Denmark men's national ice hockey team

The Danish national men's ice hockey team is the national ice hockey team for Denmark. The team is controlled by Danmarks Ishockey Union. It was founded in 1949, and as of 2022, the Danish team was ranked 10th in the IIHF World Rankings. Denmark currently has 4,255 players (0.07% of its population). Their coach is Swedish Mikael Gath. Denmark once held the record for the largest loss when they were defeated by Canada in 1949, 47–0, only being surpassed by New Zealand who were defeated by Australia 58–0 in 1987.

Denmark

Nickname(s)	Danish Lions
Association	Danmarks Ishockey Union
General manager	Morten Green
Head coach	Mikael Gath
Assistants	Andreas Lilja Morten Madsen
Captain	Jesper Jensen Aabo
Most games	Morten Green (316)
Most points	Jens Nielsen (241)
Team colors
IIHF code	DEN
Ranking
Current IIHF	8 2 (26 May 2025)[1]
Highest IIHF	9 (2025)
Lowest IIHF	15 (2006, 2014–15)
First international
Canada  47–0  Denmark (Stockholm, Sweden; 12 February 1949)
Biggest win
Denmark  27–4  Belgium (Copenhagen, Denmark; 18 March 1977)
Biggest defeat
Canada  47–0  Denmark (Stockholm, Sweden; 12 February 1949)
Olympics
Appearances	1 (first in 2022)
IIHF World Championships
Appearances	57 (first in 1949)
Best result	4th (2025)
International record (W–L–T)
383–500–58[2]

History

The team played its first world championship in 1949, led by player-coach and captain Jørgen Hviid.^[3][4] Denmark lost its first game played, by a 47–0 score to the Canada men's national team.^[5]

Denmark subsequently played 53 years in lower divisions. At the 2002 Men's Ice Hockey World Championships, the team finished first in Division I-B to earn promotion to the top level for the 2003 IIHF World Championship, and has remained in the top pool since, due to developed higher calibre players. The 2002 and 2003 versions of the Denmark men's national teams were recognized with the IIHF Milestone Award in 2025, for earning promotion to and remaining at the top tier of the World Championships.^[5][6]

Denmark finished the 2003 Men's Ice Hockey World Championships in 11th place, defeating the United States men's national team 5–2, and tying Canada 2–2.^[7] At the 2010 World Championships Denmark finished 8th place, their best placing at the time. The feat was repeated in 2016. At the 2022 Men's Ice Hockey World Championships Denmark finished in ninth place, and earned their first victory versus Canada, in 73 years of competition, by a 3–2 score.^[8]

At the 2025 IIHF World Championship, co-hosts Denmark reached its first semifinals, after defeating Canada in the quarterfinals, in what was widely considered one of the biggest upsets in the IIHF World Championship history.^[a] Denmark were thus guaranteed to play in their first ever medal game and guaranteed to finish in the top four for the first time. After losing against Switzerland and against Sweden in the bronze medal game, they finished fourth.

