Switzerland takes over top spot in 2026 IIHF Men’s World Rankings

For the first time ever, Switzerland is on top of the hockey world.

The IIHF has published its updated rankings for the 2026 season, with the Swiss becoming just the sixth team since the rankings began in 2003 to hold the top spot. Switzerland has yet to win a major men’s international hockey tournament. But a string of three second-place finishes at the World Championship, combined with a fifth-place finish at the 2026 Olympics, helped push the team into first.

Switzerland has a total of 5,335 points, putting the team 30 points above Canada and the United States.

The ranking system takes into account the previous four World Championships (dating back to 2023) and the 2026 Winter Olympics and Olympic qualification tournaments (for teams who did not make the main event.

Notable movers include Slovakia (10th in 2025, eighth in 2026), Italy (20th in 2025, 16th in 2026), Ukraine (24th in 2025, 19th in 2026) and Georgia (47th in 2025, 34th in 2026). No new teams were added to the list this past season, after Uzbekistan and Armenia joined a year ago.

The 2027 IIHF season will be an important one, with the world rankings following next May’s World Championship in Germany helping set nine guaranteed spots for the 2030 Winter Olympics in France. France already has a spot as tournament host, with the other eight spots filled by the top teams in the world rankings.

If the lineup format were determined today, Switzerland, Canada, USA, Finland, Sweden, Czechia, Slovakia, Germany, and France would have guaranteed spots in 2030. Look for many bubble teams to maximize their rosters for the 2027 World Championship in an effort to secure a spot.

Here are the full men’s world rankings after the 2025-26 season: