2025 IIHF World Championships Division 2A Preview

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It’s a great time if you’re a hockey fan in Australia. The NHL playoffs have begun, and the Mighty Roos are set to embark on a quest to Serbia, searching for promotion to Division 1B of the IIHF World Championships.

Australia return to Division 2A for the ninth consecutive year after narrowly avoiding relegation in the 2024 World Championships, finishing 5^th with a win, a shootout loss and three regulation losses. The standings don’t tell the full story, however, as Australia finished the tournament with a goal differential of just -4 or an average losing margin of less than a goal over the five games.

So, what should we expect from the national team in 2025? How do they stack up against their opponents? Here’s everything you need to know ahead of the 2025 IIHF World Championships for Division 2A.

Team Australia preview

Australia enter this tournament with a 22-man squad, featuring 14 forwards, six defencemen and two goaltenders. If you’re a diehard AIHL fan, you’ll likely recognise almost everyone on the team, with just two players currently playing in a different league.
Those two are Neil Pretorious from the EHL’s Philadelphia Hockey Club and Riley Langille from the 100 Mile House Wranglers, based in British Columbia, Canada. 

While the forward lines and defensive pairings aren’t set in stone just yet, the Mighty Roos displayed a clear look into what their powerplay units may look like in their practice match against the Victorian AIHL All-Stars on Tuesday night.

The first unit they ran with was headlined by Newcastle Northstars teammates Ethan Hawes and Casey Kubara, who’s pre-existing chemistry was immediately seen in the first powerplay of Tuesday’s game, Hawes darting along the blue line swiftly before connecting with Kubara on a one-two play to cycle the puck. Out on the ice with these two was Canberra Brave forward Tommy Steven, manning the bumper position in the slot. He lurked dangerously, deflecting a couple inward passes on net and screening well in front.

The second powerplay unit created multiple dangerous opportunities throughout the game too, with a clear motive to get Brave captain Kai Miettinen slapshot opportunities from Ovechkin’s office. He would get a couple of chances from there, including one right off of a face-off that went just wide. He’d eventually score off a rebound from the slot with a well-timed skate to the net front, his mobility important to knock the penalty kill formation out of shape.

Expect to see big things from Australia’s powerplay next week, as the chemistry is building strongly within these two units. Australia went just 2/16 on the powerplay in last year’s tournament, but it’s clearly been an area of focus for them in the lead up to Serbia.

Another elite facet of Australia’s game has been connectivity with the puck during 5-on-5 action, glimpses of this seen on Tuesday night and during the Trans-Tasman series. While chemistry will build as the tournament progresses, the Mighty Roos’ ability to constantly maintain puck possession and clear their defensive zone cleanly is an encouraging indicator of what may be seen next week.

Furthermore, while Australia’s goaltending hasn’t been overly tested in the lead up to this tournament, Aleksi Toivonen proves to be a formidable presence in net. He shut out New Zealand twice from two starts in March’s series in Auckland and had a 0.880 save percentage at last year's IIHF tournament, so the hype for what he can produce in 2025 is understandable.

Overall, while there’s only been a few games to test their playbook, there’s plenty to like from Australia heading into this tournament, 2025 appearing to be one of their best opportunities to win promotion into Division 1B.



Previewing Australia’s opponents

Serbia – 30 April, 3:30am AEST

The Serbians were one win away from achieving promotion in 2024 in front of their home crowd, falling short to the division champions Croatia in the final game of the tournament. However, they’ve been gifted an opportunity to redeem themselves, once again host nations for the Division 2A tournament.

Australia will want to keep themselves out of the penalty box in this clash, Serbia netting seven powerplay goals in the 2024 tournament. It may be a tough thing to do, as Serbia thrived in physical contests, notably defeating Israel 5-1 despite taking 37 penalty minutes.

Belgium – 1 May, 12am AEST

Belgium are the sneaky country that could cause some upsets at this tournament. Don’t let their fresh status in Division 2A fool you – they’re a nation that can take it up with the best of them. They proved to be far too good for Division 2B in 2024, winning each game by an average margin of 6.6 goals, including an impressive 4-2 victory over former Division 2A nation Georgia.

Look out for veteran defenceman and the captain of the Belgians Vadim Gyesbreghs, his powerful shot from the blue line rewarding him with six goals last tournament.

Netherlands – 2 May, 8:30pm AEST

The Netherlands are the unknown of this tournament but are considered the favourites for promotion. They were promoted from Division 2A in 2022 but struggled in Division 1B, ultimately relegated in 2024. While they’ll likely perform very well in 2025, promotion back to Division 1B isn’t guaranteed, especially considering they scored just four goals for the entire tournament last season, shut out in three of the five matches. If Australia’s defence can compete strongly, they’ll be in the fight against the Oranje, despite the last encounter in 2018 finishing 9-2 in favour of the Dutch. Australia has also never beaten the Netherlands in their 5 total IIHF encounters.

However, the Dutch beat Belgium 4-1 in a practice match on April 19 in preparation for this tournament, so they’ve got an early confidence boost on the rest of the competition. Time will tell if that momentum serves them well next week.



UAE – 3 May, 8:30pm AEST                           

Only 2024 Division 2A champions Croatia could say they scored more goals than the UAE last year, a prolific offensive group. Australia struggled to contain their scoring prowess in 2024, despite a clean contest defensively with only one penalty committed.
Australia will need strong communication defensively and be careful to not giveaway the puck in their own zone. However, they definitely have the talent to turn the tables and win this matchup this time around.

Israel – 6 May, 12am AEST

Perhaps Australia’s biggest rival on the ice is Israel, having several close encounters over the years at both the senior level and in the U20 World Championships. Last year their match went the distance, Israel ultimately saluting in a shootout.

Expect another close affair this year, as the development of Israel’s ice hockey program continues to make big steps toward legitimising their success at the IIHF level. Keep an eye out for 19-year-old Michael Levin, the best player to come out of the country, as he’s expected to play after his Niagara Ice Dogs were knocked out of the OHL playoffs earlier this month.