On Sunday, May 21, the International Ice Hockey Federation published on its website world hockey teams rating IIHF 2017 (IIHF World Ranking). This ranking determines the position of the national ice hockey teams among the member countries of the International Federation (IIHF). The rating calculation system used is extremely easy to understand and allows to reflect the long-term quality of national hockey programs, as well as the general orientation in world hockey.
In order to create a rating of the hockey teams of the world, the results of the team's performance at the last Olympics, as well as at the four world championships preceding it, are used. Thus, 1200 rating points are awarded to the Olympic or world champion. Between two adjacent positions in the ranking, the point difference is exactly 20 points. Consequently, the 12th place team will receive 900 points and the 13th place - 880 points. However, there are exceptions to this rule: between the first and second, second and third, fourth and fifth, as well as eighth and ninth places, the difference will be as much as 40 points.
When calculating the hockey ranking, more weight is given to the last tournament held. So, if the last championship is taken as 100%, then the penultimate will receive 75% and so on. The Olympics or World Championships have the same weight.
Rating of the best ice hockey teams in the world in 2017
| A place | National team | Olympic Games 2014 | World Cup 2014 | World Cup 2015 | World Cup 2016 | World Cup 2017 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Canada | 1200 | 1060 | 1200 | 1200 | 1160 | 3225 |
| 2 | Russia | 1060 | 1200 | 1160 | 1120 | 1120 | 3105 |
| 3 | Sweden | 1160 | 1120 | 1060 | 1040 | 1200 | 3080 |
| 4 | Finland | 1120 | 1160 | 1040 | 1160 | 1100 | 3060 |
| 5 | United States | 1100 | 1040 | 1120 | 1100 | 1060 | 2980 |
| 6 | Czech Republic | 1040 | 1100 | 1100 | 1060 | 1020 | 2900 |
| 7 | Switzerland | 960 | 940 | 1000 | 920 | 1040 | 2705 |
| 8 | Germany | 840 | 860 | 940 | 1020 | 1000 | 2660 |
| 9 | Norway | 900 | 900 | 920 | 940 | 920 | 2535 |
| 10 | Belarus | 860 | 1020 | 1020 | 900 | 880 | 2535 |
| 11 | Slovakia | 920 | 960 | 960 | 960 | 860 | 2530 |
| 12 | Latvia | 1000 | 920 | 880 | 880 | 940 | 2520 |
| 13 | France | 800 | 1000 | 900 | 860 | 960 | 2505 |
| 14 | Denmark | 780 | 880 | 860 | 1000 | 900 | 2495 |
| 15 | Slovenia | 1020 | 800 | 820 | 800 | 840 | 2305 |
| 16 | Austria | 940 | 780 | 840 | 740 | 800 | 2205 |
| 17 | Kazakhstan | 880 | 820 | 800 | 820 | 760 | 2200 |
| 18 | Italy | 820 | 840 | 720 | 780 | 820 | 2180 |
| 19 | Hungary | 700 | 720 | 780 | 840 | 720 | 2095 |
| 20 | Poland | 680 | 680 | 760 | 760 | 740 | 2030 |
| 21 | South Korea | 660 | 700 | 680 | 720 | 780 | 2000 |
| 22 | Ukraine | 720 | 740 | 700 | 680 | 700 | 1925 |
| 23 | Japan | 640 | 760 | 740 | 700 | 660 | 1905 |
| 24 | United Kingdom | 760 | 620 | 660 | 660 | 680 | 1850 |
| 25 | Lithuania | 620 | 640 | 640 | 640 | 640 | 1755 |
| 26 | Croatia | 540 | 660 | 620 | 620 | 600 | 1675 |
| 27 | Estonia | 560 | 560 | 600 | 600 | 620 | 1650 |
| 28 | Netherlands | 740 | 600 | 580 | 560 | 580 | 1625 |
| 29 | Romania | 580 | 580 | 560 | 580 | 560 | 1565 |
| 30 | Serbia | 500 | 520 | 520 | 500 | 520 | 1410 |
| 31 | Spain | 600 | 440 | 500 | 540 | 460 | 1375 |
| 32 | Belgium | - | 480 | 540 | 520 | 500 | 1280 |
| 33 | Australia | - | 500 | 460 | 440 | 540 | 1225 |
| 34 | Iceland | - | 540 | 480 | 480 | 480 | 1215 |
| 35 | Israel | 480 | 460 | 360 | 400 | 400 | 1115 |
| 36 | Mexico | 520 | 420 | 400 | 420 | 360 | 1110 |
| 37 | China | - | 380 | 440 | 460 | 440 | 1100 |
| 38 | New Zealand | - | 400 | 420 | 380 | 420 | 1015 |
| 39 | North Korea | - | 300 | 320 | 360 | 380 | 885 |
| 40 | Bulgaria | - | 320 | 380 | 340 | 300 | 825 |
| 41 | Turkey | - | 340 | 300 | 320 | 340 | 815 |
| 42 | Luxembourg | - | 280 | 280 | 280 | 320 | 740 |
| 43 | South Africa | - | 360 | 340 | 300 | 240 | 725 |
| 44 | Hong Kong | - | 260 | 260 | 240 | 260 | 635 |
| 45 | Georgia | - | 220 | 240 | 0 | 280 | 455 |
| 46 | United Arab Emirates | - | 240 | 220 | - | 200 | 370 |
| 47 | Bosnia and Herzegovina | - | - | 200 | 260 | 0 | 295 |
| 48 | Chinese Taipei | - | - | - | - | 220 | 220 |
For the third year now, the Russian national team has been ranked 2nd in the ranking of the best teams in the world, behind Canada. Further in the ranking are Sweden, Finland, USA. The Czechs are in sixth place, followed by the Swiss, Germans, Norwegians and Belarusians. Now, as part of the group stage of the 2018 Olympics, the Russian team will have to meet with the strongest teams in the world, as well as the team that can win the qualifying tournament. As a reminder, the Winter Olympic Games will be held from 9 to 25 February 2018 in Pyeongchang, Korea.
It should be noted that there are quite a few experts in the field of team assessment among the critics of this rating. The main reason for criticism is the complete disregard for the World Cup and the introduction of an overweight of each championship in comparison with the Olympic tournament. The fact is that during the world championship, many high-class hockey players have to play the NHL playoffs. In turn, this does not apply to the World Cup and (this was introduced in 1998) the Olympics. The purpose of introducing this rating is to determine the seeding of teams for the next World Championships, as well as to select those teams that will be able to take part in the Olympic Winter Games without the need to participate in qualifying. For the first time, the rating of national ice hockey teams among the member countries of the International Ice Hockey Federation was calculated in 2003.Then the basis for calculations was the results of the World Championships from 2000 to 2003 and the 2002 Olympics.
We hope that each of the numerous army of fans of this sport will be interested to learn not only about the position of the Russian national team this time (fans already know about this), but also to learn about its closest competitors and the origin of the hockey teams rating.