The Hockey News' Ian Kennedy previews Group B of the IIHF World Championships including Sweden, Japan, Germany, China, and Denmark. Sweden, Japan, Germany, China, and Denmark are set to face off in Group B at the IIHF World Championship's top division tournament this week. Sweden and Japan will be the leading candidates to secure a quarterfinal berth this year, with the other three nations fighting for the final spot. JAPAN COMING DOWN, BUT LOOKING STRONGER Japan was in Group A last year, and saw themselves lose their placing to Finland this time around. Japan will field a better prepared roster this season however after the nation quickly reacted to their fall from Group A by sending more players overseas to compete in stronger leagues. That group will include defenders Ayaka Hitosato and Aoi Shiga, and forwards Akane Shiga, Haruka Toko, and Yoshino Enomoto. It's a strategy that may not pay off for Japan immediately, but when the IIHF removes tiered groupings at the World Championships, Japan's move to place more players in international leagues will pay dividends. SWEDEN THE TEAM TO BEAT As much as Japan has the history, Sweden's roster is full of talent. Up front it's top scorers from the SDHL like Hanna Olsson, Lina Ljungblom, Hanna Thuvik, and Sara Hjalmarsson, and NCAA stars Josefin Bouveng and Thea Johansson, along with young star Hilda Svensson who will drive the scoring. On the back end they have star Maja Nylen Persson, veteran Anna Kjellbin, and talented teenagers Ida Karlsson and Mira Jungaker. In net, PWHL Boston goalie Emma Soderberg will be their backbone. It's a lineup that should put them atop Group B to avoid a quarterfinal match up against Canada or USA and give them a realistic chance to challenge for a medal. DIRE STRAIGHTS FOR GERMANY Almost every nation in Europe is making strides toward closing the international gap and advancing elite players to the SDHL and North American leagues. Germany has a full line playing in the NCAA highlighted by Nina Jobst-Smith and sisters Luisa and Lilli Welcke, but it's not enough at this point, as the remainder of their team, aside from Franziska Feldmeier who played this season in the SDHL, and Sandra Abstreiter who is currently with PWHL Ottawa, are playing in Germany's women's league, which is one of the weakest in Europe. WHO WILL BE RELEGATED? China could pull off an upset in this Group, but it will be incredibly difficult since they abandoned all of their dual passport players who were the reason China was able to advance from Group IB two years ago, to the World Championships top bracket this year. Shedding stars like Hannah Miller, Leah Lum, Anna Segedi, Camryn Wong, Kasundra Betinol, Tia Chan, Rachel Ilanes, Madison Woo, Jessica Wong and Anna Fairman. It's a massive cut to their talent, which will now be drawn exclusively from China's Women's League. Players like Minghui Kong, Baiwai Yu, Xin Fang, and the young Jiaxin Wang will be counted on to keep China from being relegated. A large chunk of their team is coming from Chinese champions Shenzhen KRS, but with to teams being relegated this year, China will face an uphill battle without their dual citizen players. Denmark was relegated following the 2022 Worlds that they hosted, and earned promotion back this year. Denmark's best attribute is their star netminder Emma-Sofie Nordstrom who backstopped St. Lawrence in the NCAA this season. They have a handful of skaters with experience in the NCAA and SDHL which will give them more experience against elite competition, but unless they can pull off an upset, Denmark will be destined for relegation again.