Everything you need to know about the World Juniors in Vancouver

The one-week countdown to the start of the 2019 IIHF World Junior Championship in Vancouver and Victoria is on.

The annual international tournament is never short on drama or emotion, which is why this is always a highly anticipated time of year for hockey fans.

Here’s everything you need to know about this year’s tournament, which begins on Boxing Day.

10 countries competing

Ten countries will be split up into two five-team groups for preliminary round robin play from December 26 to 31.

Group A will play games at Rogers Arena in Vancouver, while Group B prelim games will be hosted at the Save-On-Foods Memorial Centre in Victoria.

The marquee matchup of opening round is Canada vs Russia at Rogers Arena on New Year’s Eve.

Tournament format

Unlike the NHL, the IIHF uses a three-point system for preliminary round games, placing greater emphasis on winning games in 60-minute regulation time:

Regulation win = 3 points
Overtime or shootout win = 2 points
Overtime or shootout loss = 1 point
Regulation loss = 0 points

If a game is tied after 60 minutes during round robin play, teams will play a five-minute three-on-three sudden death overtime period, followed by a five-player shootout if necessary. If the teams are still tied after the first five shooters, any subsequent shot can be taken by anyone on the team (including repeat shooters).

The tie-breaking procedure is different during the knockout round, with one 10-minute four-on-four sudden death overtime period taking place before going to a shootout, except for the gold medal game, in which case a 20-minute four-on-four OT takes place.

The top four countries in each group will advance to the quarter-finals, played in Vancouver and Victoria on January 2. Qualifying teams will cross-over to play teams from the opposing group, (ie. the first-place team in Group A plays the fourth-place team from Group B).

Both semi-final games will be played in Vancouver on January 4, while the gold medal game is scheduled for January 5.

The last-place teams in each group will play a best-of-three relegation series, with the loser being bumped from next year’s tournament.

World class talent

The World Juniors is an under-20 tournament featuring the best teenaged hockey stars in the world, aside from junior-aged players already in the NHL.

Many of the game’s greatest players have featured in this tournament before going on to become NHL superstars, including Wayne Gretzky, Mario Lemieux, Sidney Crosby, and Connor McDavid.

A player to watch at this year’s tournament is Jack Hughes, the American centre expected to be picked first overall at the 2019 NHL Draft. His brother Quinn is one of up to four Canucks players in the tournament, including goaltender Michael DiPietro (Canada), defenceman Toni Utunen (Finland), and forward Tyler Madden (USA).

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Toronto Maple Leafs prospect Ian Scott will battle DiPietro for minutes in net. Two Montreal Canadiens prospects are on Team Canada, in Nick Suzuki and Josh Brook.

The odds-on favourite to be drafted first overall in 2020, 17-year-old forward Alexis Lafreniere, has made Team Canada. Lafreniere will become the ninth-youngest player to ever play for Canada.

Events around town

TransLink has declared Friday “Jersey Day” in Vancouver.

You can meet former Vancouver Canucks centre (and 2003 World Junior silver medallist) Kyle Wellwood and get your picture taken with the championship trophy on Friday. The photo op is presented by Molson Canadian and taking place at four BC Liquor Stores:

3:00 pm – 4:30 pm at 5555 Cambie St.
4:45 pm – 6:15 pm at 3150 E. Broadway
6:30 pm – 8 pm at 3436 Kingsway

The official World Juniors After Party is taking place on December 30 at the Commodore Ballroom, featuring JUNO Award-winning band The Glorious Sons.

Schedule

Pre-tournament games have already begun. They’re taking place in nine different cities across British Columbia.

Of note, Quinn Hughes and Team USA visit Langley on December 22, while Canada plays their lone tune up game in Vancouver on December 23 against Finland.

Pre-tournament games:

Date	Game	Venue
Tue, Dec 18	Russia vs Sweden	Prospera Place (Kelowna)
Wed, Dec 19	Kazakhstan vs Alberni Valley	Weyerhaeuser Arena (Port Alberni)
Wed, Dec 19	Czech Republic vs Slovakia	Frank Crane Arena (Nanaimo)
Wed, Dec 19	Denmark vs Finland	Langley Events Centre (Langley)
Wed, Dec 19	Canada vs Switzerland	Save-On-Foods Memorial Centre (Victoria)
Thu, Dec 20	Russia vs USA	Sandman Centre (Kamloops)
Fri, Dec 21	Kazakhstan vs Switzerland	Weyerhaeuser Arena (Port Alberni)
Fri, Dec 21	Canada vs Slovakia	Save-On-Foods Memorial Centre (Victoria)
Sat, Dec 22	Denmark vs Sweden	Prospera Centre (Chilliwack)
Sat, Dec 22	USA vs Czech Republic	Langley Events Centre (Langley)
Sun, Dec 23	Switzerland vs Russia	Bill Copeland Arena (Burnaby)
Sun, Dec 23	Canada vs Finland	Rogers Arena (Vancouver)

Group A games (Vancouver):

Date	Time	Location	Game
Wed, Dec 26	1:00 PM	Vancouver	Czech Rep vs Switzerland
Wed, Dec 26	5:00 PM	Vancouver	Canada vs Denmark
Thu, Dec 27	1:00 PM	Vancouver	Russia vs Denmark
Thu, Dec 27	5:00 PM	Vancouver	Switzerland vs Canada
Fri, Dec 28	5:00 PM	Vancouver	Czech Rep vs Russia
Sat, Dec 29	1:00 PM	Vancouver	Denmark vs Switzerland
Sat, Dec 29	5:00 PM	Vancouver	Canada vs Czech Rep
Sun, Dec 30	5:00 PM	Vancouver	Switzerland vs Russia
Mon, Dec 31	1:00 PM	Vancouver	Denmark vs Czech Rep
Mon, Dec 31	5:00 PM	Vancouver	Russia vs Canada

