The 2022 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships were the 46th edition of the IIHF World Junior Championship, played from August 9–20, 2022 at

Rogers Place Rogers Place is a multi-use indoor arena in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. Construction started in March 2014, and the building officially opened on September 8, 2016. The arena has a seating capacity of 18,500 as a hockey venue and 20,734 as a conce ...

Edmonton Edmonton ( ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Alberta. Edmonton is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Alberta's central region. The city ancho ...

Alberta Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Ter ...

, Canada. The tournament was originally scheduled to be held from December 26, 2021, through January 5, 2022, in Edmonton and

Red Deer The red deer (''Cervus elaphus'') is one of the largest deer species. A male red deer is called a stag or hart, and a female is called a hind. The red deer inhabits most of Europe, the Caucasus Mountains region, Anatolia, Iran, and parts of we ...

— the host cities originally awarded the 2021 tournament before it was moved into a "

bubble Bubble, Bubbles or The Bubble may refer to: Common uses * Bubble (physics), a globule of one substance in another, usually gas in a liquid ** Soap bubble * Economic bubble, a situation where asset prices are much higher than underlying funda ...

" behind closed doors in Edmonton due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...

. After

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was identified in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. The disease quickly ...

outbreaks on multiple teams, the tournament was cancelled by the IIHF on December 29, 2021. In February 2022, it was announced that the tournament would be replayed from scratch at a later date, with all statistics and results from the first playing being thrown out. Once again, the tournament was held exclusively in Edmonton. This marked the 17th time that Canada hosted the WJIHC. Due to the

Russian invasion of Ukraine On 24 February 2022, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, which began in 2014. The invasion has resulted in tens of thousands of deaths on both sides. It has caused Europe's largest refugee crisis since World War II. An ...

, Russia was suspended from international ice hockey and replaced by Latvia (which was promoted to the tournament's top division after finishing second in the Division 1-A tournament in December 2021). The country notably achieved its first-ever victory in a preliminary game. In the gold medal game, Canada beat Finland 3–2 in

overtime Overtime is the amount of time someone works beyond normal working hours. The term is also used for the pay received for this time. Normal hours may be determined in several ways: *by custom (what is considered healthy or reasonable by society) ...

to win its 19th tournament title.

Background

Preparations

On March 14, 2019, it was announced that Gothenburg would be the host city. It was to be the first time that Gothenburg has hosted the tournament (having previously hosted the Senior

Ice Hockey World Championships The Ice Hockey World Championships are an annual international men's ice hockey tournament organized by the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF). First officially held at the 1920 Summer Olympics, it is the sport's highest profile annual ...

twice in

1981 Events January * January 1 ** Greece enters the European Economic Community, predecessor of the European Union. ** Palau becomes a self-governing territory. * January 10 – Salvadoran Civil War: The FMLN launches its first major offensiv ...

and 2002), and the seventh time that Sweden had hosted the tournament. On September 17, 2020, the IIHF announced that the 2022 tournament would instead be hosted by

and

Red Deer, Alberta Red Deer is a city in Alberta, Canada, located midway on the Calgary–Edmonton Corridor. Red Deer serves central Alberta, and key industries include health care, retail trade, construction, oil and gas, hospitality, manufacturing and education ...

as compensation for the 2021 tournament (which was originally to be hosted by both cities) being held behind closed doors exclusively in Edmonton due to the

. It became the 15th time that

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

has hosted the tournament, the fourth time Edmonton has hosted the tournament, and the second time games have been hosted in Red Deer, following the

1995 File:1995 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: O.J. Simpson is acquitted of the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman from the year prior in "The Trial of the Century" in the United States; The Great Hanshin earthquake str ...

edition. Gothenburg was re-assigned the 2024 tournament. On December 18, 2021, citing the "changing epidemiological situation" involving COVID-19 and

Omicron variant Omicron (B.1.1.529) is a variant of SARS-CoV-2 first reported to the World Health Organization (WHO) by the Network for Genomics Surveillance in South Africa on 24 November 2021. It was first detected in Botswana and has spread to become the ...

