Group A will feature South Korea (host), Slovenia, Austria, Hungary, Ukraine and Japan. The best two teams will advance to the Elite Division. The Slovenian hockey team have drawn considerable praise after placing 7th in Sochi, the best result in the history of the Slovenian national hockey team. This time around, however, their roster will not include many key players.

Head coach Matjaž Kopitar said he was not worried, “I think we are ready. Many questions have been raised because a few players are missing. We are concerned with those that are here, and we must help them. They have assumed a huge role, some of them are with us for the first time. It will be hard, the tournament will be difficult, but we must not run from the fact that we are one of the favourites to win the tournament. The first or second place will be a success for us – that’s it.”
D.V., RSi