Finland to play in Group-B with US, Canada in 2021 Ice Hockey WC

The defending champion Finland will play in group B at the 2021 men's Ice Hockey World Championship scheduled to be held in May co-hosted by Minsk, Belarus and Riga, Latvia.

The International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) on Wednesday announced the groups of the tournament and the detail schedule will be published later, according to news agency Xinhua.

Finland, The United States, Canada, Germany, Norway, Italy, Kazakhstan and host Latvia will play in Group B.

Belarus will meet its neighbor Russia, Sweden, the Czech Republic, Switzerland, Slovakia, Denmark and Britain in Group A in Minsk.

Minsk, the capital of Belarus, will serve as main venue and host one group, two quarterfinals, both semifinals and the medal games, while Riga, Latvia's capital, is just a one-hour flight away from Minsk and will host one of the group stages and two quarterfinals.

Finland won the 2019 title while the 2020 tournament in Switzerland was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.