, and consultation with the IIHF and

Alberta Health Services Alberta Health Services (AHS) which is headquartered in Edmonton, Alberta is the single health authority for the Canadian province of Alberta and the "largest integrated provincial health care system" in Canada. AHS delivers medical care on beh ...

, Hockey Canada announced that the schedule of pre-tournament games (which was to feature each team playing at least two exhibition games) would be reduced, and moved to December 23. Organizers stated that their goal was to hold a "safe and successful event," and that 90% of tickets had been sold. There were no stated plans to reduce spectator capacity. As a participant in the provincial "Restrictions Exemption Program" (REP), Rogers Place was allowed to operate at full capacity, but all spectators were required to present proof of COVID-19 vaccinations. On December 21, as part of public health orders to control Omicron variant, the Alberta provincial government ordered all large venues participating in REP to restrict their capacity to 50% effective December 24. Food and drink consumption was prohibited when seated and during intermissions.

Cancellation and rescheduling of tournament due to COVID-19

Teams were required to quarantine if any one member tested positive for COVID-19, resulting in three games being forfeited by December 29. Citing the health and safety of participants, and that the competitive integrity of the tournament had been compromised by the aforementioned forfeits, the IIHF announced that the remainder of the tournament had been abandoned. However, IIHF president

Luc Tardif Luc Tardif (born 29 March 1953) is a Canadian-born French ice hockey executive, and former professional ice hockey player. A native of Trois-Rivières, Quebec, he played in the Quebec Junior A Hockey League and the Quebec Major Junior Hockey L ...

stated during a press conference that a committee would meet in January to discuss the feasibility of resuming the tournament at a later date, and that "we want to take the next month to think about it and maybe come with a good surprise." On February 17, 2022, Tardif announced that the tournament would be rescheduled to mid-August 2022, following the U18 Hlinka Gretzky Cup. The tournament would be replayed from the beginning, with all results and statistics from the first attempt thrown out. Rosters from the first playing of the tournament were

grandfathered A grandfather clause, also known as grandfather policy, grandfathering, or grandfathered in, is a provision in which an old rule continues to apply to some existing situations while a new rule will apply to all future cases. Those exempt from t ...

. The following month, it was announced that the tournament replay had been scheduled for August 9–20, 2022, and that it would be hosted exclusively by Edmonton for the second year in a row. Those who had purchased tickets for the first running of the 2022 tournament, or the 2021 tournament, were given priority access to tickets. With Edmonton focusing on the rescheduled tournament, the 2022 Hlinka Gretzky Cup was hosted exclusively by Red Deer. In condemnation of the

2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine On 24 February 2022, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, which began in 2014. The invasion has resulted in tens of thousands of deaths on both sides. It has caused Europe's largest refugee crisis since World War II. ...

, Russia was suspended from international ice hockey by the IIHF. It was announced that Latvia—who were promoted to the top division for

2023 Events Predicted and scheduled events * January 1 ** In the United States, books, films, and other works published in 1927 will enter the public domain, assuming there are no changes made to copyright law. ** Croatia will adopt the eu ...

after finishing second in the Division I-A tournament—would replace Russia for the tournament replay. Division I-A winner Belarus was also banned from international ice hockey for their support of the invasion.

Sponsorship withdrawals and low attendance

Due to the Hockey Canada sexual assault scandal that emerged in June 2022, a number of major entities suspended their sponsorships and support of Hockey Canada, including BDO, Canadian Tire, Imperial Oil,

Recipe Unlimited Recipe Unlimited Corporation is a Canadian company that operates several restaurant chains such as Swiss Chalet, Harvey's and The Keg, and food distribution for large operations. The company was originated in 1883 as Canada Railway News Comp ...

, Scotiabank,

Telus Telus Communications Inc. (TCI) is the wholly owned principal subsidiary of Telus Corporation, a Telecommunications in Canada, Canadian national telecommunications company that provides a wide range of telecommunications products and services ...

