Canada are looking to avenge the defeat under the five rings and have put together a really strong team, as well as the selection of hosts Switzerland. Who can the fans look forward to seeing in action?
Sidney Crosby (Canada)
He left the past two major tournaments without fanfare. Last year, the hyped-up team led by Nathan MacKinnon was beaten in the quarter-finals by Denmark, and was knocked out of the February Olympics by Radko Gudas with a hard hit at the same stage.
The Maple Leafs' captain then just watched sadly as the final defeat to the USA. His participation is not surprising after the Pittsburgh Penguins were eliminated in the first round of the NHL play-offs.
"At my age, I don't have the luxury of having a long break anymore," he said last year before the championship.
His attitude could hardly change. He wants to keep the momentum going for the smoothest possible entry into next year's play-offs.
He'll be going to the World Championship for only the fourth time in his late career.
The imaginative playmaker has gold from the 2015 tournament (along with two Olympic triumphs and three Stanley Cup rings), having first competed 20 years ago in Riga.
As an 18-year-old talent, he was the tournament's top scorer with eight goals.
Aleksander Barkov (Finland)
Who could you want on your team more than the captain of the Stanley Cup champions, even a two-time one. And a hungry hockey player to boot.
The Florida Panthers forward played his last sharp game in last year's finals against the Edmonton Oilers, as he injured ligaments in his knee in September and missed the entire season, including the Olympics.
Even though he jumped into practice before the end of the regular season, it was not at all certain that Florida would let him go to the World Championship.
However, when he approached the management to ask for permission, he got a very friendly response by overseas standards. It also shows how strong his position is with the Panthers.
"If a hockey player wants to play, that's a good sign, right?" said the club's general manager, Bill Zito, who was prescient.
The Finns have acquired an exceptional leader and a popular teammate in Barkov.
It's actually a comeback of sorts for him, as he last competed in a championship 10 long years ago, when he helped lead the team to silver.
Matthew Tkachuk (USA)
The Americans triumphed at the World Championship last year for the first time in 65 years.
This long fast is also the reason why this undisputed world hockey power has no Triple Gold Club member yet.
That is to say, a player who will win the Olympics and the Stanley Cup in addition to the World Championship gold during his career.
The elder of the Tkachuk brothers may become the first ever, capping off an absolutely excellent year.
With Florida, he won the Stanley Cup for the second consecutive year last June, then dominated the Olympics with the national team this past February.
In addition, he got married in July and his daughter was born in mid-April.
Despite the latter fact, he did not hesitate over his debut appearance at the World Championship.
"I try to be as patriotic as I can," Tkachuk said.
He is the only one from the gold medal-winning Milan team in the current nomination.
In the NHL, he has 670 points (253 goals and 417 assists) from 673 games. How will he do on a wide rink?
Macklin Celebrini (Canada)
If there was talk of Crosby's first championship in 2006, this talent wasn't born until three weeks after it ended.
Despite his young age, Celebrini is shining and getting a lot of responsibility on the national team.
After all, he was named captain ahead of schedule, the youngest in Canadian men's national team history.
And overseas reporters are unanimous that this has put the coaches in a tight spot after Crosby's confirmed start on Tuesday.
It's almost hard to believe that the Celebrini has only two seasons in the NHL under his belt and is playing in below-average San Jose.
After all, even in his jersey, he has collected 115 points this season and finished fourth in the overall productivity rankings.
If sometimes draft picks are accompanied by embarrassment of coping with expectations, that's not the case with this youngster and the first pick of 2024.
He also excelled at the Olympics, collecting 10 points (five goals and five assists) in six games.
He assisted half of the goals (one goal and three assists) in Sunday's 6-1 win over France.
Roman Cervenka (Czech Republic)
Sure, he doesn't play in the NHL and for the experts there, he might not be one of the biggest stars of the tournament.
But his position in the international hockey spotlight is undeniable.
He has accumulated an amazing 51 points in the last four World Championships, playing all of them after his 37th birthday.
He was also a difference maker at the Olympics, where he faced the NHL's biggest stars as an ambassador of the extra league.
With five points, he was the second most productive Czech behind Martin Necas.
Now he is going to his 13th world championship, which will create a Czech record that he shared with David Vyborny.
"Even though the season and the play-offs were tough, I just want to be there. I can't imagine saying no," Cervenka said.
Roman Josi (Switzerland)
So what now? The golden Swiss generation is still waiting to fulfil its nickname.
In the past two years, the team made it to the finals, but failed to make the final step.
This year, however, they are playing on home ice and new coach Jan Cadieux has packed the roster with 22 world runners-up.
With the captain's tag, he'll be led by this veteran Nashville Predators defenceman, who can be expected to play a major role on the power plays he directs from the blue line.
This season hasn't been as explosive in points for him as some recent ones; he even attacked the 100 mark four years ago.
Even so, he's racked up a fair 55 contributions, which still puts him in the elite company of defencemen in the best league in the world.
An impressive feat considering he missed the second half of last season due to a nervous system ailment that accompanies sudden heart palpitations. That's why he had to miss the World Championship last year.
Ivar Stenberg (Sweden)
The least known name of the bunch, and rightly so, because this rookie from Frolunda in Sweden hasn't done much compared to the above-mentioned.
At the turn of the year, Stenberg led the Under-20s to world gold, beating the Czech Republic in the final 4-2 with three points (one goal and two assists).
He's earned the respect of scouts and should be very high in this year's draft.
When asked recently by Toronto Maple Leafs defenceman Oliver Ekman-Larsson, who he would pick, he named his countryman.
And he had yet to see them in the national team jersey, where they both played in the Swedish Hockey Games.
The week before, Stenberg shone in Ceske Budejovice, where he picked up five points in three starts, and again against the Czechs (one goal and one assist).
Experts appreciate the versatility of his offensive record, as he is as good at setting up goals as he is at scoring them.
The World Championship is his first big chance to make his mark among the adults.