What you need to know about the World Junior Championships? Format, key dates, history, favorites

The 2024 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships will be held in Gothenburg, Sweden, from December 26th to January 5th. DailySports offers its readers an in-depth look at the tournament's format, history, and favorites.

The World Junior Ice Hockey Championships for players under 20 years old has been held annually since 1977. The International Ice Hockey Federation organizes the competition.

Where will the World Junior Ice Hockey Championships take place?

The 2024 Youth Ice Hockey World Championship will mark the 48th edition of this tournament. It will be the seventh time Sweden hosts the tournament, with Gothenburg being the venue for the first time.

Interestingly, this event was initially scheduled for Gothenburg in 2022 but was postponed to 2024 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Scandinavium

The primary arena for the tournament, opened in 1971, underwent several renovations. Aside from hosting Handball and Davis Cup tennis finals, it also held Eurovision 1985. The arena can accommodate 12,044 spectators during hockey matches.

Frölundaborg

Established in 1967, this arena underwent its latest reconstruction in 2009. Apart from ice hockey, it hosts handball competitions and can seat 7,600 spectators.

What format will the World Junior Ice Hockey Championships follow?

The tournament follows a similar structure to that of adult national teams. However, fewer youth teams participate: 10 in the top division, 12 in the next two divisions, and 8 in the fourth.

As per the regulations, players who turn 20 in the championship year and younger athletes are eligible to compete.

In the top division, teams are split into two groups of five. Each team plays one game against the others, and the bottom-placed teams in each group move down to the lower division. The remaining eight teams advance to the playoff quarterfinals, determining the world champion through a knockout stage.

Calendar and Point System

The group stage will run from December 26th to 31st, with quarterfinal matches scheduled for January 2nd. The semifinals will take place on January 4th, followed by the third-place match and the final the next day.

The points system during the group stage differs from the traditional NHL system:

• Win in regulation - 3 points
• Win in overtime or shootout - 2 points
• Loss in overtime or shootout - 1 point
• Loss in regulation - 0 points

History and Past Winners

Throughout its history, Canada has been notably dominant, securing victory 20 times. No other nation comes close to this achievement. Canada has won the last two tournaments and, in the last 11 editions, the champions were Canada, the USA, or Finland.

All-time Youth Ice Hockey World Championship Winners:

• Canada: 20 titles
• Russia (inherited from the USSR): 13 titles
• Finland, USA: 5 titles
• Sweden, Czech Republic (inherited from Czechoslovakia): 2 titles

Who are the favorites for the Youth Ice Hockey World Championship? Bookmakers predict Canada as the primary contender for victory. In three of the last four tournaments, the Canadian team reached the final, losing once to the United States. Alongside Canada, Sweden, the USA, and Finland are considered the main favorites. It's worth noting that the Russian and Belarusian teams are disqualified from the competition due to military aggression against Ukraine.

Bookmaker odds for winning the tournament:

• Canada: 2.9
• Sweden: 3.2
• USA: 4
• Finland: 6
• Czech Republic: 12
• Germany, Switzerland, Slovakia: 50
• Norway, Latvia: 100

The teams from Norway and Latvia are seen as the primary candidates for relegation to the lower division. Bookmakers offer odds of 1.8 and 2.15, respectively, for this outcome.

It's already confirmed that Kazakhstan and Slovenia will replace the two weakest teams in the top division next year.