, and

Tim Hortons Tim Hortons Inc., commonly nicknamed Tim's, or Timmie's is a Canadian multinational coffeehouse and restaurant chain. Based in Toronto, Tim Hortons serves coffee, doughnuts, and other fast-food items. It is Canada's largest quick-service res ...

. The city of Edmonton withdrew their marketing for the tournament. Sportsnet writer Paul D. Grant suggested that sponsors may had also been given the option to receive refunds on sponsorship purchases they had made for the December 2021 running of the tournament after it was cancelled. Besides a placement for IIHF global sponsor

Tissot Tissot SA () is a Swiss watchmaker. The company was founded in Le Locle, Switzerland by Charles-Félicien Tissot and his son, Charles-Émile Tissot, in 1853. After several mergers and name changes, the group which Tissot SA belonged to was renam ...

, there were no in-arena sponsor placements during the tournament, with the boards otherwise containing only images of the tournament emblem and ads for the IIHF's official

mobile app A mobile application or app is a computer program or software application designed to run on a mobile device such as a phone, tablet, or watch. Mobile applications often stand in contrast to desktop applications which are designed to run on d ...

. On the eve of the tournament, it was also reported that "thousands" of tickets were still unsold, including tickets for games involving Canada—which had typically been a major draw during editions of the tournament hosted by Canada. The summer scheduling of the tournament, high ticket prices, the Hockey Canada scandals, and the removal of Russia, were cited by the press as potential factors. The first day of the tournament saw minuscule crowds, with its first three games having an announced attendance of 430, 376, and 829 respectively. However, this was based on tickets sold, and the actual number of spectators in attendance was believed to be much lower. Canada's games had moderate levels of attendance, ranging from 2,779 for its first preliminary game, to 5,204 for its final preliminary game—a fraction of Rogers Place's hockey capacity of 18,500. The gold medal game had an official attendance of 13,327.

Group A (December 2021)

---- ---- ---- ---- ----

Group B (December 2021)

---- ---- ---- ---- ----

Top division

Venue

Officials

The following officials were assigned by the

International Ice Hockey Federation The International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF; french: Fédération internationale de hockey sur glace; german: Internationale Eishockey-Föderation) is a worldwide governing body for ice hockey. It is based in Zurich, Switzerland, and has 83 ...

to officiate the 2022 World Junior Championships. Referees * Adam Bloski * Riku Brander * Sean Fernandez * Stephen Hiff * Robert Hennessey * Christoffer Holm * Sirko Hunnius * Adam Kika * Joonas Kova * Kyle Kowalski Linesmen * Nick Briganti * Eric Cattaneo * Andreas Hofer * Cody Huseby * Niko Jusi * Brett Mackey * Shawn Oliver * John Rey * Josef Špůr

Rosters

Teams

;Group A * (2) * (3) * (7) * (8) * (replacing Russia) ;Group B * (1) * (5) * (6) * (9) * (10)

Preliminary round

''All times are local ( UTC-7).''

Group A

---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ----

Group B

---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ----

Playoff round

Winning teams will be reseeded for the semi-finals in accordance with the following ranking: #higher position in the group #higher number of points #better goal difference #higher number of goals scored for #better seeding coming into the tournament (final placement at the 2021 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships).

Bracket

Quarterfinals

Semifinals

Bronze medal game

Gold medal game

Statistics

Scoring leaders

''GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; +/− = Plus–minus; PIM = Penalties In Minutes''
Source
IIHF.com
/small>

Goaltending leaders

(minimum 40% team's total ice time) ''TOI = Time on ice (minutes:seconds); GA = Goals against; GAA =

Goals against average Goals against average (GAA) also known as "average goals against" or "AGA" is a statistic used in field hockey, ice hockey, lacrosse, soccer, and water polo that is the mean of goals allowed per game by a goaltender or goalkeeper (depending ...

