2025 IIHF World Championships Begin for Danault, Chromiak, Slukynsky

The 2025 IIHF World Championships are underway as of this morning in Denmark and Sweden, with Kings forward Phillip Danault, along with LA Kings prospects Martin Chromiak and Hampton Slukynsky competing in the event.

The tournament is split between the two countries this season, with Stockholm, Sweden and Herning, Denmark each hosting games during pool play. Group A will be contested entirely in Sweden, while Group B will be contested in Denmark.

As noted, three members of the Kings organization are set to compete in the event. Forward Phillip Danault will represent Canada for the first time at the senior international level. Martin Chromiak, who spent the 2024-25 season with the AHL’s Ontario Reign, will represent his native Slovakia while goaltender Hampton Slukynsky, a fourth-round draft pick of the Kings in 2023, was named to the roster for Team USA. Slukynsky won a gold medal with the United States at the 2025 World Junior Championships and will continue his season with the senior national team after winning an NCAA title with Western Michigan last month.

Overall, 16 teams will compete in the the World Championships, split evenly into two groups with eight teams apiece. Each team will play a minimum of seven games throughout the tournament as each team plays the other seven teams within their respective group. Following the first stage of the event, the top four teams from each group will advance to the quarterfinals, with each quarterfinal contest being a crossover matchup against a team from the other group (1v4, 2v3). Beginning with the quarterfinals, the remainder of the tournament will be a single-elimination format, advancing into the semifinals and eventually the gold and bronze medal games, each of which are single elimination as well.

Danault and Canada + Chromiak and Slovakia will compete in Group A, while Slukynsky and the United States will be in Group B. Group A features a pretty loaded field, with Canada, Sweden and Finland all favored to advance, leaving five teams potentially fighting for that final spot, with Slovakia the highest-rated team of those five. The USA will be favored to advance from Group B but should face competition from a group of typically underrated countries in Czechia, Germany, Switzerland and host Denmark.

Sharing the full-tournament schedules for pool play for both Danault, Chromiak and Slukynsky below –

Team Canada Schedule – DANAULT
May 10 – Canada vs. Slovenia, 3:20 AM Pacific
May 11 – Canada vs. Latvia, 7:20 AM Pacific
May 13 – Canada vs. France, 11:20 AM Pacific
May 15 – Canada vs. Austria, 11:20 AM Pacific
May 17 – Canada vs. Slovakia, 11:20 AM Pacific
May 19 – Canada vs. Finland, 11:20 AM Pacific
May 20 – Canada vs. Sweden, 11:20 AM Pacific

Team Slovakia Schedule – CHROMIAK
May 9 – Slovakia vs. Sweden, 11:20 AM Pacific
May 11 – Slovakia vs. Slovenia, 3:20 AM Pacific
May 12 – Slovakia vs. Austria, 7:20 AM Pacific
May 14 – Slovakia vs. France, 7:20 AM Pacific
May 17 – Slovakia vs. Canada, 11:20 AM Pacific
May 18 – Slovakia vs. Latvia, 11:20 AM Pacific
May 20 – Slovakia vs. Finland, 7:20 AM Pacific

Team USA Schedule – SLUKYNSKY
May 9 – United States vs. Denmark, 11:20 AM Pacific
May 11 – United States vs. Hungary, 3:20 AM Pacific
May 12 – United States vs. Switzerland, 7:20 AM Pacific
May 14 – United States vs. Norway, 7:20 AM Pacific
May 17 – United States vs. Germany, 3:20 AM Pacific
May 18 – United States vs. Kazakhstan, 7:20 AM Pacific
May 20 – United States vs. Czechia, 7:20 AM Pacific

Reports have Kings forward Kevin Fiala potentially joining Team Switzerland later in the tournament, with “details” still to be finalized. No confirmation either way on Fiala, who was the MVP of last season’s tournament as Switzerland won a silver medal.