2023 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships

The 2023 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships (2023 WJHC) was the 47th edition of the Ice Hockey World Junior Championship, held from 26 December 2022 to 5 January 2023.^[1][2] It was won by Canada, in overtime of the gold-medal game. Czechia won the silver, their first medal since 2005.

2023 IIHF World Junior Championships

Tournament details
Host country	Canada
Venue(s)	Scotiabank Centre Avenir Centre (in 2 host cities)
Dates	December 26, 2022 – January 5, 2023
Teams	10
Final positions
Champions	Canada (20th title)
Runners-up	Czechia
Third place	United States
Fourth place	Sweden
Tournament statistics
Games played	30
Goals scored	216 (7.2 per game)
Attendance	221,904 (7,397 per game)
Scoring leader(s)	Connor Bedard (23 points)
Awards
MVP	Connor Bedard
← 2022 2024 →

Background

The relegation round was revived, after a two-year hiatus due to the 2021 Division I, II, and III tournaments having been cancelled, and in 2022, both Russia and Belarus were expelled from the competition.

Top Division

Venues

Originally, Novosibirsk and Omsk in Russia were selected as host cities, however Russia's hosting rights were revoked in February 2022 due to Russian invasion of Ukraine. Instead, hosting rights were given to Halifax and Moncton in Canada. This was the 18th time Canada hosted the competition, and the third consecutive tournament held on Canada's soil.

On May 23, 2018, the IIHF announced Novosibirsk, Russia, as host city.^[3] Novosibirsk was to host Group A matches, while the city of Omsk was to host Group B matches.^[4][5]

In February 2022, in condemnation of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) called for Russia to be stripped of hosting rights to all international sporting events.^[6] Russia's hosting of the 2023 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships was scheduled to be discussed in a meeting of the IIHF council on February 28, 2022.^[7] The IIHF suspended Russia and Belarus from international ice hockey until further notice, and stripped Russia of its hosting rights for the World Junior Championships.^[8]

In late-March 2022, Sportsnet journalist Jeff Marek reported that the IIHF had considered Canada as a possible host country for the tournament, which would make it the third consecutive World Junior Championship to be hosted in the country (the previous two tournaments have been hosted in Alberta with Edmonton as the main host city, but were held in a "bubble" behind closed doors and postponed to August 2022 respectively due to the COVID-19 pandemic).^[9][10] On May 5, the IIHF and Hockey Canada announced that Halifax and Moncton would be the hosts of the tournament, beating out announced bids by Regina/Saskatoon, Ottawa/Quebec City, and London/Waterloo. It marks the 20th anniversary of Halifax's previous hosting of the tournament in 2003.^[11]

Halifax	Halifax Moncton		Moncton
Scotiabank Centre Capacity: 10,595			Avenir Centre Capacity: 8,800

Match officials

The following officials were assigned by the International Ice Hockey Federation to officiate the 2023 World Junior Championships.^[12]

Referees

• Michael Campbell
• Graeden Hamilton
• Andreas Harnebring
• Tomáš Hronský
• Marc Iwert
• Richard Magnusson
• Mathieu Menniti
• Anssi Salonen
• Peter Schlittenhardt
• Jakub Šindel
• Michaël Tscherrig
• Riley Yerkovich

Linesmen

• Dario Fuchs
• Clément Goncalves
• Brandon Grillo
• Onni Hautamäki
• David Klouček
• Spencer Knox
• Daniel Konc
• Patrick Laguzov
• Daniel Persson
• John Waleski
• Tarrington Wyonzek

Rosters

Main article: 2023 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships rosters

Preliminary round

Seeding

The groups were announced on August 17, 2022, with teams being grouped based on rankings of performance over the previous five tournaments.^[13]

Group A
(Scotiabank Centre)

•  Canada
•  Sweden
•  Czechia
•  Germany
•  Austria

Group B
(Avenir Centre)

•  United States
•  Finland
•   Switzerland
•  Slovakia
•  Latvia

Group A

Isak Rosén began the scoring in Group A as Sweden defeated Austria 11–0, with 6 of their goals coming in the second period.^[14] Canada lost 5–2 to Czechia in their biggest World Juniors loss since 2020 when they lost 6–0 to Russia.^[15] Adam Engström of Sweden scored the lone goal in a tight match to beat Germany 1–0.^[16] Austria went scoreless once again against Czechia, recording only 8 shots in a 9–0 defeat.^[17] Canada regained their form as they defeated Germany in a convincing 11–2 victory, with Connor Bedard earning 7 points, tying a Canadian World Juniors record.^[18] Despite Czechia scoring early in the game, goals from Fabian Wagner and Ludvig Jansson gave the lead to the Swedes. Jiří Ticháček scored an equalizer in the 54th minute, taking the match to overtime. Ludvig Jansson got the winner in the second minute of overtime, earning his second goal of the match.^[19] Canada defeated Austria 11–0, with Connor Bedard having 6 points and Austria remaining scoreless after 3 matches. Canada dominated the game with 47 shots, while Austria could only manage 12.^[20] Germany defeated Austria 4–2, and despite Austria scoring their first goals of the tournament, they were consequently eliminated to the relegation round. Germany advanced to the quarter-finals for the third consecutive time.^[21] Czechia beat Germany in a decisive 8–1 victory, earning Czechia a total of 10 points in the group and winning them Group A.^[22] Canada defeated Sweden 6–1, passing Sweden in the standings and finishing second in the group, behind Czechia.^[23]

Pos	Team	Pld	W	OTW	OTL	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Czechia	4	3	0	1	0	24	6	+18	10	Quarterfinals
2	Canada (H)	4	3	0	0	1	29	8	+21	9
3	Sweden	4	2	1	0	1	16	7	+9	8
4	Germany	4	1	0	0	3	7	22	−15	3
5	Austria	4	0	0	0	4	2	35	−33	0	Relegation playoff

