Bergmann Leads Denmark To Promotion At Division 1B U-18 Worlds

The annual shuffle of teams up and down in the IIHF ranks continues as the U-18 World Championships continue to play out in various divisions. In Katowice, Poland, that includes the promotion of Denmark from the Division 1B bracket into the Division 1A tournament after the team went undefeated in their tournament play.

The leader in that effort was 16-year-old forward Nikita Bergmann who put in a dominant performance to lead the tournament in scoring, and her nation to a higher division. Bergmann was named the tournament's Best Forward after leading the tournament in scoring five goals and 13 points in five games.

The 5-foot-10 left shot forward is already playing in Europe's top league skating for Skellefteå AIK in the SDHL among national team players and pros from across the globe in Sweden.

The 2008-born Danish star was part of Denmark's young squad who were relegated from the Division 1A tournament last year. She's also one of 14 members of Denmark's U-18 national team eligible to return for the 2026 tournament.

Denmark opened their tournament with 4-0 and 6-0 shutouts over China and Australia respectively, before beating Korea 8-2, and in a game that would decide which nation earned promotion, they beat Poland 5-0. They wrapped up their tournament with a 4-0 win over Spain.

Goaltender Anja Poulsen of Denmark was named the tournament's Best Goaltender after recording four straight shutouts, stopping all 59 shots she faced.

Poland finished second in the tournament led by Malgorzata Zakrzewska who finished second in tournament scoring with seven goals and 12 points. She finished her tournament with a four-goal, five point performance in a 5-2 win over Australia. Polish defender Nikola Isztok was named the tournament's Best Defender.

Korea was relegated from the Division 1B level to Division 2A.