The International Ice Hockey Federation has officially canceled the 2022 World Juniors.
In a press release sent out on Wednesday, the IIHF cited the ongoing spread of COVID-19 and the Omicron variant as the reason the tournament has been canceled in the middle of the preliminary round.
A positive team to a member of the Russian National Team forced the third forfeited game in just two days compromising the sportive integrity of the event.
“Together with the teams, we came into this event with full confidence in the COVID-19 protocols put in place by the IIHF, the LOC, Alberta Health, Alberta Health Services and the Public Health Agency of Canada,” said IIHF President Luc Tardif.
“The ongoing spread of COVID-19 and the Omicron variant forced us to readjust our protocols almost immediately upon arrival to attempt to stay ahead of any potential spread.
“We owed it to the participating teams to do our best to create the conditions necessary for this event to work,” Tardif continued. “Unfortunately, this was not enough. We now have to take some time and focus on getting all players and team staff back home safely.”
Prior to the cancelation of the entire tournament, the IIHF announced on Dec. 18 that all 11 pre-tournament games were canceled. The tournament which took place in Red Deer and Edmonton in Alberta, Canada was still able to start on time — with some additional restrictions — however that came to an end on Wednesday.
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Are the World Juniors canceled for 2022?
Yes. The IIHF made the decision to cancel the 2022 World Juniors after the third COVID-19 related forfeit in two days.
Wednesday's slate was cut in half by positive COVID-19 tests as Team Czechia and Russia were forced to forfeit games against Finland and Slovakia. On Tuesday night, the United States forfeited their game against Switzerland when players on their team produced positive tests.
All players and staff from the 10 competing teams arrived in Edmonton on Dec. 13, and were required to serve a five-day quarantine period. Team Germany remained under quarantine until Dec.23 after eight players tested positive for COVID-19, per the NHL.
The Alberta government announced on Dec. 20 that capacity levels for all sporting venues would be limited to 50 percent. With games scheduled in both Red Deer and Edmonton, the restrictions were also reported to limit how much NHL personnel can attend the tournament.
“The event ticketing team is currently addressing the implementation of this change and will be in contact with all ticket holders by the end of the day on Thursday, Dec. 23,” Hockey Canada said in a statement. "No further ticket information is available at this time."
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World Juniors 2022 pre-tournament schedule
Editors Note: The IIHF on Wednesday canceled the remainder of the 2022 World Juniors tournament, citing the ongoing spread of COVID-19 and the Omicron variant. The announcement was made with preliminary games already in progress after a player on the Russian National Team tested positive for COVID-19. The positive test forced a third forfeited game in just two days compromising the sportive integrity of the event.
The World Juniors schedule was updated to have all pre-tournament games scheduled for Thursday, Dec. 23. The United States will kick off the set of games starting with their matchup against Finland at 2 p.m. ET.
| Matchup | Time (ET) |
| Finland vs. United States | 2 p.m. |
| Slovakia vs. Germany | 4 p.m. |
| Russia vs. Canada | 7 p.m. |
| Czechia vs. Switzerland | Canceled |
| Austria vs. Sweden | 10 p.m. |
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When do the World Juniors start?
- Start date: Sunday, Dec. 26, 2021
- End date: Wednesday, Jan. 5, 2022
While the 2021 tournament was expanded by a day due to games being held on one rink only, the 2021-22 edition is back to the normal dates of Boxing Day to Jan. 5.
The group stage, with two groups of five teams each, will span the first seven days of competition and end on New Year's Eve. The eight surviving teams will have New Year's Day off before returning to action for the quarterfinals on Jan. 2. The winners of those games will advance to the semifinals two days later. The bronze-medal and gold-medal games will take place Wednesday, Jan. 5.
How to watch World Juniors hockey games on TV, live stream
- TV channel (Canada): TSN
- Live stream (Canada): TSN.ca, TSN app
- TV channel (U.S.): NHL Network
- Live stream (U.S.): fuboTV (7-day free trial)
All 31 games of the 2022 IIHF World Junior Championship will be broadcast live on TSN in Canada with French-language coverage on RDS.
NHL Network is the only place to watch the World Juniors in the United States. It will carry live coverage of Team USA along with every other game for the first time ever.
Those without cable can stream the World Juniors on TSN.ca, the TSN app or with fuboTV, which offers a seven-day free trial (U.S. only).
