S. Korea to face Slovakia, Germany in runup to men's hockey worlds

All News 11:24 April 17, 2018

SEOUL, April 17 (Yonhap) -- South Korea will face a couple of top-10 nations in its runup to the men's world hockey championship.

Coached by former National Hockey League (NHL) defenseman Jim Paek, South Korea is set to compete at the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) World Championship scheduled for May 4-20 in two cities in Denmark -- Copenhagen and Herning. It is the highest tier among the IIHF's world championships, and South Korea will play at this level for the first time after earning a promotion with a runner-up finish at last year's Division I Group A tournament.

And in its preparations, South Korea will set up a training camp in Slovakia and play the 10th-ranked nation April 25. Then two days later, South Korea will take on world No. 7 Germany, the surprise silver medalist at the PyeongChang Winter Olympics in February.

South Korea will train at home this week and depart for Slovakia next Monday.

In this file photo from Feb. 20, 2018, members of the South Korean men's hockey team acknowledge the crowd at Gangneung Hockey Centre in Gangneung, 230 kilometers east of Seoul, after their 5-2 loss to Finland in the qualification playoff during the PyeongChang Winter Olympics. (Yonhap)

At the world championship, there are two groups of eight nations. South Korea, at No. 19, is the lowest-ranked participant.

The top four teams from each group will reach the quarterfinals, while the last-place teams from the two groups will be relegated to Division I Group A in 2019. South Korea will be in for a tough fight in Group B against Canada (No. 1), Finland (No. 4), the United States (No. 5), Germany (No. 7), Norway (No. 9), Latvia (No. 13) and Denmark (No. 14).

Since the IIHF adopted the current promotion-relegation system for its world championships in 2012, no nation has survived the top-tier event after getting promoted from Division I Group A.

At PyeongChang 2018, South Korea lost all four matches -- three in the group stage to the Czech Republic, Switzerland and Canada, and one in the qualification playoffs to Finland. The Olympic tournament didn't feature any NHL players, but NHL stars whose teams miss the playoffs that began earlier this month will suit up for their countries at the world championship.

Last week, Canada announced its 18-man initial roster led by reigning Hart Trophy winner Connor McDavid and leading Calder Trophy candidate Mathew Barzal. Former Hart Trophy winner Patrick Kane will captain the U.S. team.

jeeho@yna.co.kr
(END)