IIHF Hall Of Fame Induction 2025
Denmark 2002/2003 Men’s National Teams
IIHF Milestone Award
The 2002 Men’s World Championship, Division I, Group B, marked an historic moment in Danish hockey, but the story starts back in 1949. That year, Canada walloped the Danes, 47-0, the worst result in WM history, and Denmark played below the top pool for the next half century and more. But in 2002, Denmark finally put it all together and finished first in I-B with a perfect 5-0 record, including a key 6-2 win over Hungary, which finished second. Thus, after a 54-year absence, the Danes were back in the top pool.
The 2003 Men’s World were played in Finland, and Denmark was placed in Group B, along with Switzerland, United States, and Russia. That year, there were four groups of four teams in the preliminary round, the top three advancing to the qualifying round. Denmark was surely not expected to advance given their distant history in the top level and their strong opponents in 2003, yet they managed the impossible, defeating the United States, 5-2, to advance.
In the next round, they were placed in a group that included Canada, and when the teams met on 2 May, 2003, all the talk was about that ugly 47-0 score from generations previous. The Danes, however, played with a pride that would come to define their character. They took a 2-1 lead in the second period, and it was Canada, with a late goal from Jay Bouwmeester, that tied it, 2-2, before the end of the period. The third was goalless, and the Danes celebrated their 2-2 tie with deserved elation. They went on to finish 11th and, improbably, stayed up for 2004.
That has been the way the Danes have played ever since, remaining in the top pool from 2003 to the present, earning their rightful place in the top 16 year after year, and proving that teams that earn promotion from the lower levels can compete with the top teams. Since that promotion, they have defeated those same Canadians, in 2022. They have earned wins over the Czechs (in 2014 and 2016), the Finns (2010 and 2018), Germany (five times), Slovakia (2010, 2017), Sweden (2021), and the United States (2003, 2010).
The 2003 Men’s World were played in Finland, and Denmark was placed in Group B, along with Switzerland, United States, and Russia. That year, there were four groups of four teams in the preliminary round, the top three advancing to the qualifying round. Denmark was surely not expected to advance given their distant history in the top level and their strong opponents in 2003, yet they managed the impossible, defeating the United States, 5-2, to advance.
In the next round, they were placed in a group that included Canada, and when the teams met on 2 May, 2003, all the talk was about that ugly 47-0 score from generations previous. The Danes, however, played with a pride that would come to define their character. They took a 2-1 lead in the second period, and it was Canada, with a late goal from Jay Bouwmeester, that tied it, 2-2, before the end of the period. The third was goalless, and the Danes celebrated their 2-2 tie with deserved elation. They went on to finish 11th and, improbably, stayed up for 2004.
That has been the way the Danes have played ever since, remaining in the top pool from 2003 to the present, earning their rightful place in the top 16 year after year, and proving that teams that earn promotion from the lower levels can compete with the top teams. Since that promotion, they have defeated those same Canadians, in 2022. They have earned wins over the Czechs (in 2014 and 2016), the Finns (2010 and 2018), Germany (five times), Slovakia (2010, 2017), Sweden (2021), and the United States (2003, 2010).