Source: IIHF
(H) Host

26 December 2022 14:30

Sweden

11–0 (2–0, 6–0, 3–0)

Austria

Scotiabank Centre, Halifax Attendance: 7,274

Game reference
	Carl Lindbom	Goalies	Thomas Pfarrmaier Benedikt Oschgan	Referees: Michael Campbell Graeden Hamilton Linesmen: John Waleski Tarrington Wyonzek
	Rosén – 13:17 1–0 Bystedt (Rosén) – 17:49 2–0 Rosén (Carlsson, Bystedt) – 20:48 3–0 Robertsson (E. Pettersson, Jansson) – 22:51 4–0 Oscarson (O. Pettersson) (SH) – 27:16 5–0 Lekkerimäki (Wagner, Engström) – 30:28 6–0 Öhgren (Östlund, Engström) – 32:33 7–0 Odelius (Sternbjorg, Wagner) – 33:23 8–0 Wagner (Lekkerimäki, Lindbom) – 42:45 9–0 Bystedt (Carlsson, Jansson) (PP) – 44:06 10–0 O. Pettersson (Sjöholm, Jansson) – 53:50 11–0
	10 min	Penalties	14 min
	51	Shots	13

26 December 2022 19:30

Czechia

5–2 (2–1, 3–1, 0–0)

Canada

Scotiabank Centre, Halifax Attendance: 10,030

Game reference
	Tomáš Suchánek	Goalies	Benjamin Gaudreau Thomas Milic	Referees: Tomas Hronsky Michael Tscherrig Linesmen: Spencer Knox Daniel Konc
	0–1 10:33 – Wright (Zellweger, Guenther) (PP) Špaček (Svozil, Brabenec) – 17:48 1–1 Moravec (Měchura, Marcel) – 18:23 2–1 Svozil (Špaček, Šalé) – 20:44 3–1 3–2 21:29 – Bedard (Wright, Korchinski) Chmelař (Jiříček) (PP) – 28:14 4–2 Menšík (Kos, Suchánek) (PP) – 28:47 5–2
	6 min	Penalties	35 min
	27	Shots	38

---

27 December 2022 14:30

Germany

0–1 (0–1, 0–0, 0–0)

Sweden

Scotiabank Centre, Halifax Attendance: 7,632

Game reference
	Nikita Quapp	Goalies	Carl Lindbom	Referees: Michael Campbell Tomas Hronsky Linesmen: Patrick Laguzov Daniel Persson
	0–1 19:38 – Engström (Bystedt)
	8 min	Penalties	10 min
	28	Shots	44

27 December 2022 19:30

Austria

0–9 (0–3, 0–4, 0–2)

Czechia

Scotiabank Centre, Halifax Attendance: 7,105

Game reference
	Michael Sicher	Goalies	Tomáš Suchánek	Referees: Andreas Harnebring Riley Yerkovich Linesmen: Spencer Knox John Waleski
	0–1 03:50 – Brabenec (Svozil, Suchánek) (PP) 0–2 16:26 – Kulich (Svozil, Špaček) 0–3 18:39 – Hauser (Šapovaliv, Měchura) 0–4 21:05 – Szturc 0–5 22:56 – Čech (Šalé, Šapovaliv) 0–6 28:16 – Kulich (Šalé, Marcel) (PP) 0–7 30:02 – Szturc (Chlemař, Suchánek) 0–8 40:08 – Kulich (Šapovaliv, Jiříček) 0–9 54:13 – Špaček (Svozil, Šapovaliv)
	12 min	Penalties	10 min
	8	Shots	47

---

28 December 2022 19:30

Canada

11–2 (3–1, 6–0, 2–1)

Germany

Scotiabank Centre, Halifax Attendance: 10,263

Game reference
	Thomas Milic	Goalies	Simon Wolf Rihards Babulis	Referees: Andreas Harnebring Riley Yerkovich Linesmen: Daniel Konc Daniel Persson
	Guenther (Bedard, Zellweger) (PP) – 06:46 1–0 1–1 11:08 – Kechter (Bader, Sinn) Wright (PP) – 13:21 2–1 Bedard (Stankoven, Roy) – 17:26 3–1 Bedard (Stankoven, Clarke) – 21:02 4–1 Bedard (Wright, Zellweger) (PP) – 33:57 5–1 Guenther (Bedard, Zellweger) (PP) – 36:48 6–1 Clarke (Fantilli, Dach) (PP) – 38:08 7–1 Guenther (Bedard) (PP) – 39:24 8–1 Stankoven (PP) – 39:56 9–1 Ostapchuk (Korchinski, Bankier) – 41:22 10–1 Roy (Bedard, Korchinski) – 50:56 11–1 11–2 54:25 – Sinn (Oswald, Krening) (PP)
	10 min	Penalties	37 min
	52	Shots	16

---

29 December 2022 14:30

Sweden

3–2 OT (0–0, 2–1, 0–1) (OT: 1–0)

Czechia

Scotiabank Centre, Halifax Attendance: 9,140

Game reference
	Carl Lindbom	Goalies	Tomáš Suchánek	Referees: Mathieu Menniti Peter Schlittenhardt Linesmen: Onni Hautamäki David Kloucek
	0–1 23:12 – Jiříček (Hauser, Měchura) Wagner – 25:28 1–1 Jansson (O. Pettersson, Robertsson) – 26:58 2–1 2–2 54:08 – Ticháček (Šapovaliv, Jiříček) Jansson (Lekkerimäki, Östlund) – 61:35 3–2
	6 min	Penalties	8 min
	24	Shots	35

