World Junior Championship to be Replayed in August
Andrea Cardin/HHOF-IIHF Images
The IIHF has announced that the 2022 World Junior Championship will be completely replayed in August in Edmonton and Red Deer following the Hlinka-Gretzky Cup.
Of note, the games that took place originally in December will not be counted, meaning the tournament will be a complete redo. IIHF president Luc Tardif confirmed that the same age group – players born in 2002 or later – will participate, but that teams can pick entirely new lineups.
This could be the case for teams with top NHL prospects, such as Canada, Sweden and USA, that could be missing players as they prepare to play in the NHL.
Relegation will return after the IIHF previously announced there would be 11 teams for the 2023 tournament. That'll put the tournament back at 10 teams, with Belarus replacing the loser of the relegation round.
The IIHF did not confirm a start date for the event, but it will follow the U-18 Hlinka-Gretzky Cup in the same two cities.
