Mark Streit of Switzerland at the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympic Games

The Swiss National Team announced today that New York Islanders captain Mark Streit and 2010 first round pick Nino Niederreiter will participate in the 2012 IIHF Ice Hockey World Championships.

Niederreiter, 19, is expected to join the Swiss team on Monday, April 16, to skate in the final four exhibition games against Sweden and Canada. Streit, 34, is not expected to join the club until Tuesday, April 24, for the final two exhibition games before the tournament.

The 2012 IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship begins May 4, with the Swiss playing their first game on May 5 against Kazakhstan.

A new championship format is being introduced for 2012 that will see 16 teams split into two preliminary round groups, using the IIHF World Ranking for seeding. Preliminary rounds will be played in Helsinki, Finland and Stockholm, Sweden.

The Swiss begin the tournament in the Helsinki group, which also includes Belarus, Canada, Finland, France, Kazakhstan, Slovakia and the U.S.

The top four teams in each preliminary round group will advance to the quarterfinals. The semi finals and finals will both be played in Helsinki.