The 2025 World Junior Championships promise no shortage of high-stakes international hockey.
The tournament begins with preliminary round action on Thursday, Dec. 26. In total, 28 games will occur across 11 days, ending with the gold-medal game on Sunday, Jan. 5.
WATCH World Junior Championships LIVE STREAM ONLINE
WATCH World Junior Championships LIVE STREAM FREE
Team USA looks to win back-to-back gold medals for the first time in World Juniors history. Meanwhile, Team Canada — playing on its home soil — hopes to avenge a disastrous fifth-place finish at last year's tournament.
The Americans are bringing 10 players from that championship team to this year's tournament, which features the world's best under-20 players, including drafted and draft-eligible NHL prospects.
The 25-player U.S. team (14 forwards, eight defenseman and three goaltenders) features six NHL first-round picks, eight second-round picks and eight others drafted in other rounds. Twenty-two of the players are on college hockey teams.
The USA is in Group A with Canada, Finland, Germany and Latvia. Group B features Czechia, Kazakhstan, Slovakia, Sweden and Switzerland.
Here's what to know about the Dec. 26-Jan. 5 world junior championships:
2025 World Juniors Hockey Tournament Format Explained
Each year, the top ten ranked hockey nations in the world put together a roster of their best under-20 players to convene for a multi-round tournament to earn the title of IIHF World Junior champion. This year, the tournament is in Ottawa, Canada.
In 2025, the tournament follows a similar format to previous seasons. The tournament uses a three point system:
3 points for a winning team at the conclusion of regulation time
2 points for both teams at the conclusion of regulation time if the game is tied
An additional point is earned for the team winning in a 5-minute overtime, or the penalty-shot shootout if the teams are still tied following overtime
0 points for a team losing the game in regulation time
Similar to the NHL regular season rules, overtime is played with each team icing three skaters and a goalie.
The tournament starts with two round-robin tournaments five teams each and then moves into single-elimination playoff games.
Ten teams are divided into two, five-team groups in a preliminary round, also called the group stage. After a single round-robin series in each group, the top four teams as scored by points in each group advance to the playoff rounds.
The tournament begins with preliminary round action on Thursday, Dec. 26. In total, 28 games will occur across 11 days, ending with the gold-medal game on Sunday, Jan. 5.
WATCH World Junior Championships LIVE STREAM ONLINE
WATCH World Junior Championships LIVE STREAM FREE
Team USA looks to win back-to-back gold medals for the first time in World Juniors history. Meanwhile, Team Canada — playing on its home soil — hopes to avenge a disastrous fifth-place finish at last year's tournament.
The Americans are bringing 10 players from that championship team to this year's tournament, which features the world's best under-20 players, including drafted and draft-eligible NHL prospects.
The 25-player U.S. team (14 forwards, eight defenseman and three goaltenders) features six NHL first-round picks, eight second-round picks and eight others drafted in other rounds. Twenty-two of the players are on college hockey teams.
The USA is in Group A with Canada, Finland, Germany and Latvia. Group B features Czechia, Kazakhstan, Slovakia, Sweden and Switzerland.
Here's what to know about the Dec. 26-Jan. 5 world junior championships:
2025 World Juniors Hockey Tournament Format Explained
Each year, the top ten ranked hockey nations in the world put together a roster of their best under-20 players to convene for a multi-round tournament to earn the title of IIHF World Junior champion. This year, the tournament is in Ottawa, Canada.
In 2025, the tournament follows a similar format to previous seasons. The tournament uses a three point system:
3 points for a winning team at the conclusion of regulation time
2 points for both teams at the conclusion of regulation time if the game is tied
An additional point is earned for the team winning in a 5-minute overtime, or the penalty-shot shootout if the teams are still tied following overtime
0 points for a team losing the game in regulation time
Similar to the NHL regular season rules, overtime is played with each team icing three skaters and a goalie.
The tournament starts with two round-robin tournaments five teams each and then moves into single-elimination playoff games.
Ten teams are divided into two, five-team groups in a preliminary round, also called the group stage. After a single round-robin series in each group, the top four teams as scored by points in each group advance to the playoff rounds.