The 2022 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships (2022 WJHC) will be the 46th edition of the Ice Hockey World Junior Championship. It will begin on December 26, 2021, and will end with the gold medal game being played on January 5, 2022.

It is December, which can mean only one thing: the IIHF World Junior 2022 Championship is here.

The world's best under-20 hockey players will hit the ice in a battle for supremacy and bragging rights. The defending champion United States is aiming for the nation's first-ever back-to-back titles. But don't expect this to be a cakewalk for the Americans.Nick Sirianni after Eagles beat Washington 27-170:55PauseNext video0:20 / 2:09Full-screen

Watch: World Juniors 2022 Live Streaming

Canada is once again playing on home soil and has the memory of a perfect 2021 tournament squashed by the U.S. in the ultimate game. And, with fans expected to return to the stands, Hockey Canada will surely be aiming for a golden return for the first time at home since 2015.

As always, the World Juniors are expected to be packed with big goals, big saves and ever bigger wins. With national pride on the line, the battle for gold will be fierce. Here's all you need to know about the tournament, including the complete schedule of games and how to watch them in the United States and Canada.

When do the World Juniors 2022 start?

• Start date: Sunday, Dec. 26, 2021
• End date: Wednesday, Jan. 5, 2022

While the 2021 tournament was expanded by a day due to games being held on one rink only, the 2022 edition is back to the normal dates of Boxing Day to Jan. 5.

Watch: World Juniors 2022 Live Streaming

The group stage, with two groups of five teams each, will span the first seven days of competition and end on New Year's Eve. The eight surviving teams will have New Year's Day off before returning to action for the quarterfinals on Jan. 2. The winners of those games will advance to the semifinals two days later. The bronze-medal and gold-medal games will take place Wednesday, Jan. 5.

How to watch World Juniors 2022 hockey games on TV, live stream

• ​TV channel (Canada): TSN
• Live stream (Canada): TSN.ca, TSN app
• TV channel (U.S.): NHL Network
• Live stream (U.S.): fuboTV (7-day free trial)

All 31 games of the 2022 IIHF World Junior Championship will be broadcast live on TSN in Canada with French-language coverage on RDS.

NHL Network is the only place to watch the World Juniors in the United States. It will carry live coverage of Team USA along with every other game for the first time ever.

Those without cable can stream the World Juniors on TSN.ca, the TSN app or with fuboTV,

World Juniors schedule 2022

Sunday, Dec. 26

Monday, Dec. 27

Tuesday, Dec. 28

Wednesday, Dec. 29

Thursday, Dec. 30

Friday, Dec. 31

Sunday, Jan. 2

Tuesday, Jan. 4

Wednesday, Jan. 5

Where is the 2022 World Junior Championship?

• Location: Edmonton and Red Deer, Alberta

The 2022 World Junior Championship will take place in Edmonton and Red Deer, Alta. USA Hockey will play its round-robin games at WP Centrium in Red Deer while Hockey Canada's games and the playoffs will be at Rogers Place.

Originally, the 2022 tournament was scheduled to be held in Gothenburg, Sweden. However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, it was shifted back to Canada for the 16th time in history. After the lost revenue from 2021's fanless tournament in Edmonton's bubble, Sweden okayed swapping years with Canada. Gothenburg will now host in 2024. Russia (Omsk and Novosibirsk) is slated to host in 2023.

This year marks the fourth time Edmonton will host World Juniors games. In 1995, Canada topped the podium; in 2012, Sweden won and the Canadians finished third in Alberta's capital; in 2021 the United States beat Canada for gold.

2022 World Junior Championship groups

Ten teams, divided into two groups of five, are participating in the 2022 World Junior Championship.

How to watch World Juniors in Canada

TV channel: TSN, RDS

As the official broadcast partner for Team Canada, TSN and RDS will be responsible for airing all 31 tournament matchups, including pre-tournament games, quarterfinals and semifinals, and bronze and gold medal games for viewers tuning in from Canada.

TSN 5 will also air two of the five pre-tournament matchups, starting with Finland vs. USA, followed by Canada vs. Russia on Thursday. The tournament's first four matchups will be split on channels TSN 1 and TSN 4 as Team Canada is scheduled to face the Czech Republic on Sunday. All remaining matchups, including the quarterfinals, semifinals and Bronze and Gold medal games will air on TSN.

Gord Miller and Ray Ferraro will call all pre-tournament games and Group A matches from Edmonton, while Dennis Beyak and Craig Button will call all Group B games from Red Deer.

How to watch World Juniors in USA

TV channel: NHL Network

The NHL Network will be responsible for airing coverage of all tournament matchups in the United States.

Starting with the first matchup between Finland and Germany at 2 p.m. ET on Sunday, the NHL Network will provide live coverage for all tournament games, including the quarterfinals, semifinals and the Bronze and Gold medal games.

Stephen Nelson will provide play-by-play analysis for each Team USA game along with analyst Dave Starman. Jon Rosen will also serve as a reporter for the first time.