Tournament record

Olympic Games

Year	Finish	Rank
2022 Beijing	Quarterfinals	7th
2026 Milan and Cortina	Qualified

World Championship

Year	Finish	Rank
1949 Stockholm	Consolation round	10th
1962 Colorado Springs/Denver	6th in the Group B	14th
1963 Stockholm	3rd in the Pool C	18th
1966 Jesenice	2nd in the Pool C	18th
1967 Vienna	2nd in the Pool C	18th
1969 Skopje	6th in the Pool C	20th
1970 Galaţi	5th in the Pool C	19th
1971	7th in the Pool C	21st
1972 Miercurea-Ciuc	6th in the Pool C	19th
1973	7th in the Pool C	21st
1975 Sofia	6th in the Pool C	20th
1976 Gdańsk	3rd in the Pool C	19th
1977 Copenhagen/Hørsholm	2nd in the Pool C	19th
1978 Canary Islands (Las Palmas)	3rd in the Pool C	19th
1979 Galati	Relegation in the Pool B	16th
1981 Beijing	4th in the Pool C	20th
1982 Jaca	3rd in the Pool C	19th
1983 Budapest	4th in the Pool C	20th
1985 Megève/Chamonix/Saint-Gervais	5th in the Pool C	21st
1986 Puigcerda	Consolation round in the Pool C	21st
1987 Copenhagen/Herlev/Hørsholm	2nd in the Pool C	18th
1989 Oslo/Lillehammer	8th in the Pool B	16th
1990 Budapest	2nd in the Pool C	18th
1991 Brøndby	1st in the Pool C	17th
1992 Klagenfurt	4th in the Pool B	16th
1993 Eindhoven	4th in the Pool B	16th
1994 Copenhagen/Aalborg	5th in the Pool B	17th
1995 Bratislava	5th in the Pool B	17th
1996 Eindhoven	6th in the Pool B	18th
1997 Katowice (Spodek)/Sosnowiec	8th in the Pool B	20th
1998 Ljubljana/Jesenice	4th in the Pool B	20th
1999 Odense/Rodovre	1st in the Pool B	17th
2000 Katowice/Krakow	5th in the Pool B	21st
2001 Grenoble	3rd in Division I, Group A	21st
2002 Eindhoven	1st in Division I, Group B	18th
2003 Helsinki/Tampere/Turku	Second round	11th
2004 Prague/Ostrava	Qualifying round	12th
2005 Vienna/Innsbruck	Relegation round	14th
2006 Riga	Relegation round	13th
2007 Moscow	Qualifying round	10th
2008 Halifax/Quebec	Qualifying round	12th
2009 Bern/Kloten	Relegation round	13th
2010 Cologne/Mannheim/Gelsenkirchen	Playoff round	8th
2011 Bratislava/Košice	Qualifying round	11th
/ 2012 Helsinki/Stockholm	Preliminary round	13th
/ 2013 Stockholm/Helsinki	Preliminary round	12th
2014 Minsk	Preliminary round	13th
2015 Prague/Ostrava	Preliminary round	14th
2016 Moscow/Saint Petersburg	Playoff round	8th
/ 2017 Cologne/Paris	Preliminary round	12th
2018 Copenhagen/Herning	Preliminary round	10th
2019 Bratislava/Košice	Preliminary round	11th
2020 Zürich/Lausanne	Cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic[16]	–
2021 Riga	Preliminary round	12th
2022 Helsinki/Tampere	Preliminary round	9th
/ 2023 Tampere/Riga	Preliminary round	10th
2024 Prague/Ostrava	Preliminary round	13th
/ 2025 Stockholm/Herning	Bronze medal game	4th
2026 Zurich/Fribourg	Qualified

Team

Current roster

Roster for the 2025 IIHF World Championship.^[17][18]

