Being relegated from the top division of the IIHF U18 Men’s World Championship was a huge disappointment for the Swiss, and they made sure that their stay in Division I Group A lasted only one year by winning the 2026 tournament in Krynica-Zdroj, Poland. Switzerland won all five games – four in regulation and one in overtime – outscoring their opponents 30-11.
The decisive game was played on Thursday, the penultimate day, between Switzerland and Kazakhstan. Both teams had won their first three games in regulation game, making this a de facto gold-medal game – as long as it was decided in regulation, the loser could do no better than force a tie in points, but would lose the head-to-head tiebreaker.
At first, it looked like the Swiss would run away with the game as they built a 3-0 lead on goals by Tim Muenger, Lou Baechler and Maxime Southier in a span of 1:42. However, Vladislav Anufriyev got one back for Kazakhstan with one second remaining in the first period and, following a scoreless middle frame, Tair Bigarinov made it a one-goal game early in the third. The Kazakhs outshot Switzerland 14-9 in the third period but, despite pulling their goalie for an extra attacker in the late going, were unable to get the equaliser.
In the opening game of the tournament’s final day, Kazakhstan defeated Slovenia 3-2 in a shootout to finish second with 11 points. That was followed by Switzerland’s 6-5 overtime win over Ukraine. The Swiss, of course, had already secured the gold, but the point earned helped the Ukrainians finish third and take home the bronze medals.
While the tournament winner was decided early, the matter of relegation went down to the very last game between Hungary and Poland, who each entered the game with three points. The winner of the game would definitely be safe and the Poles even would in the event of a loss in extra time, as they had beaten Slovenia (which had four points) earlier in the tournament.
However, Hungary won 5-0 to finish fourth, relegating host Poland. After a scoreless first period, the Hungarians scored twice in the second and three times in the third. In his only complete game of the tournament, Kund Szamos made 16 saves for the shutout. After winning Division I Group B last year, the Poles were playing in Group A for the first time since the 2012 realignment.
Fabrice Bouvard led the tournament with six goals and 10 points and was named Top Forward of the tournament. He was followed by teammate Clemens Troxler and Kazakhstan’s Yegor Kravchenko with eight points each. Arsenii Voroteliak led Ukraine with seven points, Doman Szongoth led Hungary and Joc Bukovec led Slovenia with six each, and defenceman Wiktor Tanczyk led Poland with five points. The top scoring defender in the tournament with six points was Kazakhstan’s Svyatoslav Evplov, who was named Top Defender.
Yannis Zambelli played three of Switzerland’s five games in goal and led the tournament with a goals-against average of 1.33 and a save percentage of 93.94. In terms of volume, Iliia Bobrov appeared in all five of Ukraine’s games and played a tournament-leading 248:15, and Poland’s Kacper Rydzon made 145 saves in four games.
Final standings:
1. Switzerland – 14 points (promoted to 2027 IIHF U18 Men’s World Championship)
2. Kazakhstan – 11 points
3. Ukraine – 7 points
4. Hungary – 6 points
5. Slovenian – 4 points
6. Poland – 3 points (relegated to 2027 IIHF U18 Men’s World Championship Division I Group A)
Game results:
18 April: HUN 2-5 KAZ, SLO 2-4 UKR, POL 1-6 SUI
19 April: UKR 4-6 HUN, SUI 10-2 SLO, KAZ 10-2 POL
21 April: SUI 5-1 HUN, UKR 3-5 KAZ, POL 4-3 SLO
23 April: KAZ 2-3 SUI, SLO 5-2 HUN, UKR 6-3 POL
24 April: KAZ 3-2 SLO (SO), SUI 6-5 UKR (OT), HUN 5-0 POL
Directorate awards:
Best Goalkeeper – Yannis Zambelli, SUI
Best Defender – Svyatoslav Evplov, KAZ
Best Forward – Fabrice Bouvard, SUI
The decisive game was played on Thursday, the penultimate day, between Switzerland and Kazakhstan. Both teams had won their first three games in regulation game, making this a de facto gold-medal game – as long as it was decided in regulation, the loser could do no better than force a tie in points, but would lose the head-to-head tiebreaker.
At first, it looked like the Swiss would run away with the game as they built a 3-0 lead on goals by Tim Muenger, Lou Baechler and Maxime Southier in a span of 1:42. However, Vladislav Anufriyev got one back for Kazakhstan with one second remaining in the first period and, following a scoreless middle frame, Tair Bigarinov made it a one-goal game early in the third. The Kazakhs outshot Switzerland 14-9 in the third period but, despite pulling their goalie for an extra attacker in the late going, were unable to get the equaliser.
In the opening game of the tournament’s final day, Kazakhstan defeated Slovenia 3-2 in a shootout to finish second with 11 points. That was followed by Switzerland’s 6-5 overtime win over Ukraine. The Swiss, of course, had already secured the gold, but the point earned helped the Ukrainians finish third and take home the bronze medals.
While the tournament winner was decided early, the matter of relegation went down to the very last game between Hungary and Poland, who each entered the game with three points. The winner of the game would definitely be safe and the Poles even would in the event of a loss in extra time, as they had beaten Slovenia (which had four points) earlier in the tournament.
However, Hungary won 5-0 to finish fourth, relegating host Poland. After a scoreless first period, the Hungarians scored twice in the second and three times in the third. In his only complete game of the tournament, Kund Szamos made 16 saves for the shutout. After winning Division I Group B last year, the Poles were playing in Group A for the first time since the 2012 realignment.
Fabrice Bouvard led the tournament with six goals and 10 points and was named Top Forward of the tournament. He was followed by teammate Clemens Troxler and Kazakhstan’s Yegor Kravchenko with eight points each. Arsenii Voroteliak led Ukraine with seven points, Doman Szongoth led Hungary and Joc Bukovec led Slovenia with six each, and defenceman Wiktor Tanczyk led Poland with five points. The top scoring defender in the tournament with six points was Kazakhstan’s Svyatoslav Evplov, who was named Top Defender.
Yannis Zambelli played three of Switzerland’s five games in goal and led the tournament with a goals-against average of 1.33 and a save percentage of 93.94. In terms of volume, Iliia Bobrov appeared in all five of Ukraine’s games and played a tournament-leading 248:15, and Poland’s Kacper Rydzon made 145 saves in four games.
Final standings:
1. Switzerland – 14 points (promoted to 2027 IIHF U18 Men’s World Championship)
2. Kazakhstan – 11 points
3. Ukraine – 7 points
4. Hungary – 6 points
5. Slovenian – 4 points
6. Poland – 3 points (relegated to 2027 IIHF U18 Men’s World Championship Division I Group A)
Game results:
18 April: HUN 2-5 KAZ, SLO 2-4 UKR, POL 1-6 SUI
19 April: UKR 4-6 HUN, SUI 10-2 SLO, KAZ 10-2 POL
21 April: SUI 5-1 HUN, UKR 3-5 KAZ, POL 4-3 SLO
23 April: KAZ 2-3 SUI, SLO 5-2 HUN, UKR 6-3 POL
24 April: KAZ 3-2 SLO (SO), SUI 6-5 UKR (OT), HUN 5-0 POL
Directorate awards:
Best Goalkeeper – Yannis Zambelli, SUI
Best Defender – Svyatoslav Evplov, KAZ
Best Forward – Fabrice Bouvard, SUI