29 December 2022 19:30

Austria

0–11 (0–3, 0–4, 0–4)

Canada

Scotiabank Centre, Halifax Attendance: 10,170

Game reference
	Benedikt Oschgan	Goalies	Benjamin Gaudreau	Referees: Marc Iwert Jakub Šindel Linesmen: Shawn Oliver John Waleski
	0–1 14:08 – Guenther (Othmann, Bedard) (PP) 0–2 15:53 – Dean (Gaucher, Fantilli) 0–3 18:19 – Wright (Bedard, Zellweger) (PP) 0–4 22:37 – Roy (Clarke, Bedard) 0–5 23:08 – Bedard (Stankoven) 0–6 25:35 – Allan (Schaefer, Ostapchuk) 0–7 34:32 – Stankoven (Bedard, Del Mastro) 0–8 42:15 – Fantilli (Roy, Gaucher) (PP) 0–9 51:58 – Gaucher (Dach, Matier) 0–10 53:16 – Bedard (Stankoven) 0–11 58:07 – Hinds (Stankoven, Roy)
	6 min	Penalties	4 min
	12	Shots	47

---

30 December 2022 17:30

Germany

4–2 (1–0, 3–1, 0–1)

Austria

Scotiabank Centre, Halifax Attendance: 7,586

Game reference
	Nikita Quapp	Goalies	Thomas Pfarrmaier	Referees: Mathieu Meniti Jakub Šindel Linesmen: Brandon Grillo David Klouček
	Krening (Lutz, Kechter) – 18:01 1–0 Van der Linde (Roßmy) – 21:34 2–0 T. Heigl (N. Heigl, Bader) – 26:57 3–0 3–1 29:24 – Scherzer (Rohrer, Auer) (PP) Kechter (Krening, Lutz) – 36:38 4–1 4–2 46:00 – Dobnig (Van Ee) (EA)
	6 min	Penalties	6 min
	27	Shots	33

---

31 December 2022 14:30

Czechia

8–1 (2–0, 3–1, 3–0)

Germany

Scotiabank Centre, Halifax Attendance: 8,454

Game reference
	Tomáš Suchánek	Goalies	Nikita Quapp Simon Wolf	Referees: Richard Magnusson Peter Schlittenhardt Linesmen: Daniel Konc Shawn Oliver
	Špaček (Svozil, Chmelař) (PP) – 04:58 1–0 Szturc (Brabenec) – 17:04 2–0 Chmelař (Brabenec, Moravec) – 29:38 3–0 3–1 32:35 – Oswald (Sinn, Bettahar) Ryšavý (Szturc, Menšík) – 36:27 4–1 Hauser (Špaček, Marcel) – 37:14 5–1 Chmelař (Szturc, Brabenec) – 44:33 6–1 Kos (Ryšavý, Sapoušek) – 45:02 7–1 Ticháček (Ryšavý, Kos) – 57:23 8–1
	8 min	Penalties	4 min
	54	Shots	19

31 December 2022 19:30

Canada

5–1 (3–1, 0–0, 2–0)

Sweden

Scotiabank Centre, Halifax Attendance: 10,301

Game reference
	Thomas Milic	Goalies	Carl Lindbom	Referees: Anssi Salonen Michael Tscherrig Linesmen: Brandon Grillo Onni Hautamäki
	Roy (Bedard, Clarke) – 00:57 1–0 Othmann (Wright, Bedard) (PP) – 02:08 2–0 Hinds (Stankoven, Bedard) – 11:45 3–0 3–1 16:21 – Jansson (Rosén, Bystedt) (PP) Othmann (Guenther, Del Mastro) – 40:35 4–1 Korchinski (Bedard, Allan) – 52:42 5–1
	33 min	Penalties	10 min
	44	Shots	23

Group B

Finland and Switzerland began the tournament tied by the end of the third period, sending the match to overtime. Attilio Biasca scored a long-range goal to give Switzerland 2 points.^[24] Despite being tied for most of the match, the United States put 3 goals past Latvian Patriks Bērziņš in the third period, winning the match 5–2.^[25] Slovakia lost 5–2 to Finland in their first game of the tournament, despite having more shots than the Finns. Finland scored 3 goals in the second period alone.^[26] Rodwin Dionicio scored in the 58th minute to send Switzerland to their second consecutive overtime against Latvia. They failed to convert a chance, however, and the match went to a shootout. Liekit Reichle won the match for the Swiss after getting one past the Latvian goaltender.^[27] Slovakia defeated the United States 6–3 after Alex Čiernik scored a late goal, taking advantage of the U.S.'s open net.^[28] Finland scored 3 against Latvia in regulation time, while the Finnish goaltender, Jani Lampinen, kept a 31-save shutout.^[29] The United States recovered from their disappointing loss after beating Switzerland 5–1, with Jimmy Snuggerud scoring two.^[30] Slovakia defeated Latvia 3–0, sending Slovakia to the quarter-finals and sending Latvia to the relegation round.^[31] By the end of regulation time, Switzerland and Slovakia tied at a score of 3–3. Despite Switzerland winning another shootout, their placement was not affected, and finished 4th place in the group. Both teams qualified for the quarter-finals.^[32] The United States won the group after defeating Finland 6–2. Although they lost the match, Finland still finished above Slovakia due to their head-to-head result.^[33][34]

Pos	Team	Pld	W	OTW	OTL	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	United States	4	3	0	0	1	19	11	+8	9	Quarterfinals
2	Finland	4	2	0	1	1	12	11	+1	7[a]
3	Slovakia	4	2	0	1	1	14	12	+2	7[a]
4	Switzerland	4	0	3	0	1	11	12	−1	6
5	Latvia	4	0	0	1	3	4	14	−10	1	Relegation playoff

