Just recently, the pre-tournament schedule for the 2027 IIHF World Junior Championship was unveiled.
As part of that reveal, it was announced that six cities and towns in Alberta would host pre-tournament games. Those cities consisted of the two tournament co-hosts, Edmonton and Red Deer, in addition to Lloydminster, Blackfalds, Camrose, and Cold Lake.
Edmonton's game will be played at Rogers Place, the home arena of the Edmonton Oilers. That game will see Canada take on the reigning World Juniors gold medallists Sweden, who ended their gold medal drought with a 4-2 win over Czechia. Canada managed to get past the quarterfinal round for the first time since the 2023 tournament in Halifax and Moncton, though they faced the same fate as years before: a loss to Czechia in the knockouts. Canada still earned a spot in the bronze medal game, where they would defeat Finland by a 6-3 margin.
This is the first time that the World Juniors will take place at Rogers Place in Edmonton, Alberta since 2022. The tournament was held there the year prior, hosting the 2021 World Juniors. These tournaments saw Canada capture gold and silver, respectively.
The game will be Rogers Place's lone pre-tournament contest.
Canada will play two additional pre-tournament games on December 18 and 20. Both games will take place in Red Deer; the Red Deer Rebels' Marchant Crane Centrium will host both encounters. The first of those will see Canada contest a rematch of the aforementioned bronze medal game against Finland, while the latter will be the first of two pre-tournament contests against Sweden.
Canada to remain in Edmonton after their pre-tournament game at Rogers Place
After the conclusion of the pre-tournament window, Canada will not need to travel before the beginning of the preliminary round of the 2027 World Juniors.
Group A action - which will see Canada contest matches against Switzerland, Latvia, Norway, and Czechia - will take place entirely at Rogers Place. No matter how seeding falls, Canada will not have to leave Edmonton for the entirety of the tournament. While two knockout round games (all in the quarterfinal round) will take place in Red Deer, Hockey Canada's website notes that Canada will be placed into the fourth quarterfinal match should they qualify for the knockout rounds. That quarterfinal matchup will take place in Edmonton.
Group B at the 2027 World Juniors will feature Sweden, Finland, Germany, the United States, and Slovakia. All preliminary-round matches in that group will take place in Red Deer, though the knockout-round format means some Group B teams will play their quarterfinal contests in Edmonton.
The 2027 World Juniors will run from December 26, 2026 to January 5, 2027. Oilers fans should take the opportunity to tune in as the Oilers have a long history of prospects dominating at this tournament.
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