“For Danish ice hockey, it’s been a rather eventful 2024-2025 season,” explained the DIU’s (Danish Ice Federation’s) National Team official Claus Fonnesbech Christensen last fall in what has proven to be quite the understatement. “What with us kicking it off by hosting the final Olympic qualification and ultimately qualifying to the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan-Cortina.”

 

Indeed, Denmark secured itself a spot at next winter’s Olympics and that set a winter of accomplishment into motion. Both the U20 and U18 teams found themselves at the D1A level of IIHF competitions and the federation itself would be building all winter long in preparation to host one leg of the Men’s 2025 World Championship.

 

The U20 team completed its job by gaining promotion via a 5-4 win over Austria on the final day of play at the U20 D1A Worlds and has the federation extremely excited to once again partake in the U20 Worlds next winter in Minnesota, USA.

 

This past week, the U18 team was up to bat, and low and behold it got the job done in the most convincing of manners. The initial victories over Austria (5-3) and Ukraine (5-1) set up for a most interesting Game 3. For as solid as those victories were, Denmark knew very well that all paths to promotion would require a win over Kazakhstan, which had been relegated out of the world’s top division last spring and clearly posed the most accomplished competition. Yet, despite a scoreless first period and a second frame that ended tied at two, Denmark exploded with three goals in the third period, two of which were scored by towering 192 cm tall forward, William Bundgaard, to take a clear 5-2 victory.

 

“Our approach has always been to treat every game like a final,” responds Danish coach Flemming Green, who has been at the team’s helm for the past three years, in describing how he and his staff prepared his team for this oh so important Game 3. “And when you’re playing a final, you need to prepare properly. We’ve watched a lot of video, not just of our opponents but of ourselves too. We’ve built good habits as a team, like understanding the importance of rest, eating right, and doing what it takes to be elite athletes.”

 

As the tournament wore on, the names Klyvo, Buundgaard, Rorth, Grossmann, Larsen, and Bergmann became entrenched in the minds of those following the event. Ultimately, each would clip at a point-per-game pace or better, with Buundgaard and Klyvo ultimately leading the way with 10 and 9 points, respectively.

 

Astute fans and scouts also got to see 15-year old defenseman Emil Saaby Jakobsen arrive on the scene, who went 1-2-3 and had a +6 while goaltender Anton Emil Wilde Larsen put on a clinic, winning all four of his starts and putting up 2.25 GAA and 91.24 save percentage in the process.

 

But when you take a closer look, the U18 team’s achievement in Hungary is ultimately the culmination of a year-long process.

What a difference a year makes
In what may equate to an irony of sorts, Denmark had hosted this very tournament last spring. A number of these young men were there, and expectations were high. The results would prove disappointing, with the team winding up closer to relegation than promotion. A switch had to be flipped, and that was obviously achieved in the 11 months that’d transpire be tournaments.

 

Green explained, “Last season, we invested in 6 to 7 younger players to make us stronger this year. And we’ve ended up getting a group of players who really want to learn and get better. The journey throughout this season has been great. On top of that, there’s a special bond in this group, and that applies to the staff as well. I truly believe that the kind of team spirit we’ve built up makes a huge difference whenever things get tough on the ice.”

 

As an attest thereto, and in leaving no doubt as to the thoroughness of their achievement, Denmark defeated Slovenia 4-1 on the final day of play, thus going undefeated throughout the tournament and outsourcing its opponents 24-10.

 

For those keeping score, that also made Denmark 3-0 with their federation’s big goals to date this season, now that tickets had been booked for the 2026 Olympics, U20 Worlds, and U18 Worlds.

Cherry on top
It has all meant quite a bit for ice hockey Denmark, whose junior teams were points of concern at this time last year. Both the U20 and U18 had not only failed to gain promotion but showed to be less competitive than expected. That didn’t mean that the game plan needed to be altered.

 

“(At the junior level), it’s something we’ve been building over a long time. We’ve changed the way we play, adapting to the modern game, and spread that approach out to the clubs, who deserve a lot of credit for the results Danish hockey is achieving this season,” detailed coach Green. “We’re a small hockey country and we can’t expect to have strong generations come through every year, so we are grateful for these types of moments.”

 

“A lot of the credit goes to our Development Manager, Thomas Madsen. The hard work he and so many dedicated coaches and leaders have put in over the years has greatly contributed to these results. We’re proud of the amazing hockey year we’ve had and right now, we’re just enjoying it a bit before getting back to work.”

 

Of course, the work has never really stopped for the federation at any point this season. The nation is now ready to play co-host to the upcoming World Championships, as one leg of the event will take place in hockey stronghold Herning, where the reigning champs Czech Republic will face host Denmark as well as Germany, Hungary, Kazakhstan, Norway, Switzerland, and the USA.

 

So, for a final time this season, Danish ice hockey will shoot for the magic its teams have achieved with the Olympic qualifier, the U20 promotion, and the U18 promotion. That hattrick has been achieved.

 

And why not go for it all at the Men’s Worlds?

 

We wouldn’t be surprised in the least if it were Coach Green himself who’d claim that all good things come in fours, right?