Source: IIHF
Notes:

1. Finland 5–2 Slovakia

26 December 2022 12:00

Finland

2–3 OT (0–0, 1–1, 1–1) (OT: 0–1)

Switzerland

Avenir Centre, Moncton Attendance: 4,465

Game reference
	Aku Koskenvuo	Goalies	Kevin Pasche	Referees: Richard Magnusson Peter Schlittenhardt Linesmen: Onni Hautamaki David Klouček
	K. Kapanen (Väisänen, Paivarinta) – 22:24 1–0 1–1 32:54 – Canonica (Taibel) 1–2 44:43 – Jabola (Age, Taibel) Väisänen (Paivarinta, Ervasti) – 48:09 2–2 2–3 60:41 – Biasca (Bischel)
	2 min	Penalties	4 min
	16	Shots	27

26 December 2022 17:00

Latvia

2–5 (0–0, 2–2, 0–3)

United States

Avenir Centre, Moncton Attendance: 4,927

Game reference
	Patriks Bērziņš	Goalies	Trey Augustine	Referees: Marc Iwert Mathieu Menniti Linesmen: Clement Goncalves Shawn Oliver
	0–1 20:24 – Snuggerud (Cooley) Ravinskis (Rullers, Ozoliņš) – 24:59 1–1 1–2 29:17 – Behrens (Savage, Duke) Feņenko (Rullers) – 34:24 2–2 2–3 41:57 – Lucius (Behrens, Blake) 2–4 46:48 – Savage (Duke) 2–5 53:29 – Hughes (Peart, Stramel)
	4 min	Penalties	2 min
	17	Shots	46

---

27 December 2022 12:00

Finland

5–2 (1–1, 3–0, 1–1)

Slovakia

Avenir Centre, Moncton Attendance: 4,617

Game reference
	Jani Lampinen	Goalies	Patrik Andrisík Matej Marinov	Referees: Peter Schlittenhardt Jakub Šindel Linesmen: Brandon Grillo David Klouček
	Paivarinta (Suomi, Ervasti) – 08:54 1–0 1–1 19:49 – Repčík (Dvorský, Štrbák) (PP) Kemell (Koivunen, Salin) – 23:34 2–1 O. Kapanen (Kemell) – 27:45 3–1 Nyman (Vilen, O. Kapanen) (PP) – 33:56 4–1 4–2 43:22 – Repčík (Štrbák, Čiernik) (PP) Lambert (Ervasti) – 45:01 5–2
	6 min	Penalties	2 min
	23	Shots	24

27 December 2022 17:00

Switzerland

3–2 GWS (1–1, 0–1, 1–0) (OT: 0–0) (SO: 2–1)

Latvia

Avenir Centre, Moncton Attendance: 3,812

Game reference
	Kevin Pasche	Goalies	Patriks Bērziņš	Referees: Mathieu Menniti Anssi Salonen Linesmen: Onni Hautamäki Shawn Oliver
	Robin (Zanetti) – 08:20 1–0 1–1 13:03 – Ločmelis (Ozoliņš) 1–2 37:50 – Dukurs (Laviņš, Ozoliņš) Dionicio (Biasca, Bichsel) (EA) – 58:04 2–2
	Biasca Robin Reichle Dionicio Taibel Biasca Reichle	Shootout	Ločmelis Rullers Bukarts Dukurs Vilmanis Ločmelis Dukurs
	18 min	Penalties	6 min
	30	Shots	18

---

28 December 2022 17:00

Slovakia

6–3 (1–2, 3–0, 2–1)

United States

Avenir Centre, Moncton Attendance: 6,438

Game reference
	Adam Gajan	Goalies	Kaidan Mbereko	Referees: Richard Magnusson Anssi Salonen Linesmen: Clement Goncalves Brandon Grillo
	L. Nemec (Žlnka, Š. Nemec) – 02:14 1–0 1–1 04:42 – Boucher (McGroarty, Gauthier) (PP) 1–2 06:48 – Brindley (Hutson, Stramel) Dvorský (Štrbák, Repčík) (PP) – 30:01 2–2 Bačo (Groch, Kmec) – 31:48 3–2 Mešár (Š. Nemec, Sotek) – 33:20 4–2 Repčík (Kmec) – 50:46 5–2 5–3 55:08 – Boucher (Gauthier, Cooley) (PP) Čiernik (Š. Nemec) (ENG) – 58:53 6–3
	33 min	Penalties	29 min
	26	Shots	36

---

29 December 2022 12:00

Latvia

0–3 (0–1, 0–1, 0–1)

Finland

Avenir Centre, Moncton Attendance: 4,081

Game reference
	Patriks Bērziņš	Goalies	Jani Lampinen	Referees: Graeden Hamilton Michael Scherrig Linesmen: Clement Goncalves Tarrington Wyonzek
	0–1 04:43 – Nyman (Malinen, Salin) 0–2 29:34 – Huuhtanen (Nyman, Salin) 0–3 57:45 – K. Kapanen (Paivarinta) (ENG)
	6 min	Penalties	10 min
	31	Shots	29

29 December 2022 17:00

United States

5–1 (1–0, 3–1, 1–0)

Switzerland

Avenir Centre, Moncton Attendance: 7,024

Game reference
	Trey Augustine	Goalies	Alessio Beglieri	Referees: Michael Campbell Tomáš Hronský Linesmen: Spencer Knox Patrick Laguzov
	Snuggerud (Cooley, Gauthier) – 18:05 1–0 Cooley (McGroarty, Gauthier) (PP) – 25:49 2–0 Snuggerud (Blake, Ufko) (PP) – 36:40 3–0 Boucher (Chesley, Lipkin) – 38:02 4–0 4–1 39:32 – Biasca (Canonica) Hughes (Behrens, Savage) – 53:03 5–1
	8 min	Penalties	8 min
	42	Shots	19