World Juniors schedule 2022
Sunday, Dec. 26
| Matchup | Time | TV channel |
| Finland vs. Germany | 2 p.m. ET | TSN, NHLN |
| Russia vs. Sweden | 4:30 p.m. ET | TSN, NHLN |
| Czechia vs. Canada | 7 p.m. ET | TSN, NHLN |
| USA vs. Slovakia | 9:30 p.m. ET | TSN, NHLN |
Monday, Dec. 27
| Matchup | Time | TV channel |
| Austria vs. Finland | 2 p.m. ET | TSN, NHLN |
| Russia vs. Switzerland | 4:30 p.m. ET | TSN, NHLN |
| Germany vs. Czechia | 7 p.m. ET | TSN, NHLN |
| Sweden vs. Slovakia | 9:30 p.m. ET | TSN, NHLN |
Tuesday, Dec. 28
| Matchup | Time | TV channel |
| Switzerland vs. USA | 4:30 p.m. ET | TSN, NHLN |
| Austria vs. Canada | 7 p.m. ET | TSN, NHLN |
Wednesday, Dec. 29
| Matchup | Time | TV channel |
| Finland vs. Czechia | 2 p.m. ET | TSN, NHLN |
| Slovakia vs. Russia | 4:30 p.m. ET | TSN, NHLN |
| Canada vs. Germany | 7 p.m. ET | TSN, NHLN |
| Sweden vs. USA | 9:30 p.m. ET | TSN, NHLN |
Thursday, Dec. 30
| Matchup | Time | TV channel |
| Czechia vs. Austria | 4:30 p.m. ET | TSN, NHLN |
| Slovakia vs. Switzerland | 7 p.m. ET | TSN, NHLN |
Friday, Dec. 31
| Matchup | Time | TV channel |
| Germany vs. Austria | 2 p.m. ET | TSN, NHLN |
| Switzerland vs. Sweden | 4:30 p.m. ET | TSN, NHLN |
| Canada vs. Finland | 7 p.m. ET | TSN, NHLN |
| USA vs. Russia | 9:30 p.m. ET | TSN, NHLN |
Sunday, Jan. 2
| Matchup | Time | TV channel |
| Quarterfinal | 2:30 p.m. ET | TSN, NHLN |
| Quarterfinal | 5 p.m. ET | TSN, NHLN |
| Quarterfinal | 7:30 p.m. ET | TSN, NHLN |
| Quarterfinal | 10 p.m. ET | TSN, NHLN |
Tuesday, Jan. 4
| Matchup | Time | TV channel |
| Semifinal | 3 p.m. ET | TSN, NHLN |
| Semifinal | 7 p.m. ET | TSN, NHLN |
Wednesday, Jan. 5
| Matchup | Time | TV channel |
| Bronze medal game | 4 p.m. ET | TSN, NHLN |
| Gold medal game | 8 p.m. ET | TSN, NHLN |
Where is the 2022 World Junior Championship?
- Location: Edmonton and Red Deer, Alberta
The 2022 World Junior Championship will take place in Edmonton and Red Deer, Alta. USA Hockey will play its round-robin games at WP Centrium in Red Deer while Hockey Canada's games and the playoffs will be at Rogers Place.
Originally, the 2022 tournament was scheduled to be held in Gothenburg, Sweden. However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, it was shifted back to Canada for the 16th time in its history. After the lost revenue from 2021's fanless tournament in Edmonton's bubble, Sweden okayed swapping years with Canada. Gothenburg will now host in 2024. Russia (Omsk and Novosibirsk) is slated to host in 2023.
This year marks the fourth time Edmonton will host World Juniors games. In 1995, Canada topped the podium; in 2012, Sweden won and the Canadians finished third in Alberta's capital; in 2021, the United States beat Canada for gold.
2022 World Junior Championship groups
Ten teams, divided into two groups of five, are participating in the 2022 World Junior Championship:
| Group A | Group B |
| Canada | USA |
| Finland | Russia |
| Germany | Sweden |
| Czechia | Slovakia |
| Austria | Switzerland |
Teams will play four preliminary games apiece 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 and one point for an overtime loss. The top four teams from each group advance to a cross-over quarterfinal game: 1A vs. 4B, 1B vs. 4A, 2A vs. 3B and 2B vs. 3A. Winning teams are then reseeded for the semifinals.
Teams that advance to the final day of competition (bronze-medal or gold-medal game) will play seven games total.