2021 World Junior schedule released

Tonight, the schedule for the 2021 IIHF World Junior Hockey Championships was released. But before we take a look at that, let's divulge into what is going to be an unprecedented World Juniors.

Around the middle of September, the IIHF was closing in on an decision on whether or not to cancel this year's World Juniors. Edmonton and Red Deer Alberta were scheduled to host this edition of the tournament, but with COVID-19 going on, and the possibility of no fans, a decision was needed to be made quick with December approaching.

The IIHF announced on September 17th, that the 2021 World Juniors would be hosted solely by Edmonton, in a bubble with no fans, similar to what the NHL did for the 2020 Stanley Cup playoffs. With this news, the IIHF also announced that the 2022 tournament will be played in Edmonton and Red Deer with fans, and that the original hosts for 2022, Gothenburg, Sweden, will now host the 2024 World Juniors.

Due to the 2021 tournament being held in only one venue, rather than two, the World Juniors will begin on Christmas Day this year rather than Boxing Day.

The same 10 teams for the 2021 World Juniors will also participate in the 2022 tournament due to there being no relegation as lower divisions will not be played for the 2021 edition.

The 2021 tournament will feature 10 of the top junior hockey nations in the world, including newly promoted Austria.

Group A will consist of Canada, Finland, Switzerland, Slovakia, and Germany. Group B will consist of Russia, Sweden, the USA, Czech Republic, and Austria. The top-four in each group will advance to the quarter finals, while the bottom team in each group will miss out, rather than play in a best of three relegation series.

It's also worth noting that due to the delayed start for the 2020-21 NHL season, some top prospects may be available for their countries, such as Alexis Lafreniere and Quinton Byfield for Canada, and Tim Stutzle for Germany.

Here is the schedule for the 2021 IIHF World Junior Hockey Championships:

December 25th: Switzerland vs Slovakia (2pm ET/12pm MT), Germany vs Finland (6pm ET/4pm MT), Russia vs USA (9:30pm ET/7:30pm MT).

December 26th: Sweden vs Czech Republic (2pm ET/12pm MT), Germany vs Canada (6pm ET/4pm MT), USA vs Austria (9:30pm ET/7:30pm MT).

December 27th: Finland vs Switzerland (2pm ET/12pm MT), Slovakia vs Canada (6pm ET/4pm MT), Czech Republic vs Russia (9:30pm ET/7:30 pm MT).

December 28th: Austria vs Sweden (6pm ET/4pm MT), Slovakia vs Germany (9:30pm ET/7:30pm MT).

December 29th: USA vs Czech Republic (2pm ET/12pm MT), Canada vs Switzerland (6pm ET/4pm MT), Austria vs Russia (9:30pm ET/7:30 MT).

December 30th: Finland vs Slovakia (2pm ET/12 pm MT), Switzerland vs Germany (6pm ET/4pm MT), Russia vs Sweden (9:30pm ET/7:30pm MT).

December 31st: Czech Republic vs Austria (2pm ET/12pm MT), Canada vs Finland (6pm ET/4pm MT), Sweden vs USA (9:30pm ET/7:30pm MT).

January 2nd: Quarter-Final #1 (12pm ET/10am MT), Quarter-Final #2 (3:30pm ET/1:30pm MT), Quarter-Final #3 (7pm ET/5pm MT), Quarter-Final #4 (10:30pm ET/8:30pm MT).

January 4th: Semi-Final #1 (6pm ET/4pm MT), Semi-Final #2 (9:30pm ET/7:30pm MT).

January 5th: Bronze Medal Game (5:30pm ET/3:30pm MT), Gold Medal Game (9:30pm ET/7:30pm MT)

Source: IIHF

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