With the Christmas holidays just around the corner, hockey fans have an ultimate delight coming their way as the annual U20 IIHF tournament will be starting on Monday, December 26 in Halifax, Nova Scotia, and Moncton Canada. After a tumultuous two years of Covid-19, the championship will be finally starting at its usual time of the year i.e just one day after Christmas.
how to watch World Junior Hockey Championship
- Date: 26th December to January 5
- Where: Scotiabank Centre/Avenir Centre
- TV: TSN/NHL Network
- Streams Anywhere: Click here
With last year’s tournament being played behind the doors at the Edmonton “bubble”, there will be no restriction this time around as the fans are allowed to witness the action from the stands. The defending champions, Canada will be defending their title and will be looking to double it up for the first time since their incredible run back in 2005 where they won four consecutive championships. Canada won the Gold Medal last time out by beating Finland over time by 3-2.
Canada has lined up another strong squad for this year’s championship with Connor Bedard and Adam Fantilli leading the ranks. They are placed in group A along with Sweden, Czechia, Germany, and Austria. They will open the proceeding against Czechia on Monday. In Group B, the 2021 winners United States will have the challenge of the previous edition’s finalists, Finland, Switzerland, Slovakia, and Latvia. The United States had a disappointing time last around where they finished fifth. They will look to overcome their shortcomings and get themselves a place on the final podium.
It’s shaping up very nicely. And if you are a hockey fan, you should not be going anywhere around as we bring you all the details of the annual U20 IIHF tournament.
WJC World Junior Ice Hockey Championship 2023 Live Online?
The 2023 IIHF world junior championship will be broadcasted live on TSN in Canada. The Canadian national natives will be also able to stream the event live on their mobile phones using the TSN app and on TSN official website. You can stream any game from anywhere via ProCast.live
While hockey fans in the USA have to be contented with NHL, which has been home to ice hockey for the last decade or so. Once you get hold of their subscription, you will be able to watch the game on your mobile phones as well as TV screens. All the cord-cutters using digital streaming services will have to tune into ProCast.live to catch all the live action.
2023 IIHF world junior championship Venue, and Dates:
The IIHF world junior championship will be heading to Canada for the third straight time with the event due to start on December 26. The event will be played across two venues, Scotiabank Centre in Halifax Nova Scotia will be hosting all the group A matches while Avenir Centre in Moncton, New Brunswick will be welcoming the USA and the other pool B teams. The quarterfinals will be played on Jan. 2, the semifinals on Jan. 4, and on Jan.5 where the two big games, the Final and the game for the third position will be played. Expect a full crowd when the teams take the center of the arena.
2023 IIHF WJC Groups and Tournament Format:
Group A:
- Canada, Sweden, Czechia, Germany, Austria
Group B:
- USA, Finland, Switzerland, Slovakia, Latvia
This year’s 2023 IIHF world junior championship will be played in a round-robin format within their group, followed by a three-round playoff. In the opening round, each team in a group will play each other with a winner earning three points for a regulation win, two points for an overtime win, one point for an overtime loss, and no points for a regulation loss.
The top four teams will make it into the next round where they will be placed against each other according to their seeding in their respective group.
The Group A winners will meet Group B’s fourth-seeded team and vice versa. While the runners-up in each group will meet the third-best team of the other group. The winners will be reseeded for the semifinals.
Teams winning the semifinals will meet in the Grand Finale for the ultimate prize i.e Gold medal. The losers will battle it out for the Bronze medal.
2023 IIHF world junior championship Odds and Favorites:
The hosts and defending champions, Canada are the hot favorites to take the title this year. They are expected to face a tough challenge from last year’s Silver Medalists Finland, the 2021 winners USA and Sweden. All the mentioned four teams are well equipped in all departments and have the prowess to take away the trophy at the end of the day.
The Canadian team looks strong on paper and has been termed favorites by bookmakers with the odds at -119. They are followed by the USA which is ranked at +345.
It’s all to play for and whoever is able to hold their nerves in the tense moment will be crowned the winner.
2023 IIHF world junior championship Schedule and Result
| Date | Match | Time (ET) and Result |
|---|---|---|
| Monday, Dec. 26 | Finland vs. Switzerland | Switzerland 3, Finland 2 |
| Monday, Dec. 26 | Sweden vs. Austria | Sweden 11, Austria 0 |
| Monday, Dec. 26 | Latvia vs. USA | USA 5, Latvia 2 |
| Monday, Dec. 26 | Czechia vs. Canada | Czechia 5, Canada 2 |
| Tuesday, Dec. 27 | Finland vs. Slovakia | Finland 5, Slovakia 2 |
| Tuesday, Dec. 27 | Germany vs. Sweden | Sweden 1, Germany 0 |
| Tuesday, Dec. 27 | Switzerland vs. Latvia | Switzerland 3, Latvia 2 |
| Tuesday, Dec. 27 | Austria vs. Czechia | Czechia 9, Austria 0 |
| Wednesday, Dec. 28 | Slovakia vs. USA | Slovakia 6, USA 3 |
| Wednesday, Dec. 28 | Canada vs. Germany | Canada 11, Germany 2 |
| Thursday, Dec. 29 | Latvia vs. Finland | Finland 3, Latvia 0 |
| Thursday, Dec. 29 | Sweden vs. Czechia | Sweden 3, Czechia 2 |
| Thursday, Dec. 29 | USA vs. Switzerland | USA 5, Switzerland 1 |
| Thursday, Dec. 29 | Austria vs. Canada | Canada 11, Austria 0 |
| Friday, Dec. 30 | Slovakia vs. Latvia | Slovakia 3, Latvia 0 |
| Friday, Dec. 30 | Germany vs. Austria | Germany 4, Austria 2 |
| Saturday, Dec. 31 | Switzerland vs. Slovakia | Switzerland 4, Slovakia 3 |
| Saturday, Dec. 31 | Czechia vs. Germany | Czechia 8, Germany 1 |
| Saturday, Dec. 31 | USA vs. Finland | USA 6, Finland 2 |
| Saturday, Dec. 31 | Canada vs. Sweden | Canada 5, Sweden 1 |
| Monday, Jan. 2 | Latvia vs. Austria | Latvia 5, Austria 2 |
| Monday, Jan. 2 | Finland vs. Sweden Quarterfinal | Sweden 3, Finland 2 |
| Monday, Jan. 2 | Czechia vs. Switzerland Quarterfinal | Czechia 9, Switzerland 1 |
| Monday, Jan. 2 | USA vs. Germany Quarterfinal | USA 11, Germany 1 |
| Monday, Jan. 2 | Canada vs. Slovakia Quarterfinal | Canada 4, Slovakia 3 |
| Wednesday, Jan. 4 | Latvia vs. Austria | 11 a.m. |
| Wednesday, Jan. 4 | Czechia vs. Sweden (Semifinal) | 2:30 p.m. |
| Wednesday, Jan. 4 | USA vs. Canada (Semifinal) | 6:30 p.m. |
| Thursday, Jan. 5 | Placement Game | 11 a.m. |
| Thursday, Jan. 5 | Bronze Medal Game | 2:30 p.m. |
| Thursday, Jan. 5 | Gold Medal Game | 6:30 p.m. |
