Hear the 2023 IIHF World Junior Hockey Championships live from the Maritimes on SiriusXM
It’s the most wonderful time of the year – World Junior Hockey time! Presents, stockings, turkey, and top-notch Junior Hockey truly make the Holiday Season merry. Every late December, hockey fans know they’ll find under the tree the glittering holiday tradition known as the IIHF World Junior Hockey Championships.
And this time around, everything being equal, we’ll get this tournament in. Last year, COVID upended everything, and the tournament came to a screeching halt. Yes, it was replayed in August, but as good as the hockey was, the atmosphere wasn’t the same.
The annual meeting of the best of the world’s young hockey players (under 20) is meant to be played at this time of the year when the sun likes to stay hidden and the winter winds whip, giving us the perfect excuse to stay inside, grab some tasty snacks, and watch the future of the game unfold in front of our eyes.
SiriusXM NHL Network Radio once again has your front-row tickets to the action beginning Monday, December 26th, as the best young players in the world gather this time around in Atlantic Canada to determine Junior Hockey supremacy. Moncton, New Brunswick (Avenir Centre), and Halifax, Nova Scotia (Scotiabank Centre) are the host cities this year.
Group A features Canada, Sweden, Czechia, Germany, and Austria, while Group B consists of the United States, Finland, Switzerland, Slovakia, and Latvia. A glance at the lineups for all 10 teams reveals a plethora of players already drafted by NHL clubs, as well as some inciting names still up for grabs.
Forward Connor Bedard is expected to go first overall in the 2023 NHL Entry Draft, and he’ll be wearing the Canadian red and white, along with highly touted forward Shane Wright of the Seattle Kraken.
The hosts look to defend their crown after edging Finland in a thrilling Gold Medal game this past summer in Edmonton; however, the Finns recently went unbeaten in a tune-up tournament. Sweden claimed the Bronze Medal in Edmonton; they host the tournament next year in Gothenburg.
Canada leads the way with 19 overall gold medals. The Russians (who, for obvious reasons, won’t be here this year) are next with 13, followed by 5 for Finland and the United States. Sweden and the Czech Republic each have 2 gold medals to their credit. There hasn’t been a repeat champion since Canada reeled off five in a row between 2005 and 2009.
Over the 45 times the IIHF World Junior Championships have been held, some of the biggest names in hockey have represented their respective countries. The alumni list of current NHL’ers is impressive and includes Mark Stone, Auston Matthews, Sidney Crosby, Artemi Panarin, Carter Hart, John Tavares, Roman Josi, Mitch Marner, Jonathan Toews, John Gibson, Phil Kessel, and Connor McDavid.
Wayne Gretzky, Mario Lemieux, Mike Modano, Roberto Luongo, Markus Naslund, Jon Casey, Eric Lindros, Peter Forsberg, Pavel Bure, Doug Weight, Theo Fleury, Jeremy Roenick, John Vanbiesbrouck, Mike Vernon, Sean Burke, Mike Richter, and Dominik Hasek have all suited up for their respective countries during this illustrious tournament.
Who will add their name to this impressive list? Which country takes home the coveted gold medal? The answers to those questions are contained within the games, and SiriusXM NHL Network Radio will be there, beginning December 26th.
SiriusXM NHL Network Radio will feature an opening day doubleheader; USA takes on Latvia, while Canada clashes with Czechia.
As the tournament progresses, you’ll be able to listen to all of the play-by-play action on Canada Talks SiriusXM Channel 167.
To get you up to speed for this year’s tournament, once again, Shayne Malloy and Brad Allen host the World Junior Preview Show on Christmas Eve at 7 am and 5 pm Eastern. You can also hear it on Christmas Day at 10 pm Eastern and then on Boxing Day (aka December 26th) at 2 pm Eastern.
2023 World Junior Hockey Championships
(all times Eastern)
MONDAY DECEMBER 26th
Latvia vs. USA 4:00 pm Channel 91
Czechia vs. Canada 6:30 pm Channel 91
WEDNESDAY DECEMBER 28th
USA vs. Slovakia 4:00 pm Channel 91
Germany vs. Canada 6:00 pm Channel 167
THURSDAY DECEMBER 29th
USA vs. Switzerland 4:00 pm Channel 91
Canada vs. Austria 6:00 pm Channel 167
SATURDAY DECEMBER 31st
USA vs. Finland 4:00 pm Channel 167
Sweden vs. Canada 6:00 pm Channel 167
MONDAY JANUARY 2nd
Quarter-Final #3 4:00 pm Channel 167
Quarter-Final #4 6:30 pm Channel 167
WEDNESDAY JANUARY 4th
Semi-Final #1 2:30 pm Channel 167
Semi-Final #2 6:00 pm Channel 167
THURSDAY JANUARY 5th
Gold Medal Game 6:00 pm Channel 167
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