---

30 December 2022 12:00

Slovakia

3–0 (1–0, 0–0, 2–0)

Latvia

Avenir Centre, Moncton Attendance: 3,878

Game reference
	Adam Gajan	Goalies	Patriks Bērziņš	Referees: Andreas Harnebring Riley Yerkovich Linesmen: Daniel Persson Tarrington Wyonzek
	Čiernik (Repčík, Dvorský) (PP) – 17:52 1–0 Š. Nemec (Mešár, L. Nemec) – 49:03 2–0 Mešár (ENG) - 57:03 3–0
	6 min	Penalties	6 min
	26	Shots	28

---

31 December 2022 12:00

Switzerland

4–3 GWS (0–1, 1–2, 2–0) (OT: 0–0) (SO: 3–2)

Slovakia

Avenir Centre, Moncton Attendance: 4,849

Game reference
	Kevin Pasche	Goalies	Adam Gajan	Referees: Graeden Hamilton Marc Iwert Linesmen: Spencer Knox Patrick Laguzov
	0–1 04:11 – Sýkora (Bečár, Nátny) Reichle (Taibel, Streule) – 21:07 1–1 1–2 37:20 – Petrovský (L. Nemec, Mešár) 1–3 38:09 – Petrovský (Mešár, L. Nemec) Ramel (Reichle, Müller) – 42:20 2–3 Canonica (Biasca, Robin) (PP) – 48:40 3–3
	Biasca Reichle Despont Ramel Müller Biasca Reichle Canonica Canonica Dionicio	Shootout	Petrovský Mešár Dvorský Repčík Sýkora Petrovský Mišiak Mešár Repčík Dvorský
	2 min	Penalties	6 min
	36	Shots	32

31 December 2022 17:00

United States

6–2 (1–1, 3–1, 2–0)

Finland

Avenir Centre, Moncton Attendance: 8,231

Game reference
	Trey Augustine	Goalies	Aku Koskenvuo	Referees: Michael Campbell Andreas Harnebring Linesmen: Daniel Persson Tarrington Wyonzek
	Lucius (Ufko, Blake) – 15:22 1–0 1–1 16:27 – Kemell (Heimosalmi, Hameenaho) (PP) McGroarty (Hughes, Augustine) (PP) – 24:57 2–1 Snuggerud – 29:02 3–1 Hughes (Cooley, Snuggerud) – 34:48 4–1 4–2 35:15 – Hameenaho (Huutanen, Heimosalmi) Cooley (Snuggerud, Gauthier) – 43:55 5–2 Hutson (Snuggerud, Cooley) – 56:15 6–2
	10 min	Penalties	6 min
	30	Shots	31

Relegation

2 January 2023 10:30

Latvia

5–2 (1–2, 1–0, 3–0)

Austria

Scotiabank Centre, Halifax Attendance: 4,879

Game reference
	Patriks Bērziņš	Goalies	Thomas Pfarrmaier	Referees: Anssi Salonen Peter Schlittenhardt Linesmen: Onni Hautamäki Shawn Oliver
	0–1 05:20 – Auer (Scherzer, Sablatting) Ločmelis (Ozoliņš, Laviņš) (PP) – 16:16 1–1 1–2 17:53 – Rohrer (Scherzer, Auer) Veckaktiņš (Simanovičs, Hodass) – 37:01 2–2 Veckaktiņš (Simanovičs) – 48:50 3–2 Vilmanis (Veinbergs, Hodass) (PP) – 51:22 4–2 Hodass (Feņenko) (ENG) – 58:54 5–2
	6 min	Penalties	31 min
	46	Shots	13

---

4 January 2023 11:00

Austria

2–4 (0–1, 0–2, 2–1)

Latvia

Scotiabank Centre, Halifax Attendance: 3,456

Game reference
	Thomas Pfarrmaier	Goalies	Patriks Bērziņš	Referees: Andreas Harnebring Mathieu Menniti Linesmen: Clément Goncalves Daniel Persson
	0–1 06:40 – Hodass (Bukarts, Purmalis) 0–2 36:12 – Silkalns (Simanovičs) 0–3 37:51 – Ločmelis (Ravinskis) 0–4 44:33 – Vilmanis (Laviņš, Bogdans) Auer (Rohrer, Reinbacher) (EA) – 55:16 1–4 van Ee (Scherzer, Reinbacher) (EA) – 57:25 2–4
	2 min	Penalties	2 min
	34	Shots	19

Note:  Austria was relegated to the 2024 Division I A.

Playoff round

Teams that won their quarterfinal match were reseeded for the semi-finals in accordance with the following ranking system:^[35]

1. Higher position in their respective group
2. Greater number of points
3. Better goal differential (GD)
4. Greater number of goals scored (GF)
5. Higher seeding coming into the tournament (As determined by their final placement at the 2022 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships).

