The Ice Blacks are ranked 39th in the world, the highest of the six teams competing in the week-long tournament.
The other teams are Ireland (ranked 40th), Turkey (41st), Luxembourg (43rd), Mongolia (45th) and Greece (46th).
The Ice Blacks and Ireland both lost division two status last year when they finished at the bottom of that competition.
"We had been promoted in 2007 and wanted to stay in division two," Ice Blacks manager Charlie Reid told the Otago Daily Times yesterday.
"We improved last year and are a step ahead of where we used to be.
"While we can't underestimate any of the teams, I believe New Zealand is capable of winning the tournament, he said."
This will be the third time New Zealand has hosted the world championships.
In 2003 it won the third division gold medal in Auckland, which also hosted the second division event in 2006.
Last year, the Ice Blacks competed in the second division championships held in Newcastle, Australia, where they lost to Iceland (6-3), Mexico (2-0), China (5-3), Australia (4-2) and Spain (5-4) and were relegated to the third division.
New Zealand prepared for the world championships by beating Finland club team HC Storm in four straight games.
It won in Auckland 7-5 and 6-3, in Queenstown 15-6 and in Dunedin 5-3.
"These games were essential for us," Reid said.
"We have trained hard but needed the competitive games to fine-tune the team.
"We have come out of summer while the northern hemisphere teams have come out of a competitive season."
The key players in the New Zealand team are Brett Speirs (Queenstown), who is New Zealand's top points-scorer in international hockey, Chris Eaden (Christchurch) and Jordan Challis (Auckland).
The New Zealand senior men's team was formed in 1987 to compete in the International Ice Hockey Federation Pool D championships in Perth, Australia.
The team was selected on a regional basis with the intention of increasing players' levels of experience.
New Zealand won the bronze medal behind Australia and Korea in Perth.
It had its first exposure to European ice hockey at the world championships D pool in Belgium.
This was a challenge for the team, which came up against Great Britain, Romania, Belgium and Spain.
New Zealand was in the hockey wilderness for several years as costs prevented it from competing in qualifying rounds.
Since 1995, the New Zealand team has competed in the world championships or in qualifying rounds every year.
In 1999, the team adopted the name the New Zealand Ice Blacks.
For the first time, the team for 2007 was made up of New Zealand-born players.
World championships
Draw
Tomorrow: Mongolia v Turkey (1pm); Ireland v Greece ( 4.30pm); Luxembourg v NZ (8pm).
Saturday, April 11: Greece v Mongolia (1pm); Ireland v Luxembourg (4.30pm); NZ v Turkey (8pm).
Monday, April 13: Ireland v Mongolia (1pm); Luxembourg v Turkey (4.30pm); NZ v Greece (8pm).
Wednesday, April 15: Greece v Luxembourg (1pm); Turkey v Ireland (4.30pm); Mongolia v NZ (8pm).
Thursday, April 15: Turkey v Greece (1pm); Luxembourg v Mongolia (4.30pm); NZ v Ireland (8pm).
