Halifax, N.S., will host Group A; Group B will play in Moncton, N.B.

Calgary, Alta.- Hockey Canada and the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) have announced the two groups for the 2023 IIHF World Junior Championship, scheduled for Dec. 26-Jan. 5 in Halifax, N.S., and Moncton, N.B.

With no relegation at the 2022 IIHF World Junior Championship, the IIHF formed the groups by ranking each federation on performance at the past five tournaments to allow fans, competing teams and stakeholders time to prepare for the 2023 World Juniors as the event was only awarded to the host communities in May and give all stakeholders the opportunity to jointly work on the game schedule during the current World Juniors in Edmonton, Alta.

Canada, Sweden, Czechia, Germany and Austria will compete in Group A, with preliminary-round games taking place at the Scotiabank Centre in Halifax.

The United States, Finland, Switzerland, Slovakia and Latvia will form Group B and play at the Avenir Centre in Moncton.

A minimum of 10 pre-tournament games will be played in communities throughout New Brunswick and Nova Scotia, bringing the world’s best under-20 hockey players to fans across the Maritimes.

The full tournament schedule will be available in the coming weeks. All games at the 2023 IIHF World Junior Championship will be broadcast on TSN and RDS.

Nearly 50,000 fans who entered the 2023 World Juniors Priority Draw will have the opportunity to buy tickets in late August, with tickets going on sale to the public in September if any inventory remains.

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