One of the best times of the hockey year is here. The 2023 World Juniors are set to kick off on Dec. 26, giving fans 11 days of the best U20 international competition.
The games return to their typical time frame after the IIHF was forced to move the 2022 tournament to the summer. Canada won the gold over Finland in August and enter the games as the country with the most golds at the tournament with 19.
The same 10 teams that played in Edmonton for the 2022 edition are back again in the Maritimes for the 2023 World Juniors, albeit all with some variations of personnel. However, some of the top players from 2022 return this winter, including Connor Bedard, Logan Stankoven and Olen Zellweger for Canada, and Luke Hughes and Logan Cooley for the USA.
MORE: Watch the 2023 World Juniors live with fuboTV (7-day free trial)
Finland and Switzerland get set to kick off the first game of the tournament on Dec. 26. Here's everything to know about the tournament, including how to watch live games and a complete schedule with updated scores and standings.
When do the 2023 World Juniors start?
- Start date: December 26, 2022
- End date: January 5, 2023
With the 2023 tournament starting at the normal time of the year, that means the competition kicks off the day after Christmas, December 26.
The group stage starts will take place over the first six days. The quarterfinals will be played on Jan. 2, the semifinals on Jan. 4 and the tournament will conclude with the bronze and gold medal games on Jan. 5.
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There will be pre-tournament exhibition games played ahead of the official start of the World Juniors. In total, 11 games will be played in either New Brunswick and Nova Scotia between Dec. 19 and Dec. 23.
How to watch 2023 World Juniors games on TV, live stream
- TV channel (Canada): TSN
- Live stream (Canada): TSN.ca, TSN app
- TV channel (U.S.): NHL Network
- Live stream (U.S.): fuboTV
TSN and the NHL Network will once again be home to all of the action for the 2023 World Juniors.
Canadian viewers can watch the competition on TSN or can stream the games through TSN.ca or on the TSN app.
The American audience can view the games live on TV on the NHL Network, or can stream them through fuboTV.
MORE: Watch the 2023 World Juniors live with fuboTV (free trial, U.S. only)
Where is the 2023 World Juniors?
- Location: Halifax N.S./Moncton, N.B.
- Venue: Scotiabank Centre/Avenir Centre
The World Juniors will once again be split between two host cities, as the tournament will be held in Halifax, Nova Scotia and Moncton, New Brunswick.
The games in Halifax will be played at the Scotiabank Centre, the home of the QMJHL's Halifax Mooseheads. Any of the contests in Moncton will be played at the Avenir Centre, where the QMJHL's Moncton Wildcats call home.
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This will be the second time Halifax is a host city for the World Juniors. Previously, the 2003 World Juniors were split between Halifax and Sydney, N.S. Moncton has never hosted the World Juniors before.
The 2023 tournament was originally planned to be held in Russia, with Novosibirsk and Omsk as the two host cities. However, due to Russia's invasion of Ukraine, their rights were pulled by the IIHF.
2023 World Juniors knockout stage bracket
Quarterfinals
2B Finland vs. 3A Sweden
1A Czechia vs. 4B Switzerland
1B United States vs. 4A Germany
2A Canada vs. 3B Slovakia
Semifinals
Czechia vs. Sweden
USA vs. Canada
Bronze-Medal Game
Sweden vs. USA
Gold-Medal Game
Czechia vs. Canada
2023 World Juniors standings
Group A
| Team | Games | Wins | OT Wins | OT Losses | Losses | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Czechia* | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 10 |
| Canada* | 4 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 9 |
| Sweden* | 4 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 8 |
| Germany* | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 |
| Austria** | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
Group B
| Team | Games | Wins | OT Wins | OT Losses | Losses | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| USA* | 4 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 9 |
| Finland* | 4 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 7 |
| Slovakia* | 4 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 7 |
| Switzerland* | 4 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 6 |
| Latvia** | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 1 |
* = advances to knockout stage
** = plays in relegation series
Teams will play four preliminary games in a round-robin format within their group, followed by a three-round playoff.
In the group stage, teams earn three points for a regulation win, two points for an overtime win, one point for an overtime loss and no points for a regulation loss.
The top four teams from each group advance to the quarterfinals, where the matchups are determined by seeding. They will cross over between groups for these games: 1A vs. 4B, 1B vs. 4A, 2A vs. 3B and 2B vs. 3A. The teams that advance to the semifinals will be reseeded.
MORE: Connor Bedard, Adam Fantilli top 2023 draft prospects at World Juniors
The winners of the semifinals will face off in the gold medal game. The losers will play for bronze.
Due to the irregular timing of the 2022 tournament, the IIHF announced that no team would be relegated. So it will be the same 10 teams that competed in August at the 2023 tourney.
However, one team will be relegated down to the Division I tournament for 2024, and the winner of the 2023 Division I World Juniors will get promoted to the top group.