; SA = Shots against; Sv% = Save percentage; SO =

Shutout In team sports, a shutout ( US) or clean sheet ( UK) is a game in which one team prevents the other from scoring any points. While possible in most major sports, they are highly improbable in some sports, such as basketball. Shutouts are usuall ...

s''
Source
IIHF.com
/small>

Final standings

Awards

*Best players selected by the directorate: **Best

Goaltender In ice hockey, the goaltender (commonly referred to as the goalie) is the player responsible for preventing the hockey puck from entering their team's net, thus preventing the opposing team from scoring. The goaltender mostly plays in or near t ...

: Jesper Wallstedt **Best

Defenceman Defence or defense (in American English) in ice hockey is a player position that is primarily responsible for preventing the opposing team from scoring. They are often referred to as defencemen, D, D-men or blueliners (the latter a reference to ...

: Kasper Puutio **Best Forward:

Mason McTavish Mason McTavish (born January 30, 2003) is a Canadian professional ice hockey centre for the Anaheim Ducks of the National Hockey League (NHL). McTavish was selected third overall by the Ducks in the first round of the 2021 NHL Entry Draft. He ...

Source
IIHF
/small> *Media All-Stars: **MVP:

**Goaltender: Jesper Wallstedt **Defencemen: Olen Zellweger / Emil Andrae **Forwards:

/ Joakim Kemell / Jan Myšák Source
IIHF
/small>

Division I

Group A

The tournament was held in

Hørsholm Hørsholm () is an urban area on the Øresund coast approximately north of Copenhagen, Denmark. It covers most of Hørsholm Municipality and straddles the borders neighbouring Fredensborg Municipality and Rudersdal Municipality. Hørsholm prop ...

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of Denmark , establish ...

, from 12 to 18 December 2021.

Group B

The tournament was held in

Tallinn Tallinn () is the most populous and capital city of Estonia. Situated on a bay in north Estonia, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland of the Baltic Sea, Tallinn has a population of 437,811 (as of 2022) and administratively lies in the Harju '' ...

Estonia Estonia, formally the Republic of Estonia, is a country by the Baltic Sea in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, a ...

, from 12 to 18 December 2021.

Division II

Group A

The tournament was held in

Brașov Brașov (, , ; german: Kronstadt; hu, Brassó; la, Corona; Transylvanian Saxon: ''Kruhnen'') is a city in Transylvania, Romania and the administrative centre of Brașov County. According to the latest Romanian census (2011), Brașov has a pop ...

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Moldova to the east, and ...

, from 13 to 19 December 2021.

Group B

The tournament would have been held in Belgrade,

Serbia Serbia (, ; Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia (Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin and the Balkans. It shares land borders with Hungar ...

, from 10 to 16 January 2022, but it was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It was rescheduled and took place from 12 to 17 September 2022.

Division III

The tournament would have been held in Querétaro,

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

, from January 6 to 16, 2022, but was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It was rescheduled and played from 22 to 30 July 2022. Bulgaria withdrew from the July tournament and was replaced by Australia.

Group A

Group B

Playoff round

All teams enter the Quarterfinals, Semifinals are to be re-seeded.

References

External links

Official site of the 2022 World Junior Championships

IIHF World Juniors tournaments list

IIHF World Juniors tournaments Guide
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ice Hockey, World Junior Championships, 2022

2022 File:2022 collage V1.png, Clockwise, from top left: Road junction at Yamato-Saidaiji Station several hours after the assassination of Shinzo Abe; Anti-government protest in Sri Lanka in front of the Presidential Secretariat; The global monkeypo ...

World Junior Championships World Junior Championships World Junior Championships, 2022 World Junior Championships, 2022 Ice hockey competitions in Edmonton Sports competitions in Red Deer, Alberta 2021–22 in Canadian ice hockey

World Junior Ice Hockey Championships The IIHF World Junior Championship (WJC), or simply the "World Juniors" in ice hockey circles, is an annual event organized by the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) for national under-20 ice hockey teams from around the world. It is t ...

Ice hockey events postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic