One of hockey's premier tournaments, its showcase of the game's biggest stars under the age of 20, is scheduled to begin at the end of the month. The 2022 IIHF World Junior Ice Hockey Championships, better known as the World Juniors, will bring the best and brightest from 10 countries together in Edmonton and Red Deer, Alta.
Edmonton served as host last year, albeit with no fans amid the coronavirus pandemic. The United States took gold, its fifth title at the event, while Canada and Finland took home silver and bronze, respectively.
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This year's tournament also coincides with the 2022 Winter Olympics in China, where many of the NHL's top stars could suit up for their respective countries. This is also the final time Canada will host for at least the next two years, with next year's tournament slated to be held in Russia and the 2024 tournament slated to be played in Sweden.
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Team Canada has won two of the last four World Juniors titles, in 2018 and 2020. The MVP of the 2020 tournament, Canada's Alexis Lafrenière, was selected first overall in the 2020 NHL Draft by the Rangers.
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Sporting News has all the information you need about this year's Team Canada roster and the tournament overall.
Canada World Juniors roster 2022
Four top-10 picks from the 2021 NHL Draft, including first overall pick Owen Power and third overall pick Mason McTavish, were among the skaters chosen to represent Canada at this year's World Juniors.
Skaters
| Name | Position | NHL club (Round, draft year) |
| Connor Bedard | Forward | 2022-eligible |
| Xavier Bourgault | Forward | 2022-eligible |
| Mavrik Bourque | Forward | Dallas (1, 2020) |
| Will Cuylle | Forward | 2022-eligible |
| Elliot Desnoyers | Forward | 2022-eligible |
| Ridly Greig | Forward | Ottawa (1, 2020) |
| Dylan Guenther | Forward | Arizona (1, 2021) |
| Kent Johnson | Forward | Columbus (1, 2021) |
| Mason McTavish | Forward | Anaheim (1, 2021) |
| Jake Neighbours | Forward | St. Louis (1, 2020) |
| Cole Perfetti | Forward | Winnipeg (1, 2020) |
| Justin Sourdif | Forward | Florida (3, 2020) |
| Logan Stankoven | Forward | Dallas (2, 2021) |
| Shane Wright | Forward | 2022-eligible |
| Lukas Cormier | Defense | Vegas (3, 2020) |
| Kaiden Guhle | Defense | Montreal (1, 2020) |
| Carson Lambos | Defense | Minnesota (1, 2021) |
| Ryan O'Rourke | Defense | Minnesota (2, 2020) |
| Owen Power | Defense | Buffalo (1, 2021) |
| Donovan Sebrango | Defense | Detroit (3, 2020) |
| Ronan Seeley | Defense | Carolina (7, 2020) |
| Olen Zellweger | Defense | Anaheim (2, 2021) |
Goaltenders
| Name | Position | NHL club (Round, draft year) |
| Brett Brochu | Goaltender | 2022-eligible |
| Sebastian Cossa | Goaltender | Detroit (1, 2021) |
| Dylan Garand | Goaltender | New York Rangers (4, 2020) |
When do World Junior Championships 2022 start?
- Start date: Dec. 26, 2021
- End date: Jan. 5, 2022
- Number of teams: 10
- Venue: Rogers Place (Edmonton, Alta.) and Peavey Mart Centrium (Red Deer, Alta.)
This year's World Junior Championships start right after Christmas, Dec. 26, also known as Boxing Day in Canada. The tournament will run for 11 days and extend into the first week of 2022. It will be held at two venues in Alberta: Rogers Place in Edmonton, home of the NHL's Oilers and WHL's Oil Kings, and Peaver Mart Centrium in Red Deer, home of the WHL's Red Deer Rebels.
Canada enters as the early betting favorite according to Sports Interaction.
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Canada World Juniors hockey schedule
Team Canada is one of 10 teams competing in this year's World Juniors. It will be playing in Group A. Its group-play opponents will be the Czech Republic, Finland, Germany and Austria.
| Date | Game | Time (ET) |
| Dec. 26 | Canada vs. Czech Republic | 7 p.m. |
| Dec. 28 | Canada vs. Austria | 7 p.m. |
| Dec. 29 | Canda vs. Germany | 7 p.m. |
| Dec. 31 | Canda vs. Finland | 7 p.m. |
| Jan. 2, 2022 | Relegation and quarterfinals | TBD |
| Jan. 3, 2022 | Relegation | TBD |
| Jan. 4, 2022 | Semifinals | TBD |
| Jan 5, 2022 | Bronze-medal game | 4 p.m. |
| Jan. 5, 2022 | Gold-medal game | 8 p.m. |