The World Junior Championships returns to Buffalo, New York, on Tuesday after a seven-year absence. The action will be broadcast on NHL Network in the U.S. and TSN in Canada.
With the NHL withholding its players from participating in the 2018 Winter Olympics in PyeongChang, South Korea, the 2018 WJC will be one of the year’s biggest international hockey events. It will begin Tuesday and will end with the gold-medal game Jan. 5, 2018.
The United States are the reigning champions after defeating Canada in a shootout in the 2017 tournament. It was the first gold medal in the tournament since 2013. The Americans begin their title defense Tuesday against Denmark.
Most of the games will be hosted at KeyBank Center and HarborCenter. The U.S. will also face rival Canada in an outdoor game Dec. 29 at New Era Field, the home of the NFL’s Buffalo Bills.
The Chicago Blackhawks have five prospects set to play in the tournament: Czech Republic’s Jakub Galvas, Finland’s Henri Jokiharju, Russia’s Andrei Altybarmakyan and Artur Kayumov and Sweden’s Tim Soderlund.
Format
The preliminary round will feature 10 teams split into two groups of five. The top four teams from each group advance to the playoff round, while the teams that finish last in each group play each other in a relegation game.
The playoff round is an eight-team single-elimination bracket concluding with the gold-medal game Jan. 5. The losers of the semifinals will also play that day in the bronze-medal game.
Schedule
All times Central, scheduled games featuring Hawks prospects in italics
Most games will be broadcast live on NHL Network
Dec. 26
Czech Republic 5, Russia 4
Sweden 6, Belarus 1
Canada 4, Finland 2
USA 9, Denmark 0
Dec. 27
Switzerland 3, Belarus 2
Canada 6, Slovakia 0
Dec. 28
Finland 4, Denmark 1
Russia 5, Switzerland 2
Sweden 3, Czech Republic 1
Slovakia 3, USA 2
Dec. 29
Russia 5, Belarus 2
USA 4, Canada 3 (SO)
Dec. 30
Czech Republic 6, Belarus 5
Sweden 7, Switzerland 2
Finland 5, Slovakia 2
Canada 8, Denmark 0
Dec. 31
Czech Republic 6, Switzerland 3
USA 5, Finland 4
Slovakia 5, Denmark 1
Sweden 4, Russia 3 (SO)
Jan. 2
Quarterfinals: Czech Republic 4, Finland 3
Relegation: Denmark 5, Belarus 4
Quarterfinals: Canada 8, Switzerland 2
Quarterfinals: Sweden 3, Slovakia 2
Quarterfinals: USA 4, Russia 2
Jan. 4
Relegation: Denmark 3, Belarus 2
Semifinals: Sweden 4, United States 2
Semifinals: Canada 7, Czech Republic 2
Jan. 5
Bronze medal game: United States 9, Czech Republic 3
Gold medal game: Canada 3, Sweden 1