Denmark has played continuously in the top flight of the IIHF World Championships since 2003. But in those 20-plus tournaments, the Danes have only advanced to the quarterfinals twice, in 2010 and 2016. 

There are five Danes in the NHL but only goaltender Frederik Andersen of the Carolina Hurricanes is still alive in the playoffs. The four skaters – Nikolaj Ehlers, Lars Eller, Oliver Björkstrand and Jonas Røndbjerg – all either missed the playoffs or were knocked out in the first round. According to the Danish Ice Hockey Union’s website, Ehlers, Eller, and Björkstrand have all given their commitment to the Olympic Qualifiers in August but will not be coming to the World Championship.

So it looks like this will be the lineup that Denmark will go with in Group A in Prague:

Goaltenders (3): Frederik Dichow Nissen (HV71, SHL), Mathias Seldrup (Esbjerg), William Rørth (Rødovre).

Defensemen (8): Phillip Bruggisser (Bremerhaven, DEL), Oliver Lauridsen (TPS, FIN), Oliver Joakim Larsen (Jukurit, FIN), Nicholas B. Jensen (Bremerhaven, DEL), Matias Lassen (Malmö, SHL), Markus Lauridsen (Frankfurt, DEL), Jesper Jensen Aabo (Klagenfurt, ICEHL), Anders Koch (Aalborg).

Forwards (14): Alexander True (Charlotte, AHL), Christian Wejse (Bremerhaven, DEL), Felix Scheel (Bremerhaven, DEL), Frederik Storm (Kölner Haie, DEL), Joachim Blichfeld (Växjö, SHL), Mathias From (Herning), Mikkel Aagaard (MODO, SHL), Morten Poulsen (Herning), Nick Olesen (Oskarshamn, SHL), Niklas Andersen (Augsburg, DEL), Oliver Kjær (Esbjerg), Oscar Fisker Mølgaard (HV71, SHL), Patrick Russell (Linköping, SHL), Phillip Schultz (Esbjerg).

The Danes do have experience on their side, with eight players over 30. Morten Poulsen, Frederik Storm, Oliver Lauridsen and Nicholas B. Jensen – familiar names to those who follow the World Championships on an annual basis – are all 35. There are also 13 players on the list from Denmark’s 2022 Olympic team.

This team does have four players with NHL experience, led by Patrick Russell’s 59 games with the Edmonton Oilers between 2018 and 2021. The only team member who played in North America this season is Alexander True, who has played with the San Jose Sharks and Seattle Kraken in the past but spent the entire 2023-24 season in the AHL. True has signed with Swedish club MODO for next season.

On the youth side, 19-year-old Seattle Kraken draft pick Oscar Fisker Mølgaard is on the 25-man list. It'll be interesting to see if he gets into any games. 

Is this lineup good enough to avoid relegation? In a group with Norway, Austria and Great Britain, probably. Is it good enough to make the quarterfinals? In a group with Canada, Finland, Switzerland and Czechia, probably not.