World Juniors teams, rosters, format and more to know about 2022 IIHF World U20 Championship

Ten countries, 250 players, one gold medal. 

The 2022 World Juniors are about to begin in Edmonton, Alberta. That's right, the tournament that usually coincides with the holiday season is ready for action in August. 

The 2022 tournament began on its usual date on Dec. 26, 2021, however, due to COVID-19 outbreaks, the IIHF was forced to cancel the tournament. Here we are roughly eight months later, and the 2022 competition is getting ready to start up again.

It's a chance for the best teenagers in the world to showcase their skills on the international level, as well as have the opportunity to leave the tournament with a medal around their necks. 

MORE: Schedule, scores, results for all 2022 World Juniors games

Here's the rest of the information you need to know about the 2022 World Junior hockey tournament.

Which teams compete in the World Junior Championships?

Each year, 10 teams compete in the top World Juniors tournament. 

The current format has been in place since 1996, consisting of the top 10 teams in the world. Since the tournament got its official start in 1977, Canada, Sweden, Russia, Czechia, Finland and the United States have participated in every tournament. Slovakia has competed in every tournament since the 10-team format was introduced in 1996, following the dissolution of Czechoslovakia.

The tournament, which is considered to be the top pool, typically has one team that will be relegated to Division I, and the winner of Division I will be promoted to the top tournament for next year. 

Numerous other countries have participated in the top pool including Switzerland, Latvia, Germany, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Austria, Denmark, France, Poland, Japan, Norway and Ukraine.

What teams are competing at the 2022 World Juniors?

Russia was removed from the tournament after the IIHF instituted a ban on all Russian and Belarusian national teams from competing in IIHF play after Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Latvia, who was the Division IA runner-up, was promoted to replace Russia at the tournament. Belarus was the Division IA winner but was not promoted due to the ban. 

MORE: Why is Russia not participating at the 2022 World Juniors?

No teams will be relegated, so the same 10 countries will compete again in December at the 2023 tournament. 

What is the format of the 2022 World Juniors?

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. 

The winners of the semifinals will face off in the gold medal game. The losers will play for bronze. 

Who has won the World Juniors in the past?

* - IIHF began officially sponsoring World Junior Championship in 1977

Who will be representing each team at the World Juniors?

This year's criteria is a bit different considering the time of the year it is taking place, but essentially any player that was eligible for the tournament last December is still eligible to play in August.

In order to be able to participate in the World Juniors, a player's 20th birthday must take place by the end of the tournament's year. With these requirements in place, the field of players is mostly between the ages of 17 and 20 years old.

MORE: Top 10 NHL prospects participating at the 2022 World Juniors

In total, each country's roster comprises of 25 players. Most will have 14 forwards, eight defensemen and three goaltenders. They can dress 23 players per game, meaning there will be two healthy scratches for each team in every contest. 

Some of the most notable names at the tournament will be Mason McTavish, Kent Johnson and Connor Bedard for Canada, Luke Hughes and Matt Knies for the US, Simon Edvinsson and Jesper Wallstedt for Sweden, Brad Lambert and Joakim Kemell for Finland, and David Jiricek for Czechia. 

For the full rosters for all 10 teams, click here. 

Where are the 2022 World Juniors?

• Location: Edmonton, Alberta
• Venue: Rogers Place

The 2022 World Junior Championship will take place in Edmonton, Alberta. All games will be played at Rogers Place, home of the Oilers. It is the first time since 1988 that there are not multiple host cities. 

In December of last year, when the 2022 tournament originally commenced, it was set for both Edmonton and Red Deer. The games were split between Rogers Place and the Peavey Mart Centrum in Red Deer, home of the WHL's Red Deer Rebels. 

Before the COVID-19 pandemic hit, the 2022 tournament was scheduled to be held in Gothenburg, Sweden. However, it was changed to Edmonton in September of 2020, due to the restrictions put in place with COVID-19. Instead, Gothenburg was reassigned to the 2024 tournament.

This year marks the fourth time Edmonton will host World Juniors games, having previously hosted in 1995, 2012 and 2021. 

World Juniors schedule 2022

MORE: Watch the 2022 World Juniors live with fuboTV (free trial, U.S. only)

Tuesday, Aug. 9

Wednesday, Aug. 10

Thursday, Aug. 11

Friday, Aug. 12

Saturday, Aug. 13

Sunday, Aug. 14

Monday, Aug. 15

Wednesday, Aug. 17

Friday, Aug. 19

Saturday, Aug. 20

2022 World Juniors odds

According to Sports Interaction, the 2022 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 +116. All four countries are +400 or higher, while the other six teams are +1386 or lower. 

Here are the odds as of now for the 2022 tournament.