Can I choose an IIHF record? If so, I think that Ireland's streak of five straight gold medals is an unbreakable record for a number of reasons. Before Ireland went on their historic run in the S40s, a handful of federations (including my beloved Sweden) had notched back to back gold medals, but five straight is a streak we never saw coming and likely will never see again. Ireland benefitted from a couple of factors. First, Ireland came about after a massive s20 class, where we saw many first generation players go USA or CAN. Ireland expanded at just the right time; giving it plenty of open slots. Furthermore, the recruiting arm of Ireland was top notch, gathering talent who would commit to Ireland for their entire SHL user careers.

These days there are simply too many federations to pull from USA and CAN. Additionally, the smaller federations are much better managed and increase IIHF parity. The five Gold medal streak is unbeatable.