Head coach: Mikael Gath

No.	Pos.	Name	Height	Weight	Birthdate	Team
11	F	Alexander True	1.96 m (6 ft 5 in)	91 kg (201 lb)	(1997-07-17) 17 July 1997 (age 28)	MoDo Hockey
12	F	Oskar Fisker Mølgaard	1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)	76 kg (168 lb)	(2005-02-18) 18 February 2005 (age 20)	HV71
15	D	Matias Lassen	1.82 m (6 ft 0 in)	82 kg (181 lb)	(1996-03-15) 15 March 1996 (age 29)	Malmö Redhawks
17	F	Nicklas Jensen	1.91 m (6 ft 3 in)	98 kg (216 lb)	(1993-03-06) 6 March 1993 (age 32)	SC Rapperswil-Jona Lakers
22	D	Markus Lauridsen	1.86 m (6 ft 1 in)	87 kg (192 lb)	(1991-02-28) 28 February 1991 (age 34)	Löwen Frankfurt
24	F	Nikolaj Ehlers	1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)	82 kg (181 lb)	(1996-02-14) 14 February 1996 (age 29)	Winnipeg Jets
25	D	Oliver Lauridsen – A	1.97 m (6 ft 6 in)	93 kg (205 lb)	(1989-03-24) 24 March 1989 (age 36)	HC TPS
29	F	Mikkel Aagaard	1.84 m (6 ft 0 in)	81 kg (179 lb)	(1995-10-18) 18 October 1995 (age 29)	MoDo Hockey
32	G	Sebastian Dahm	1.82 m (6 ft 0 in)	83 kg (183 lb)	(1987-02-28) 28 February 1987 (age 38)	EC KAC
38	F	Morten Poulsen	1.86 m (6 ft 1 in)	95 kg (209 lb)	(1988-09-09) 9 September 1988 (age 36)	Herning Blue Fox
40	D	Anders Koch	1.88 m (6 ft 2 in)	83 kg (183 lb)	(1997-10-02) 2 October 1997 (age 27)	Kiekko-Espoo
41	D	Jesper Jensen Aabo – C	1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)	93 kg (205 lb)	(1991-07-30) 30 July 1991 (age 34)	EC KAC
42	D	Phillip Bruggisser	1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)	85 kg (187 lb)	(1991-08-07) 7 August 1991 (age 34)	Fischtown Pinguins
43	G	Mathias Seldrup	1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)	82 kg (181 lb)	(1996-10-21) 21 October 1996 (age 28)	Herning Blue Fox
80	G	Frederik Dichow	1.95 m (6 ft 5 in)	87 kg (192 lb)	(2001-03-01) 1 March 2001 (age 24)	HV71
46	F	Jonas Røndbjerg	1.88 m (6 ft 2 in)	88 kg (194 lb)	(1999-03-31) 31 March 1999 (age 26)	Vegas Golden Knights
48	D	Nicholas B. Jensen	1.89 m (6 ft 2 in)	102 kg (225 lb)	(1989-04-08) 8 April 1989 (age 36)	Fischtown Pinguins
50	F	Mathias Bau Hansen	2.00 m (6 ft 7 in)	108 kg (238 lb)	(1993-07-03) 3 July 1993 (age 32)	Herning Blue Fox
54	F	Felix Scheel	1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)	89 kg (196 lb)	(1992-09-01) 1 September 1992 (age 32)	Fischtown Pinguins
63	F	Patrick Russell – A	1.86 m (6 ft 1 in)	92 kg (203 lb)	(1993-01-04) 4 January 1993 (age 32)	Linköping HC
65	F	Christian Wejse	1.86 m (6 ft 1 in)	88 kg (194 lb)	(1998-12-04) 4 December 1998 (age 26)	Fischtown Pinguins
72	F	Nicolai Meyer	1.79 m (5 ft 10 in)	82 kg (181 lb)	(1993-07-21) 21 July 1993 (age 32)	Södertälje SK
77	F	Mathias From	1.86 m (6 ft 1 in)	85 kg (187 lb)	(1997-12-16) 16 December 1997 (age 27)	EC KAC
86	F	Joachim Blichfeld	1.87 m (6 ft 2 in)	82 kg (181 lb)	(1998-07-17) 17 July 1998 (age 27)	Rögle BK
95	F	Nick Olesen	1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)	84 kg (185 lb)	(1995-11-14) 14 November 1995 (age 29)	Motor České Budějovice

