The schedule for the 2019 IIHF World Junior Championship in Vancouver and Victoria, British Columbia has been released, with host nations and defending champions Canada opening the tournament on Boxing Day against Denmark, and facing Russia in their New Year’s tilt to end the group round.
Group A in Vancouver is highlighted by the defending champs and Russia, who will both be fighting for the top of the group for ideal elimination round positioning, with Czechia, Switzerland and Denmark rounding out the group. Group B in Victoria features the 2018 runners-up Sweden, 2017 champions the United States, a rebounding Finland squad, Slovakia and Kazakhstan, who was promoted back into the Top Division for the first time in a decade.
Canada will look to capture their first championship on home ice since 2015, while Sweden and the United States will both look to play spoiler, particularly the latter as the host cities sit very close to the American border with Washington state, so a contingent of American fans will surely make the trip to support their squad. Look for the likes of Czechia, Finland and Slovakia to play dark horses, while the likes of Denmark and Kazakhstan will likely be the ones fighting to avoid relegation.
The tournament schedule is as follows:
GROUP A – ๐จ๐ฆ ๐จ๐ฟย ๐ฉ๐ฐ ๐ท๐บ ๐จ๐ญ |
GROUP B – ๐ซ๐ฎ ๐ฐ๐ฟย ๐ธ๐ฐย ๐ธ๐ชย ๐บ๐ธ |
Wednesday, 26 December | |
๐จ๐ฟย Czechia vs. Switzerland ๐จ๐ญ ๐จ๐ฆย Canada vs. Denmark ๐ฉ๐ฐ |
๐ธ๐ฐย Slovakia vs. United States ๐บ๐ธ ๐ซ๐ฎย Finland vs. Sweden ๐ธ๐ช |
Thursday, 27 December |
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๐ฉ๐ฐ Denmark vs. Russia ๐ท๐บ ๐จ๐ฆ Canada vs. Switzerland ๐จ๐ญ |
๐ธ๐ฐ Slovakia vs. Sweden ๐ธ๐ช ๐ซ๐ฎ Finland vs. Kazakhstan ๐ฐ๐ฟ |
Friday, 28 December | |
๐จ๐ฟ Czechia vs. Russia ๐ท๐บ | ๐ฐ๐ฟ Kazakhstan vs. United States ๐บ๐ธ |
Saturday, 29 December | |
๐ฉ๐ฐ Denmark vs. Switzerland ๐จ๐ญ ๐จ๐ฆย Canada vs. Czechia ๐จ๐ฟ |
๐ซ๐ฎ Finland vs. Slovakia ๐ธ๐ฐ ๐ธ๐ช Sweden vs. United States ๐บ๐ธ |
Sunday, 30 December | |
๐ท๐บ Russia vs. Switzerland ๐จ๐ญ | ๐ฐ๐ฟ Kazakhstan vs. Slovakia ๐ธ๐ฐ |
Monday, 31 December | |
๐จ๐ฟ Czechia vs. Denmark ๐ฉ๐ฐ ๐จ๐ฆ Canada vs. Russia ๐ท๐บ |
๐ฐ๐ฟ Kazakhstan vs. Sweden ๐ธ๐ช ๐ซ๐ฎ Finland vs. United States ๐บ๐ธ |
Wednesday, 02 January | |
Quarterfinal: A1 vs. B4 Quarterfinal: B1 vs. A4 Relegation Game #1 |
Quarterfinal: A2 vs. B3 Quarterfinal: B2 vs. A3 |
Friday, 04 January | |
Semifinal #1 Semifinal #2 Relegation Game #2 |
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Saturday, 05 January | |
Goldย Medal Game Bronze Medal Game Relegation Game #3 (if necessary) |
Theย IHLC champion for the tournament will be confirmed at the very latest by the Four Nations Cup in November, as we will know if the title made it past this month’s National Junior Evaluation Camp to a European squad, or if the U.S. or the defending champs will keep the title until Boxing Day. We will know very soon!
Photo Credit: Vancouver Province – IIHF – HHOF – IOC