The host along with the top eight teams in the world ranking received automatic berths into the Olympics, while all other teams had an opportunity to qualify for the remaining three spots in the Olympics.
To qualify directly, a nation had to be ranked in the top eight following the 2015 Men's World Ice Hockey Championships.
The following is a ranking based on points already accumulated toward Olympic qualification of all countries participating in 2015.
Points were earned based on overall finish in 2015: The two lowest ranked participants played off for the right to compete in this round on 10 October 2015, in Sofia, Bulgaria.
The winner of each group advanced to the pre-qualification tournaments as qualifiers seven and eight ranked according their seeding.
The winners of each advanced to the final qualification tournaments as qualifiers four, five, and six, ranked according to their seeding.