Former and current players in NHL

Year	Name	Position	Team
1965–1966 1967–1968 1968–1970 1970–1972 1979–1980	Poul Popiel[b]	Defenseman	Boston Bruins Los Angeles Kings Detroit Red Wings Vancouver Canucks Edmonton Oilers
2006–2016 2016–2021	Frans Nielsen	Center	New York Islanders Detroit Red Wings
2007–2017 2017–2018	Jannik Hansen	Right winger	Vancouver Canucks San Jose Sharks
2009–2013 2013–2014 2014	Peter Regin	Center	Ottawa Senators New York Islanders Chicago Blackhawks
2008–2016 2016 2016–2018 2018–2020	Mikkel Bødker	Left winger	Arizona Coyotes Colorado Avalanche San Jose Sharks Ottawa Senators
2009–2010 2010–2016 2016–2023 2023–2024 2024–2025 2025-	Lars Eller	Center	St. Louis Blues Montreal Canadiens Washington CapitalsPittsburgh Penguins Washington Capitals Ottawa Senators
2010–2013 2013–2014 2016–2017	Philip Larsen	Defenseman	Dallas Stars Edmonton Oilers Vancouver Canucks
2013–2014 2016	Nicklas Jensen	Left winger	Vancouver Canucks New York Rangers
2013	Oliver Lauridsen	Defenseman	Philadelphia Flyers
2013–2016 2016–2021 2021–	Frederik Andersen	Goaltender	Anaheim Ducks Toronto Maple Leafs Carolina Hurricanes
2015–2025 2025-	Nikolaj Ehlers	Left winger	Winnipeg Jets Carolina Hurricanes
2016–2022 2022–2025 2025–	Oliver Bjorkstrand	Right winger	Columbus Blue Jackets Seattle Kraken Tampa Bay Lightning
2018–2021	Patrick Russell	Right winger	Edmonton Oilers
2019–2021	Joachim Blichfeld	Right winger	San Jose Sharks
2020–2021 2021–2022	Alexander True	Center	San Jose Sharks Seattle Kraken
2021–	Jonas Røndbjerg	Forward	Vegas Golden Knights
2022–	Mads Søgaard	Goaltender	Ottawa Senators

All-time record

Updated as of the match versus Canada on 22 May 2025.^[19]

Team	GP	W	T	L	GF	GA
Australia	2	1	0	1	10	7
Austria	44	13	1	30	95	175
Belarus	29	13	2	14	72	90
Belgium	13	12	0	1	177	31
Bulgaria	32	19	2	11	137	88
Canada	11	2	1	8	15	85
China	16	8	2	6	86	52
Croatia	3	3	0	0	24	4
Czech Republic	13	3	0	10	18	47
East Germany	12	0	0	12	25	84
Estonia	7	4	2	1	26	16
Finland	28	4	0	24	31	111
France	85	37	5	43	242	291
Germany	30	11	0	19	67	90
Great Britain	30	17	4	9	139	93
Hungary	66	28	4	34	223	285
Italy	30	14	3	13	96	118
Japan	34	14	1	19	112	147
Kazakhstan	10	6	0	4	38	25
Latvia	38	14	0	24	93	131
Lithuania	1	1	0	0	8	1
Netherlands	55	31	7	17	242	185
North Korea	7	7	0	0	52	12
Norway	103	44	9	50	261	327
Poland	32	11	3	18	102	134
Romania	20	9	1	10	75	80
Russia	15	1	0	14	17	68
Slovakia	24	7	0	17	50	93
Slovenia	30	16	3	11	97	78
South Africa	2	2	0	0	15	2
South Korea	10	9	0	1	86	16
Spain	6	6	0	0	42	8
Sweden	28	2	0	26	44	132
Switzerland	33	3	1	29	51	147
Ukraine	11	3	3	5	29	30
United States	12	2	0	10	16	46
Yugoslavia	20	8	4	8	73	78
Totals:	943	385	58	499	2 989	3 407

Uniform evolution

• National team jerseys
• 
  2013–2017 IIHF jerseys
• 
  2018–2021 IIHF jerseys
• 
  2022 Olympic jerseys
• 
  2022– IIHF jerseys

Notes

1. Attributed to multiple sources:^{[9][10][11][12][13][14][15]}
2. Poul Popiel is Danish-American. He was born in Denmark and his family moved to Canada when he was a child. He subsequently moved to the United States, and he acquired American citizenship before making his NHL debut.