2023 World Juniors point leaders
Points updated as of the Jan. 4 games.
| Player | Team | Games | Goals | Assists | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Connor Bedard | Canada | 6 | 9 | 14 | 23 |
| Logan Cooley | USA | 6 | 6 | 6 | 12 |
| Jimmy Snuggerud | USA | 6 | 5 | 6 | 11 |
| Logan Stankoven | Canada | 6 | 3 | 8 | 11 |
| Joshua Roy | Canada | 6 | 5 | 5 | 10 |
| Cutter Gauthier | USA | 6 | 2 | 6 | 8 |
| Stanislav Svozil | Czechia | 6 | 1 | 7 | 8 |
| David Spacek | Czechia | 6 | 3 | 5 | 8 |
| Jiri Kulich | Czechia | 6 | 6 | 2 | 8 |
| Gabriel Szturc | Czechia | 6 | 5 | 3 | 8 |
| Ludvig Jansson | Sweden | 6 | 4 | 4 | 8 |
| Ryan Ufko | USA | 6 | 0 | 8 | 8 |
2023 World Juniors odds
According to Sports Interaction, the 2023 tournament is a four-horse race.
Canada, Finland, the United States and Sweden are the clear frontrunners to win this year's tournament, with the Canadians holding the best odds at -125.
MORE: Who will win the 2023 World Juniors?
Here are the odds entering the 2023 tournament.
| Team | Odds |
|---|---|
| Canada | -125 |
| USA | +338 |
| Finland | +419 |
| Sweden | +625 |
| Czechia | +1641 |
| Slovakia | +4676 |
| Switzerland | +6430 |
| Germany | +11600 |
| Latvia | +50000 |
| Austria | +50000 |
What country has won the most medals?
Canada enters the 2023 tournament with the most gold medals of all time. The 2022 win marked the 19th gold medal for the country.
But Russia, which is not participating in the 2023 World Juniors, owns the most total medals with 37. It has won the most silver and bronze medals out of any country.
The United States is tied for the third-most gold medals with Finland and owns the sixth-most total medals.
| Country | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
| Russia* | 13 | 13 | 11 | 37 |
| Canada | 19 | 10 | 5 | 34 |
| Sweden | 2 | 11 | 7 | 20 |
| Finland | 5 | 5 | 7 | 17 |
| Czech Republic+ | 2 | 5 | 7 | 14 |
| United States | 5 | 2 | 6 | 13 |
| Slovakia | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| Switzerland | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
* Includes medals won as the Soviet Union and CIS
+ Includes medals won as Czechoslovakia
2023 World Juniors schedule
Monday, Dec. 26
| Matchup | Time (ET) | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Finland vs. Switzerland | FINAL | Switzerland 3, Finland 2 (OT) |
| Sweden vs. Austria | FINAL | Sweden 11, Austria 0 |
| Latvia vs. USA | FINAL | USA 5, Latvia 2 |
| Czechia vs. Canada | FINAL | Czechia 5, Canada 2 |
Tuesday, Dec. 27
| Matchup | Time (ET) | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Finland vs. Slovakia | FINAL | Finland 5, Slovakia 2 |
| Germany vs. Sweden | FINAL | Sweden 1, Germany 0 |
| Switzerland vs. Latvia | FINAL | Switzerland 3, Latvia 2 (SO) |
| Austria vs. Czechia | FINAL | Czechia 9, Austria 0 |
Wednesday, Dec. 28
| Matchup | Time (ET) | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Slovakia vs. USA | FINAL | Slovakia 6, USA 3 |
| Canada vs. Germany | FINAL | Canada 11, Germany 2 |
Thursday, Dec. 29
| Matchup | Time (ET) | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Latvia vs. Finland | FINAL | Finland 3, Latvia 0 |
| Sweden vs. Czechia | FINAL | Sweden 3, Czechia 2 (OT) |
| USA vs. Switzerland | FINAL | USA 5, Switzerland 1 |
| Austria vs. Canada | FINAL | Canada 11, Austria 0 |
Friday, Dec. 30
| Matchup | Time (ET) | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Slovakia vs. Latvia | FINAL | Slovakia 3, Latvia 0 |
| Germany vs. Austria | FINAL | Germany 4, Austria 2 |
Saturday, Dec. 31
| Matchup | Time (ET) | TV/Result |
|---|---|---|
| Switzerland vs. Slovakia | FINAL | Switzerland 4, Slovakia 3 (SO) |
| Czechia vs. Germany | FINAL | Czechia 8, Germany 1 |
| USA vs. Finland | FINAL | USA 6, Finland 2 |
| Canada vs. Sweden | FINAL | Canada 5, Sweden 1 |
Monday, Jan. 2
| Matchup | Time (ET) | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Latvia vs. Austria (Relegation Series) | FINAL | Latvia 5, Austria 2 |
| Finland vs. Sweden (Quarterfinal) | FINAL | Sweden 3, Finland 2 |
| Czechia vs. Switzerland (Quarterfinal) | FINAL | Czechia 9, Switzerland 1 |
| USA vs. Germany (Quarterfinal) | FINAL | USA 11, Germany 1 |
| Canada vs. Slovakia (Quarterfinal) | FINAL | Canada 4, Slovakia 3 (OT) |
Wednesday, Jan. 4
| Matchup | Time (ET) | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Latvia vs. Austria (Relegation Series) | FINAL | Latvia 4, Austria 2 |
| Czechia vs. Sweden (Semifinal) | FINAL | Czechia 2, Sweden 1 (OT) |
| USA vs. Canada (Semifinal) | FINAL | Canada 6, USA 2 |
Thursday, Jan. 5
| Matchup | Time (ET) | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Sweden vs. USA (Bronze Medal Game) | FINAL | USA 8, Sweden 7 (OT) |
| Czechia vs. Canada (Gold Medal Game) | FINAL | Canada 3, Czechia 2 (OT) |
