Johan Garpenlöv will cease to be Sweden head coach after next year's World Championship ©Getty Images

Sweden head coach Johan Garpenlöv will step down when his contract expires at the end of International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) World Championship next year.

The 53-year-old has been Sweden's head coach since 2019, and was an assistant for three years before that, but the coming season will be his last.

The 2021-2022 season figures to be an action-packed one, featuring both the Winter Olympic Games and an IIHF World Championship.

Garpenlöv has only been coach for one World Championship so far, owing to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Sweden had a bitterly disappointing tournament earlier this year in Latvia, failing to reach the quarter-finals for the first time since a new format was introduced.

Sweden underwhelmed at the only World Championship Johan Garpenlöv has taken charge of so far ©Getty Images
Sweden underwhelmed at the only World Championship Johan Garpenlöv has taken charge of so far ©Getty Images

Finland is due to host the 2022 IIHF World Championship, while Chinese capital Beijing is staging the Winter Olympics.

"The role as head coach for Tre Kronor is the finest job in Swedish hockey even though the conditions have been special during the pandemic," Garpenlöv said. 

"Now we have an exciting season in front of us with both the Olympics and the World Championship and my full focus is on what we will do together in the coming season."

Garpenlöv won two world titles as a player, in 1991 and 1992, and was an assistant when Sweden won the World Championship in 2017 and 2018.