| Tournament details | |
|---|---|
| Host country |  Austria |
| Venue(s) | 1 (in 1 host city) |
| Dates | 21 April – 5 May |
| Teams | 12 |
| Final positions | |
Champions  |  Czech Republic (1st title) |
Runner-up  |  Canada |
Third place  |  United States |
| Fourth place |  Russia |
| Tournament statistics | |
| Games played | 40 |
| Goals scored | 249 (6.23 per game) |
| Attendance | 186,830 (4,671 per game) |
| Scoring leader(s) | Yanic Perreault 9 points |
The 1996 Men's Ice Hockey World Championships was the 60th such event sanctioned by the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF). Teams representing 36 countries participated in several levels of competition, with Slovakia making their first appearance in the top Champions Group A, in their fourth tournament since the dissolution of Czechoslovakia and the formation of the separate Czech Republic and Slovakia men's national ice hockey teams. The competition also served as qualifications for group placements in the 1997 competition.
The top Championship Group A tournament took place in Austria from 21 April to 5 May 1996, with all games played in Vienna. Twelve teams took part, with the first round split into two groups of six, with the first four from each group advancing to the quarter-finals. The Czech Republic beat Canada in the final to become World Champions for the first time. The final game was tied at two apiece before Martin Procházka scored with nineteen seconds left, followed by an empty net goal to seal the victory.[1] In the bronze medal game, Brian Rolston scored at 4:48 of overtime to win the first medal in 34 years for team USA.[2][3] The unfortunate Russians, competing in their fifth tournament since being created after the dissolution of the Soviet Union, did not lose a game in regulation time in the entire tournament, but finished fourth.