WORLD JUNIOR RUN-DOWN

SportsBeat!

Written by Aaron Cantin

This year the 2022 IIHF World Junior Championship returns to a format more like it used to be. Not everything is back to normal, but it’s different from the bubble event held last year in Edmonton. The 2021 host was supposed to include Red Deer, so they are sharing the hosting duties this year with Edmonton.

Source: Getty Images

Tickets went on sale earlier this month for the event, and so far, the expectation is the games will go on with full capacity crowds. This is, of course, subject to change, and some preliminary friendlies were cancelled earlier this week. The format is more like a regular setup, with two groups of teams, each playing out of one of the two venues.

GROUP A

In Rogers Place in Edmonton, this group is made up of:

Canada

Finland

Germany

Czechia

Austria

GROUP B

In Red Deer at WP Centrium, this group is made up of:

USA

Russia

Sweden

Slovakia

Switzerland

Format

Each group plays a round-robin and only one team in each group is eliminated. The top four from each group crossover in the usual manner for the quarterfinals on January 2. 1A plays 4B, 2A plays 3B, etc.

The semifinals, on January 4, are re-seeded by placement in the group stage, points, goal differential, and original seeding pre-tournament. The two medal games are played on January 5, both in Edmonton.

Relegation returns to IIHF top-level events with this tournament. During the pandemic, many lower-level tournaments were cancelled, and the relegation and promotion system was paused. On the last day, the two fifth-place teams in each group play to stay in the top-level tournament next year. The loser will be relegated to Division I Group A for 2023.

The 2022 Division I Group A tournament was held in Denmark last week. The winner, Belarus, will be added to the WJC for 2023. The IIHF uses a three-point system. A regulation win gets three, overtime or shootout is two for the winner, while the losing team gets one. During the round-robin, games have five-minute three-on-three overtime after a three-minute intermission. A shootout will be used after if necessary. All playoff games, other than the gold-medal game, have the same procedure, except the overtime is 10 minutes.

For the gold-medal game, overtime is 20-minute periods of three-on-three with 15-minute intermissions until the game is decided. IIHF shootout rules are slightly different from what the NHL uses. To begin, each team must put out five different shooters for a five-round shootout. If the game remains tied, the teams may then use whatever shooters they like, including repeating shooters multiple times, in a tie-breaking formula where as soon as one team scores and the other doesn’t in a pair, the game is decided.

The 2022 IIHF World Junior Championship is set to kick off on its usual start date of Boxing Day (December 26) and plays well into the New Year (January 5). And while all the rosters are yet to be set, that doesn’t stop us from predicting how the tournament will play out.

POOL A STANDINGS

- CANADA

- FINLAND

- CZECH REPUBLIC

- GERMANY

- AUSTRIA

There’s no question that Canada should be the top team in this division. They’re a perennial powerhouse in this tournament and looking at their roster, they should be the heavy favourites to take home the gold. Canada has, arguably, the best forward and defensive groups in the tournament. Goaltending may not be as strong as Sweden and Russia, but it’s better than the rest. Overall, this pool is pretty predictable. I have Finland at No. 2 currently, but I do have a soft spot for the Czech team and would love to see them rise up.

POOL B STANDINGS

- Sweden

- Russia

- USA

- Slovakia

- Switzerland

This is going to be exciting. I’m willing to bet that there’s a big divide between who will take that top spot. Some would say Russia, some Sweden, and some even Team USA. It’s hard not to bet on Sweden though. Most of their roster is NHL drafted, and they’re oozing skill. They will challenge Canada and the most exciting team of the tournament, in my opinion. If there was a team to steal that top spot though, it would be Russia. Every year, I seem to undervalue Team USA, and perhaps I’m doing that again this year, but I don’t think they’ll come out on top of the other two. Their skaters may challenge Russia and they have a better defensive group, but goaltending will be an issue.

ELIMINATION ROUND, MEDALS, AND RELEGATION PREDICTIONS

QUARTERFINALS

- Q1: 1A CANADA DEFEATS 4B SLOVAKIA

- Q2: 1B SWEDEN DEFEATS 4A GERMANY

- Q3: 2B RUSSIA DEFEATS 3A CZECH REPUBLIC

- Q4: 3B USA DEFEATS 2A FINLAND

No big surprises here as the first three games are likely pretty expected given the matchups. The fourth game could really go either way though. This could be quite a game, but Team USA’s skaters will be able to overwhelm the Finns. The overall group just looks to be better, but you can never count the Finnish groups out.

SEMIFINALS

1A CANADA DEFEATS 3B USA

1B SWEDEN DEFEATS 2B RUSSIA

While Canada should defeat the Americans pretty handily this year, Sweden vs. Russia matchup could be one of the best games in the tournament. While this could be a goaltending battle, I could see Sweden coming out on top. This group looks like a gold-medal contender.

MEDALS

CANADA

SWEDEN

RUSSIA

USA

Unless Wallstedt can steal the gold medal, this is Canada’s year. However, this could be a tight, hard-fought game and I am very much here for it. The bronze medal battle should be just as good, with Askarov likely able to shut down the American offence to add another medal to his cabinet. After winning the gold medal in 2021, there’s a good chance the Americans go home empty-handed this year.

INDIVIDUAL AWARD PREDICTIONS

- MVP: COLE PERFETTI, CANADA

- BEST FORWARD: COLE PERFETTI, CANADA

- BEST DEFENSEMAN: JAKE SANDERSON, USA

- BEST GOALTENDER: JESPER WALLSTEDT, SWEDEN

This was tough. For top forward, Perfetti and Holtz are the leading contenders – perhaps that’s obvious. They’re also the leading candidates for MVP unless we see a ridiculous goaltending performance. On D, Sanderson is my pick right now, with Power a 1B selection. The top goaltender comes down to Wallstedt and Askarov in my opinion, with the winning goalie of Sweden vs. Russia semifinal taking it.