Rank	Team	Group	Pos	Pts	GD	GF	Seed
1	Czechia	A	1	10	+18	24	4
2	United States	B	1	9	+8	19	5
3	Canada	A	2	9	+21	29	1
4	Finland	B	2	7	+1	12	2
5	Sweden	A	3	8	+9	16	3
6	Slovakia	B	3	7	+2	14	9
7	Switzerland	B	4	6	–1	11	8
8	Germany	A	4	3	–15	7	6

Bracket

	Quarterfinals				Semifinals				Final
	2 January – Scotiabank Centre
	1A  Czechia	9
					4 January – Scotiabank Centre
	4B   Switzerland	1
					1  Czechia (OT)	2
	2 January – Avenir Centre
					5  Sweden	1
	2B  Finland	2
									5 January – Scotiabank Centre
	3A  Sweden	3
									1  Czechia	2
	2 January – Avenir Centre
									3  Canada (OT)	3
	1B  United States	11
					4 January – Scotiabank Centre
	4A  Germany	1
					2  United States	2
	2 January – Scotiabank Centre
					3  Canada	6			Third place
	2A  Canada (OT)	4
									5 January – Scotiabank Centre
	3B  Slovakia	3
									2  United States (OT)	8
									5  Sweden	7

Quarterfinals

Oliver Kapanen scored early against Sweden to give the lead to Finland, with Leo Carlsson levelling the scores by the second period. Despite Niko Huuhtanen once again putting the Finns ahead, Carlsson and Victor Stjernborg both scored for the Swedes to complete the comeback and win the match 3–2.^[36] Top seed Czechia defeated Switzerland 9–1, scoring 4 goals in the second period. They advanced to their first semi-finals since 2022.^[37] The United States put 11 past Nikita Quapp and Rihards Babulis in a convincing 11–1 victory, with Logan Cooley earning a hat-trick.^[38] A back-and-forth match between Canada and Slovakia saw both teams with 3 goals by the end of regulation, sending the match to overtime. Connor Bedard scored the winner in the 65th minute after weaving his way past multiple Slovak defenders. This marked his 3rd point of the match and his 21st of the tournament, maintaining his World Juniors record.^{[39][40][41][42]}

2 January 2023 12:00

Finland

2–3 (1–1, 0–0, 1–2)

Sweden

Avenir Centre, Moncton Attendance: 7,263

Game reference
	Jani Lampinen	Goalies	Carl Lindbom	Referees: Graeden Hamilton Michael Tscherrig Linesmen: Brandon Grillo Tarrington Wynozek
	O. Kapanen (Kemell, Koivunen) – 03:10 1–0 1–1 16:55 – Carlsson (Jansson, Bystedt) Huuhtanen (Miettinen) – 44:03 2–1 2–2 56:33 – Carlsson (Bystedt, Wagner) 2–3 58:55 – Stjernborg (SH)
	6 min	Penalties	6 min
	35	Shots	20

2 January 2023 14:30

Czechia

9–1 (3–1, 4–0, 2–0)

Switzerland

Scotiabank Centre, Halifax Attendance: 8,746

Game reference
	Tomáš Suchánek	Goalies	Kevin Pasche Alessio Beglieri	Referees: Michael Campbell Mathieu Meniniti Linesmen: Patrick Laguzov Daniel Persson
	0–1 00:22 – Robin Kulich (Svozil, Suchánek) – 02:41 1–1 Marcel (SH) – 07:09 2–1 Hauser (Marcel, Kos) – 09:37 3–1 Jiříček (Kulich) – 20:28 4–1 Kulich (Šalé, Brabenec) – 25:42 5–1 Szturc (Svozil, Brabenec) – 33:10 6–1 Šalé (Kulich) – 38:54 7–1 Marcel (Čech, Ticháček) – 43:18 8–1 Szturc (Ticháček, Jiříček) – 44:22 9–1
	10 min	Penalties	4 min
	28	Shots	18

2 January 2023 17:00

United States

11–1 (3–0, 5–0, 3–1)

Germany

Avenir Centre, Moncton Attendance: 7,262

Game reference
	Trey Augustine Andrew Oke	Goalies	Nikita Quapp Rihards Babulis	Referees: Andreas Harnebring Tomas Hronský Linesmen: Spencer Knox Daniel Konc
	Cooley (Ufko, Snuggerud) – 03:51 1–0 Snuggerud (Ufko, Lucius) (PP) – 08:00 2–0 Savage (Ufko, Peart) – 08:39 3–0 Blake (Lucius, McGroarty) – 29:05 4–0 Cooley (Ufko, Peart) – 31:03 5–0 Gauthier (Mittlestadt) – 31:21 6–0 Savage (Brindley, Mittlestadt) (SH) – 35:25 7–0 Gauthier (Snuggerud, Cooley) – 37:24 8–0 Connors (Duke, Hutson) – 44:36 9–0 Cooley (Gauthier, Mittlestadt) – 46:53 10–0 Duke (Ufko, Boucher) – 48:31 11–0 11–1 56:48 – Hauf (SH)
	4 min	Penalties	6 min
	41	Shots	22

2 January 2023 19:30

Canada

4–3 OT (1–0, 2–2, 0–1) (OT: 1–0)

Slovakia

Scotiabank Centre, Halifax Attendance: 10,349

Game reference
	Thomas Milic	Goalies	Adam Gajan	Referees: Marc Iwert Jakub Šindel Linesmen: David Klouček John Waleski
	Bedard (Stankoven) – 06:07 1–0 Guenther (Othmann, Bedard) (PP) – 25:02 2–0 2–1 26:58 – L. Nemec (S. Nemec, Petrovský) (PP) Ostapchuk (Dean, Gaucher) – 29:00 3–1 3–2 33:18 – Bačo (Repčík, Nátny) 3–3 51:25 – L. Nemec (Mešár, Groch) Bedard – 65:17 4–3
	6 min	Penalties	12 min
	57	Shots	27

Semifinals

In their second meeting in the tournament, Czechia advanced to their first final since 2001 after defeating Sweden 2–1. Ludvig Jansson scored first for Sweden, but David Jiříček equalized with less than a minute of regulation time. In the last minute of overtime, just as the match was about to go to a shootout, Jiří Kulich scored to send Czechia to the final.^[43][44] Canada made a statement against rivals United States by beating them 6–2, sending Canada to their 4th consecutive World Juniors final. Despite United States leading 2–0 after 10 minutes, Canada soon found their form and scored 6 past the Americans.^[45][46]

