The 1963 World Ice Hockey Championships was the 30th edition of the Ice Hockey World Championships. The tournament was held in Stockholm, Sweden from March 7 to March 17, 1963. The Soviet Union won the tournament for the third time, starting their roll of nine straight championships. For the Soviets it was also their seventh European title. A new tie-breaking method was introduced, if there was a tie for a medal, it would be broken by the goal differential between only the top five placed nations. The Swedes, on the final day had nearly everything possible go against them. If they had won or tied against Czechoslovakia, or if Canada could have won or tied against the Soviets, or if the Americans had beaten the East Germans, they would have been crowned champions. The Czechs propelled themselves past Canada on the final day to capture the Bronze.
A record twenty-one nations participated, at three levels, with most nations returning to the group where they played in 1961. This meant that the unfortunate Norwegians, despite defeating and placing higher than West Germany in 1962, returned to the 'B' pool. Even in the neutral site of Sweden, there was still a political incident. Unlike in 1961, the two German nations ended up playing their game against each other, with the West winning. Following the game when the winners flag was raised, the East Germans refused to acknowledge it, and were suspended for three months following their final game.[1]
The North American entries were historically poor. The Trail Smoke Eaters, representing Canada, finished out of the medals for the first time. It would be the last time that an Allan Cup champion would be selected to represent Canada. The Americans lost to everyone except the two German teams, finishing last. A heavy defeat by Sweden prompted President John F. Kennedy to complain about their performance in a telephone call to David Hackett.[2]
↑"'Listening In' To JFK's Secret White House Recordings". npr.org. NPR. 29 September 2012. http://m.npr.org/news/Arts+%26+Life/161567206. Retrieved 26 November 2012. "In the spring of 1963, as the U.S. was mired in conflicts with Vietnam and Cuba and the Soviet Union, President John F. Kennedy called his old friend David Hackett to express his frustration at the U.S. men's ice hockey team — and their miserable record overseas. JFK: Dave, I noticed that in the paper this morning that the Swedish team beat the American hockey team 17-2. Hackett: Yeah, I saw that. JFK: Christ! Who are we sending over there? Girls?"
Sweden
Soviet Union (3 titles)
Harold Jones 12 points
Czechoslovakia
Canada
Finland
East Germany
West Germany
United States
Norway
Switzerland
Romania
Poland
Yugoslavia
France
Great Britain
Austria
Hungary
Denmark
Bulgaria
Netherlands
Belgium
