The schedule for the rescheduled 2022 IIHF World Junior Championship has been released, restarting the tournament in Edmonton, Canada following the cancellation of December’s tournament due to an outbreak of the COVID-19 Omicron variant.

The tournament, which will not carry over any of the results from December’s tournament, and where Under-20 players are grandfathered in if they have since turned 20, will open on 09 August, with the first day highlighted by defending champions Team USA taking on Germany, along with Finland taking on recently-promoted Latvia, moving to the Top Division in place of Russia, who was banned from the competition. All games will be held at Edmonton’s Rogers Place, although not in a bubble like the 2020 tournament.

Like with the 2020 tournament, the favourites will remain Sweden and Team USA in Group A, and Finland and Canada in Group B, with all squads fighting for top position, while now squads like Austria and Latvia now will be able to play with less weight on their shoulders, given  that relegation for this year’s tournament is off the table for 2023, given the fact that the Division IA winners for 2022, Belarus, have also been banned from IIHF competition alongside Russia.

The tournament schedule is as follows:

The IHLC will be brought back to Edmonton by Finland, who won the title in Edmonton just before the December Worlds began, winning four straight (including one by forfeit) before the tournament was called off, then winning another three straight at April’s Four Nations Cup in Czechia. Whether the Leijonat play before 09 August, and thus the title could change hands before the Worlds recommence, remains to be seen.

Photo Credit: 2022 World Junior Championship – IIHF – HHOF – IOC