The schedule for the 2022 IIHF World Junior Championship has been released, returning to the originally planned hosts of Edmonton and Red Deer, Alberta, Canada, which was set for the 2021 tournament but instead played in a quarantine bubble only in Edmonton, in front of no fans.

The tournament will return to a Boxing Day kickoff, rather than last year’s Christmas Day start, with Finland and Germany opening the tournament, while hosts Canada will face off against Czechia and defending champions Team USA will open their title defence against Slovakia.

With relegation and promotion back on the table (as of this writing) for the 2023 tournament, it would appear that while Austria is likely to finish last in Group B, Group A will be more of a toss-up, with Switzerland’s surprising ninth-place finish last year; they will be fighting with the likes of Slovakia most likely to avoid a similar fate in 2022. Red Deer will see the usual troika of Team USA, Russia and Sweden fighting for top billing, while Group B in Edmonton will likely see Canada and Finland finish in the top two, while Germany and Czechia fight for third place to avoid Group A’s top squad in the elimination round.

The tournament schedule is as follows:

The IHLC will be brought to Alberta by the current defending champions the United States, who before opening their tournament against Slovakia on 26 December will likely play in one or two exhibition games, likely in Edmonton, before the Christmas holiday. This will determine whether the title enters through Group A or B, whether through Red Deer or Edmonton, and if it will be unified with the Gold Medal, or take a more unlikely path of being relegated to Division IA.

Photo Credit: 2021 World Junior Championship – IIHF – HHOF – IOC