Group B games (Victoria):

Date	Time	Location	Game
Wed, Dec 26	3:30 PM	Victoria	USA vs Slovakia
Wed, Dec 26	7:30 PM	Victoria	Finland vs Sweden
Thu, Dec 27	3:30 PM	Victoria	Slovakia vs Sweden
Thu, Dec 27	7:30 PM	Victoria	Finland vs Kazakhstan
Fri, Dec 28	7:30 PM	Victoria	Kazakhstan vs USA
Sat, Dec 29	3:30 PM	Victoria	Slovakia vs Finland
Sat, Dec 29	7:30 PM	Victoria	Sweden vs USA
Sun, Dec 30	7:30 PM	Victoria	Kazakhstan vs Slovakia
Mon, Dec 31	3:30 PM	Victoria	Sweden vs Kazakhstan
Mon, Dec 31	7:30 PM	Victoria	USA vs Finland

Knockout round games:

Date	Time	Location	Game
Wed, Jan 2	11:00 AM	Vancouver	Relegation
Wed, Jan 2	1:00 PM	Victoria	Quarter-final
Wed, Jan 2	3:30 PM	Vancouver	Quarter-final
Wed, Jan 2	5:00 PM	Victoria	Quarter-final
Wed, Jan 2	7:30 PM	Vancouver	Quarter-final
Fri, Jan 4	9:00 AM	Vancouver	Relegation
Fri, Jan 4	1:00 PM	Vancouver	Semi-final
Fri, Jan 4	5:00 PM	Vancouver	Semi-final
Sat, Jan 5	9:00 AM	Vancouver	Relegation
Sat, Jan 5	1:00 PM	Vancouver	Bronze medal
Sat, Jan 5	5:00 PM	Vancouver	Gold medal

Tickets for the most in-demand games like Canada-Russia on New Year’s Eve and the gold medal game are sold out. Many other good seats are still available for games through Hockey Canada’s website (prices vary).

Tournament history

Canada is the most successful country in the history of the World Juniors, but winning gold is not a certainty.

Our country has won the gold medal 17 times since the inaugural tournament in 1977. The Soviet Union/Russia is next with 13. No other country has won more than four times.

Canada won gold last year, defeating Sweden in the gold medal game in dramatic fashion, but has won the tournament just twice in the last nine years.

Vancouver has hosted once before, in 2006. Canada won gold that year with a team featuring the likes of Jonathan Toews, Kris Letang, Marc Staal, and Luc Bourdon.

Year	Gold	Silver	Bronze	Host city
1977	Soviet Union	Canada	Czechoslovakia	B. Bystrica
1978	Soviet Union	Sweden	Canada	Montreal
1979	Soviet Union	Czechoslovakia	Sweden	Karlstad
1980	Soviet Union	Finland	Sweden	Helsinki
1981	Sweden	Finland	Soviet Union	Füssen
1982	Canada	Czechoslovakia	Finland	Minnesota
1983	Soviet Union	Czechoslovakia	Canada	Leningrad
1984	Soviet Union	Finland	Czechoslovakia	Norrköping
1985	Canada	Czechoslovakia	Soviet Union	Helsinki
1986	Soviet Union	Canada	USA	Hamilton
1987	Finland	Czechoslovakia	Sweden	Piestany
1988	Canada	Soviet Union	Finland	Moscow
1989	Soviet Union	Sweden	Czechoslovakia	Anchorage
1990	Canada	Soviet Union	Czechoslovakia	Helsinki
1991	Canada	Soviet Union	Czechoslovakia	Saskatoon
1992	Soviet Union	Sweden	USA	Füssen
1993	Canada	Sweden	Czechoslovakia	Gävle
1994	Canada	Sweden	Russia	Ostrava
1995	Canada	Russia	Sweden	Alberta
1996	Canada	Sweden	Russia	Boston
1997	Canada	USA	Russia	Geneva
1998	Finland	Russia	Switzerland	Helsinki
1999	Russia	Canada	Slovakia	Winnipeg
2000	Czech Republic	Russia	Canada	Skelleftea
2001	Czech Republic	Finland	Canada	Moscow
2002	Russia	Canada	Finland	Pardubice
2003	Russia	Canada	Finland	Halifax
2004	USA	Canada	Finland	Helsinki
2005	Canada	Russia	Czech Republic	Grand Forks
2006	Canada	Russia	Finland	Vancouver
2007	Canada	Russia	USA	Leksand/Mora
2008	Canada	Sweden	Russia	Pardubice
2009	Canada	Sweden	Russia	Ottawa
2010	USA	Canada	Sweden	Saskatoon
2011	Russia	Canada	USA	Buffalo
2012	Sweden	Russia	Canada	Calgary/Edmonton
2013	USA	Sweden	Russia	Ufa
2014	Finland	Sweden	Russia	Malmö
2015	Canada	Russia	Slovakia	Toronto/Montreal
2016	Finland	Russia	USA	Helsinki
2017	USA	Canada	Russia	Montreal/Toronto
2018	Canada	Sweden	USA	Buffalo