I'll never understand why, after a tournament like we just had, people would prefer it without teams like Austria, Poland, Latvia, Britain and the likes. Huge fan bases, great atmosphere, fun games... As already mentioned, a large part of the appeal comes from games involving these teams.
I also thought 16 teams were too much when they expanded it back in 98, but looking at the last 10 years, there is no reason to think it needs to drop teams. You don't see that many blowouts anymore.
Regarding shootouts, they are necessary with several games played at the same arena every day. Beside, endless OT is a logistical nightmare (imagine a crowd of 15000, most of them not familiar with the host city, trying to make their way to their hotel after public transport stops running), and is as much of a crapshot as a shootout once you're deep into the second OT and the level of play significantly drops.
Having the tournament every year is fine too. We have an entire week of meaningful international football every other month, I don't see why there couldn't be 17 days of international hockey once a year. May is already too late, interest would be higher if it was played during the colder months. It used to be in April and has been pushed back several times already, but leagues keep pushing their end of season back at a much higher pace. Start every league in early September instead.
My point is, most of the suggestions here would significantly downgrade a great event.