4 January 2023 15:30

Czechia

2–1 OT (0–0, 0–1, 1–0) (OT: 1–0)

Sweden

Scotiabank Centre, Halifax Attendance: 9,265

Game reference
	Tomáš Suchánek	Goalies	Carl Lindbom	Referees: Michael Campbell Graeden Hamilton Linesmen: Brandon Grillo Tarrington Wynozek
	0–1 21:39 – Jansson (E. Pettersson, Östlund) Jiříček (Špaček, Szturc) (EA) – 59:21 1–1 Kulich (Šapovaliv, Špaček) – 69:10 2–1
	8 min	Penalties	4 min
	31	Shots	22

4 January 2023 19:30

United States

2–6 (2–1, 0–3, 0–2)

Canada

Scotiabank Centre, Halifax Attendance: 10,636

Game reference
	Trey Augustine Kaidan Mbereko	Goalies	Thomas Milic	Referees: Anssi Salonen Michaël Tscherrig Linesmen: Onni Hautamäki Patrick Laguzov
	Cooley (Ufko, Snuggerud) – 01:19 1–0 Connors (Stramel, Brindley) – 10:30 2–0 2–1 11:49 – Bedard (Del Mastro, Roy) 2–2 20:47 – Stankoven (Roy, Clarke) 2–3 25:46 – Fantilli (Dean, Zellweger) 2–4 32:20 – Roy (Stankoven, Bedard) 2–5 49:45 – Clarke (Fantilli, Beck) 2–6 56:45 – Roy (SH,ENG)
	6 min	Penalties	10 min
	45	Shots	37

Bronze medal game

The United States defeated Sweden in an 8–7 thriller, the most goals in a single World Juniors match since an 18-goal match between Canada and Germany in 2021. Chaz Lucius scored a hat-trick after a deflection off Swedish goaltender Carl Lindbom found its way to Lucius, who slotted it in the side netting to score the winning goal in overtime.^[47][48][49]

5 January 2023 15:30

United States

8–7 OT (1–0, 4–5, 2–2) (OT: 1–0)

Sweden

Scotiabank Centre, Halifax Attendance: 9,031

Game reference
	Trey Augustine Kaidan Mbereko	Goalies	Carl Lindbom	Referees: Michael Campbell Graeden Hamilton Linesmen: Onni Hautamäki Daniel Persson
	Cooley (Snuggerud) – 02:51 1–0 Ufko (Snuggerud, Blake) (PP) – 21:51 2–0 2–1 23:33 – Bystedt (Lekkerimäki, Rosén) Lucius (Blake) – 25:04 3–1 3–2 26:35 – O. Pettersson (Sandin-Pellikka) 3–3 28:52 – Carlsson (Wagner, Bystedt) Gauthier (Cooley, McGroarty) (PP) – 30:42 4–3 Lucius (Ufko) – 33:37 5–3 5–4 38:52 – Oscarson (Carlsson, Jansson) (PP) 5–5 39:18 – Öhgren 5–6 44:00 – Östlund (E. Pettersson, Strömgren) Hughes (McGroarty) – 48:17 6–6 Gauthier (McGroarty, Brindley) (PP) – 58:23 7–6 7–7 59:38 – Bystedt (Rosén, Jansson) (EA) Lucius (Hutson, Savage) – 62:06 8–7
	6 min	Penalties	33 min
	36	Shots	36

Gold medal game

Canada lead 1–0 in the first period and managed a 2–0 lead in the second. Czechia would tie the game in the third period, sending the match into overtime. Dylan Guenther would score the overtime winner to earn the 20th gold medal for Canada.

5 January 2023 19:30

Czechia

2–3 OT (0–1, 0–1, 2–0) (OT: 0–1)

Canada

Scotiabank Centre, Halifax Attendance: 10,735

Game reference
	Tomáš Suchánek	Goalies	Thomas Milic	Referees: Andreas Harnebring Anssi Salonen Linesmen: Brandon Grillo Tarrington Wyonzek
	0–1 12:41 – Guenther (Clarke, Othmann) (PP) 0–2 24:35 – Wright (Guenther, Othmann) Kulich (Šalé, Šapovaliv) – 52:30 1–2 Kos (Hamara) – 53:24 2–2 2–3 66:22 – Guenther (Roy, Clarke)
	4 min	Penalties	6 min
	26	Shots	38

Statistics

Scoring leaders

Pos	Player	Country	GP	G	A	Pts	+/−	PIM
1	Connor Bedard	Canada	7	9	14	23	+14	2
2	Logan Cooley	United States	7	7	7	14	+3	2
3	Jimmy Snuggerud	United States	7	5	8	13	+5	2
4	Joshua Roy	Canada	7	5	6	11	+14	0
5	Logan Stankoven	Canada	7	3	8	11	+12	0
6	Dylan Guenther	Canada	7	7	3	10	–1	4
7	Filip Bystedt	Sweden	7	4	6	10	+8	4
7	Cutter Gauthier	United States	7	4	6	10	+4	2
7	Ludvig Jansson	Sweden	7	4	6	10	+9	4
10	Ryan Ufko	United States	7	1	9	10	+3	2

GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; +/− = Plus–minus; PIM = Penalties In Minutes
Source: IIHF.com

Goaltending leaders

(minimum 40% team's total ice time)

Pos	Player	Country	TOI	GA	GAA	SA	Sv%	SO
1	Adam Gajan	Slovakia	250:15	10	2.40	156	93.59	1
2	Tomáš Suchánek	Czechia	435:13	11	1.52	167	93.41	1
3	Jani Lampinen	Finland	179:00	5	1.68	75	93.33	1
4	Thomas Milic	Canada	340:01	10	1.76	147	93.20	0
5	Carl Lindbom	Sweden	439:42	19	2.59	222	91.44	2

