As a hockey fan, if you are like me, you love watching the World Junior Hockey Championships. Historically this has been one of my favourite hockey tournaments. This should be another fun tournament as the likes of Finland, Sweden, Canada and the United States vow for World Junior hockey
supremacy.
Here’s a few pointers that will help you get set for this year’s tournament. Action starts on December 26, 2022.
Groupings for the 2023 World Juniors
As always there are two groups for the World Junior Hockey Championships. For this year, the groupings look like this:
Group A
Canada
Austria
Czech Republic
Germany
Sweden
Group B
Finland
Switzerland
Latvia
Slovakia
United States
Players to Watch
There are a number of exciting players to watch at the 2023 WJC this season. Five players that come to mind include:
Conor Bedard – Team: Canada – obviously a lot of eyes will be on the expected first overall pick in the upcoming NHL Entry Draft. Bedard has been lighting it up for the Regina Pats of the WHL, and is expected to lead team Canada to a medal at the World Juniors.
Luke Hughes – Team: USA – returnee Luke Hughes will lead a bunch of highly skilled puck moving defense from the U.S. team.
Samuel Honzek – Team: Slovakia – a great skater with good size, Honzek should be one of Slovakia’s top performers at the 2023 WJC tournament.
Aron Kiviharju – Team Finland – an efficient puck mover, the 2006-born Kiviharju is a point-per-game player at the U-20 level in Finland. He’s already one of the top eligible players for the 2024 NHL draft. Expect the young denfender to see top four minutes for the Finns.
Leo Carlsson – Team: Sweden – 2023 draft eligible centerman from Sweden has put up 14 points in 25 games for Orebro HK in the Swedish Hockey League.
Teams to Watch
Which Country is Expected to Win?
With no Russia at the 2023 tournament, expect host-nation Canada to again be the favourite to win gold. Expectations are high for the Canadians, but they will have some solid competition from the likes of the United States who are built for speed and skill, the Finns who have a never give up attitude and always seem to have strong goaltending and Team Sweden who always work hard and you can never count out.
The Hockey Fanatics predict that the top three teams will be:
- Gold: Canada
- Silver: Finland
- Bronze: United States
World Junior FAQ
Where can I find the WJHC standings?
You can find the standings for the World Juniors on numerous websites. We recommend that you check out:
https://www.tsn.ca/world-juniors/standings
Where can I find the schedule of games for the World Junior Hockey Championships?
The official schedule of games can be found here: https://www.iihf.com/pdf/751/ihm751000_08_1_0
The schedule for the tournament games can also be found at:
https://www.tsn.ca/world-juniors/schedule
Who won the tournament last year?
The 2022 tournament, which was played in the summer as a result of being postponed in January due to the pandemic was won by Canada as they defeated Finland in the Gold medal game. Sweden won bronze as they defeated Czechia to finish third. 2022 Final Standings
Where is the 2023 World Junior Championship taking place?
The host cities for the 2023 tournament are Halifax, Nova Scotia and Moncton, New Brunswick.
Where can I find the rosters for the team competing in the 2023 World Junior Hockey Championship?
Visit: https://www.iihf.com/en/events/2023/wm20/teams for a list of the rosters for each of the ten teams competing.
What is the official site for the 2023 World Junior Hockey Championship?
Visit iihf.com to access the official website for the tournament.
Action begins on December 26th with four games. Viewers in Canada can watch the tournament on TSN as the network will be carrying 33 games. TSN Broadcast schedule.
Relevant Resources
IIHF Official Site of the World Junior Championship
TSN World Juniors
Hockey Canada – World Juniors 2023
USA Hockey – World Juniors 2023
