The schedule for the 2023 IIHF World Junior Championship has been released, with the tournament set to return to being played during the holiday season in front of fans, with Halifax, Nova Scotia and Moncton, New Brunswick hosting for Canada for the third straight year.

The tournament, which will start again on 26 December (as is tradition with this tournament), will open with both 2022 finalists in action, with Finland opening the tournament against Switzerland in Moncton, while defending champions Canada take on Czechia in their opening tilt in Halifax. Canada will host the Czechs, Sweden, Germany and Austria in Group A, while the Finns and Swiss round out Group B with the United States, Slovakia and Latvia.

The usual suspects will likely be fighting for the top spots in the medal round, with Group A likely to come down to Canada and Sweden, and Group B likely down to Finland and Team USA, who ironically all meet on New Year’s Eve, with top position in their respective groups almost certainly on the line. While there was no relegation in the previous tournaments, teams like Slovakia, Austria and Latvia will be fighting to avoid having to go down to Division IA.

The tournament schedule is as follows:

The IHLC will be brought back to Canada by the home nation, who won the title in Edmonton in the Gold Medal Game just under three weeks ago, in an overtime thriller over Finland. However, with a series of pre-tournament exhibition games set to be played across Atlantic Canada before Boxing Day, whether Canada will start the official tournament in Halifax with the title remains to be seen.

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