World Para Ice Hockey Championships Return to Buffalo with Paralympic Qualification on the Line
The stage is set in Buffalo, New York, as the world’s best para ice hockey teams converge for the 2025 World Para Ice Hockey Championships A-Pool, beginning Saturday, May 24. With Paralympic qualification spots at stake and defending champions Canada looking to repeat, this tournament promises to deliver exceptional competition at the LECOM Harborcenter.
Eight elite teams will battle for supremacy over the next week, but the stakes extend far beyond championship glory. The top five finishers will secure coveted spots at the Milano-Cortina 2026 Paralympic Winter Games, while the bottom three teams face the pressure of a qualification tournament later in 2025 to earn their Paralympic berth.
“We are expecting to see the most fast-paced, exhilarating tournament in the sport’s history over the course of the next week in Buffalo,” said Michelle Laflamme, World Para Ice Hockey Senior Manager. The decade since Buffalo last hosted has witnessed remarkable growth in the sport, with new teams emerging and skill levels reaching unprecedented heights.
Canada Eyes Back-to-Back Titles
Entering as the tournament’s top seed, Team Canada arrives in Buffalo determined to defend their first world championship since 2017. The Canadians bring formidable offensive firepower, led by captain Tyler McGregor, who topped last year’s scoring charts with 18 points. Supporting him are proven scorers Dominic Cozzolino and Liam Hickey, each contributing 17 points at the 2024 championships in Calgary.
“Sustaining success is a challenging thing to do, but we believe we have the right people, culture, and plan in place to do so,” McGregor stated, embodying the confidence of a team that knows what it takes to win on hockey’s biggest stage.
Group A Features Rising Powers
Canada headlines Group A but faces stiff competition from three hungry challengers. China, fresh off their Paralympic bronze medal performance at Beijing 2022, continues their quest for a first World Championships A-Pool podium after consecutive fourth-place finishes. Their balanced attack featured 13 different point-scorers last season, demonstrating impressive depth.
Korea brings veteran leadership under respected head coach Taeho Kim as they seek their first world medal in six years. The team hopes to recapture the magic from their memorable PyeongChang 2018 Paralympic campaign on home soil.
Germany rounds out the group as the eighth seed, making their return to A-Pool competition after claiming B-Pool silver last year in a heartbreaking overtime loss to Norway. The Germans have experienced the ups and downs of international competition, bouncing between A and B-Pool levels six times over the past 15 years.
USA Aims to Reclaim Throne on Home Ice
For the first time in seven years, the United States enters a World Championships not ranked number one globally. However, dismissing the Americans would be foolish – they’ve never missed a World Championships podium in 25 years and boast an impressive resume of six world titles and five Paralympic championships.
Leading the charge is Declan Farmer, arguably para ice hockey’s most recognizable scorer. The veteran forward, now in his 14th national team season, dominated last year’s World Championships with 20 points and led all scorers at the Beijing 2022 Paralympics with 18 points. Joining Farmer are seasoned teammates Josh Pauls, Brody Roybal, and Jack Wallace, forming a core capable of reclaiming America’s position atop the hockey world.
Group B features several intriguing storylines beyond the host nation’s championship pursuit. Czechia has emerged as the tournament’s dark horse, capturing bronze medals in each of the last two World Championships with identical 3-2 victories over China. The Czechs seek their fifth consecutive Paralympic berth while aiming to climb even higher on the podium.
Slovakia represents one of para ice hockey’s fastest-growing programs, remaining in A-Pool competition for consecutive seasons for the first time. Star scorer Martin Joppa leads a squad that earned four B-Pool medals and made their Paralympic debut at Beijing 2022.
Norway returns to A-Pool action after spending time in B-Pool competition for the first time in their 19-year World Championship history. The Norwegians claimed B-Pool gold on home ice last year in an overtime thriller against Germany and seek to build that momentum toward Milano-Cortina qualification after missing the 2022 Paralympics – their first absence since para ice hockey joined the Paralympic program in 1994.
Tournament Format and Schedule
The championship opens Saturday with four compelling matchups: Czechia versus Slovakia, USA taking on Norway, defending champions Canada facing Germany, and an intriguing all-Asia battle between China and Korea.
Competition continues throughout the week, culminating in the bronze and gold medal games on May 31. Buffalo becomes only the second city in sport history to host the World Para Ice Hockey Championships multiple times, a testament to the city’s successful stewardship of this premier event.
How to Watch
Hockey fans can follow all the action through live streaming on USAHockeyTV, ensuring no moment of this high-stakes competition is missed. Complete schedules, results, team rosters, and statistics are available here.
With Paralympic dreams on the line and national pride at stake, the 2025 World Para Ice Hockey Championships promise to showcase the very best of adaptive sport competition. As teams take the ice in Buffalo, they carry not just their own aspirations but the hopes of entire nations seeking glory on hockey’s most prestigious international stage.