last year, playing in Group A for the first time since 2018, Slovenia finished fourth and got a shootout win over Kazakhstan. Improving on that is going to be a difficult, and the Slovenes can’t consider themselves safe from relegation, either.
Most of the team plays at home in Slovenia, but returnees from last year’s squad include goaltender Luka Dolzan, who plays in Sweden, Oskar Rogl and 16-year-old Filip Zagar, who play in Switzerland, and Svit Habjanic, who plays in Finland. Habjanic and defenceman Din Kovacevic, and Joe Bukovic, who plays in the NAHL, were all on Slovenia’s U20 national team.
Hungary
Playing on home ice at last year’s IA tournament, Hungary narrowly avoided relegation by beating Austria 4-3 on the last day, despite being outshot 45-17. It was the Hungarians’ only win of the tournament.
The good news for Hungary is that last year’s team was very young and as many as 10 players could return. Two prominent returnees are 16-year-old goaltender Benedek Gyulai and 17-year-old forward Doman Kristof Szongoth, who both play in Finland and were big players on Hungary’s U20 team. Gyulai made 42 saves in that win over Austria, and Szongoth played all seven games for Hungary’s senior men’s team at the IIHF World Championship in Denmark.
Poland
Two years ago, Poland’s U18 team played in Division II but, following back-to-back promotions, the Poles are in Division I Group A for the first time since the 2012 re-alignment. Playing on home ice but against much tougher opposition, staying in the group will be no easy task.