The 2026 IIHF World Championship Division II consisted of two international ice hockey tournaments organized by the International Ice Hockey Federation. Divisions II A and II B represented the fourth and the fifth tier of the IIHF Ice Hockey World Championships.
Israel won Group B and Chinese Taipei finished last and got relegated.
Group A tournament
The Division II Group A tournament was scheduled to be played in Al Ain, United Arab Emirates, from 20 to 26 April 2026. On 18 March 2026, the tournament was postponed due to the 2026 Iran war. On 7 April 2026 it was announced the tournament would not longer be postponed, but was cancelled. As a consequence no team will be demoted from Division I Group B, and no team will be promoted from Division II Group B, in the 2026 tournaments for 2027.
This tournament was to be played under a new format. The teams were divided into two groups of three using the serpentine system. In the group stage, each team from Group A will face all three opponents from Group B, and vice versa. The top two teams from each group will advance to the semifinals, which will be played as A1 vs. A2, and B1 vs. B2.
Participants Team QualificationPlaced 6th in Division I B in 2025 and were relegated.Placed 2nd in Division II A in 2025.Hosts; placed 3rd in Division II A in 2025.Placed 4th in Division II A in 2025.Placed 5th in Division II A in 2025.Placed 1st in Division II B in 2025 and were promoted.
Group B tournament
The Division II Group B tournament was played in Sofia, Bulgaria, from 6 to 12 April 2026. Because of the cancellation of the Group A tournament there was no promotion available in this tournament.
Participants Team QualificationPlaced 6th in Division II A in 2025 and were relegated.Placed 2nd in Division II B in 2025.Placed 3rd in Division II B in 2025.Hosts; placed 4th in Division II B in 2025.Placed 5th in Division II B in 2025.Placed 1st in Division III A in 2025 and were promoted.
Match officials Four referees and seven linesperson were selected for the tournament.
Referees Linesperson Luboš Čamra Andreas Nygaard Vladislav Zotov Boštjan Groznik Daniel Sparer Maarten Van Den Acker Martin Boyadjiev Xu Henhao Krešimir Polašek Johan Fauvel Luis Estirado
Standings
Results All times are local (UTC+3).
Statistics Scoring leaders List shows the top skaters sorted by points, then goals.
PlayerGPGAPts+/−PIMPOS Henadz Malashchanka 5 6 6 12 +5 4 F Jacob Carey 5 7 4 11 +7 0 F Colin McIntosh 5 6 5 11 +2 6 F Stefan Amston 5 4 6 10 +7 0 D Kiryl Malashchanka 5 1 9 10 0 4 F Kirill Polozov 5 6 2 8 +3 2 F Semen Kareev 5 4 4 8 −1 10 F Lin Yo-chen 5 4 4 8 +4 0 F Mamed Seifulov 5 3 5 8 +3 2 F Kári Arnarsson 5 2 6 8 +3 2 F GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; +/− = Plus/Minus; PIM = Penalties in Minutes; POS = Position Source: IIHF.com
Goaltending leaders Only the top five goaltenders, based on save percentage, who have played at least 40% of their team's minutes, are included in this list.
PlayerTOIGAGAASASv%SO Maksim Kaliaev 303:21 14 2.77 173 91.91 0 Ivan Stoynov 190:24 11 3.47 117 90.60 0 Helgi Ivarsson 292:56 15 3.07 144 89.58 0 Joel Hasselman 280:02 20 4.29 177 88.70 0 Hsiao Po-yu 175:41 18 6.15 117 84.62 0 TOI = time on ice (minutes:seconds); SA = shots against; GA = goals against; GAA = goals against average; Sv% = save percentage; SO = shutouts Source: IIHF.com
Awards Position Player Goaltender Maksim Kaliaev Defenceman Stefan Amston Forward Jacob Carey
References