TOI = Time on ice (minutes:seconds); GA = Goals against; GAA = Goals against average; SA = Shots against; Sv% = Save percentage; SO = Shutouts
Source: IIHF.com

Awards

• Best players selected by the directorate:
  • Best Goaltender: Adam Gajan
  • Best Defenceman: David Jiříček
  • Best Forward: Connor Bedard

Source: IIHF

• Media All-Stars:
  • MVP: Connor Bedard
  • Goaltender: Tomáš Suchánek
  • Defencemen: David Jiříček / Ludvig Jansson
  • Forwards: Logan Cooley / Jiří Kulich / Connor Bedard

Source: IIHF

Final standings

Pos	Grp	Team	Pld	W	OTW	OTL	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Final result
1	A	Canada (H)	7	4	2	0	1	42	15	+27	16	Champions
2	A	Czechia	7	4	1	2	0	37	11	+26	16	Runners-up
3	B	United States	7	4	1	0	2	40	25	+15	14	Third place
4	A	Sweden	7	3	1	2	1	27	19	+8	13	Fourth place
5	B	Finland	5	2	0	1	2	14	14	0	7	Eliminated in quarter-finals
6	B	Slovakia	5	2	0	2	1	17	16	+1	8
7	B	Switzerland	5	0	3	0	2	12	21	−9	6
8	A	Germany	5	1	0	0	4	8	33	−25	3
9	B	Latvia	6	2	0	1	3	13	18	−5	7	Avoided relegation
10	A	Austria	6	0	0	0	6	6	44	−38	0	Relegated to the 2024 Division I A

Source: IIHF
(H) Host

Division I

Further information: 2023 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships – Division I

Group A

The Division I Group A tournament was played in Asker, Norway, from December 11 to 17, 2022.^[50][51]

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	OTW	OTL	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Promotion or relegation
1	Norway (H)	5	5	0	0	0	19	8	+11	15	Promoted to the 2024 Top Division
2	Kazakhstan	5	3	0	0	2	14	11	+3	9
3	France	5	2	0	1	2	16	14	+2	7
4	Hungary	5	1	1	1	2	18	18	0	6
5	Denmark	5	1	1	0	3	9	19	−10	5
6	Slovenia	5	1	0	0	4	15	21	−6	3	Relegated to the 2024 Division I B

Source: IIHF
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) head-to-head points; 3) head-to-head goal difference; 4) head-to-head number of goals scored; 5) result against closest best-ranked team outside tied teams; 6) result against second-best-ranked team outside tied teams; 7) seeding before tournament.
(H) Host

Group B

The Division I Group B tournament was played in Bytom, Poland, from December 11 to 17, 2022.^[52][53]

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	OTW	OTL	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Promotion or relegation
1	Japan	5	4	0	1	0	25	16	+9	13	Promoted to the 2024 Division I A
2	Ukraine	5	4	0	0	1	23	12	+11	12
3	Italy	5	2	1	0	2	12	13	−1	8
4	Poland (H)	5	1	1	0	3	21	19	+2	5
5	Estonia	5	1	0	1	3	11	14	−3	4
6	South Korea	5	1	0	0	4	12	30	−18	3	Relegated to the 2024 Division II A

Source: IIHF
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) head-to-head points; 3) head-to-head goal difference; 4) head-to-head number of goals scored; 5) result against closest best-ranked team outside tied teams; 6) result against second-best-ranked team outside tied teams; 7) seeding before tournament.
(H) Host

Division II

Further information: 2023 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships – Division II

Group A

The Division II Group A tournament was played in Kaunas, Lithuania, from December 11 to 17, 2022.^[54][55]

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	OTW	OTL	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Promotion or relegation
1	Croatia	5	3	1	1	0	25	17	+8	12[a]	Promoted to the 2024 Division I B
2	Great Britain	5	4	0	0	1	27	11	+16	12[a]
3	Lithuania (H)	5	3	0	1	1	15	9	+6	10
4	Spain	5	2	0	0	3	18	20	−2	6
5	Netherlands	5	1	1	0	3	11	21	−10	5
6	Romania	5	0	0	0	5	11	29	−18	0	Relegated to the 2024 Division II B

Source: IIHF
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) head-to-head points; 3) head-to-head goal difference; 4) head-to-head number of goals scored; 5) result against closest best-ranked team outside tied teams; 6) result against second-best-ranked team outside tied teams; 7) seeding before tournament.
(H) Host
Notes:

1. Great Britain 4–7 Croatia

Group B

The Division II Group B tournament was played in Reykjavík, Iceland, from January 16 to 22, 2023.^[56][57]

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	OTW	OTL	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Promotion or relegation
1	China	5	4	1	0	0	29	9	+20	14	Promoted to the 2024 Division II A
2	Belgium	5	4	0	1	0	25	14	+11	13
3	Serbia	5	3	0	0	2	27	18	+9	9
4	Iceland (H)	5	2	0	0	3	18	21	−3	6
5	Chinese Taipei	5	1	0	0	4	17	29	−12	3
6	Mexico	5	0	0	0	5	7	32	−25	0	Relegated to the 2024 Division III

Source: IIHF
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) head-to-head points; 3) head-to-head goal difference; 4) head-to-head number of goals scored; 5) result against closest best-ranked team outside tied teams; 6) result against second-best-ranked team outside tied teams; 7) seeding before tournament.
(H) Host

Division III

Further information: 2023 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships – Division III

The Division III tournament was played in Istanbul, Turkey, from January 26 to February 2, 2023.^[58][59] After the Preliminary round, all teams advanced to the Quarterfinals.

Playoffs

	Quarterfinals				Semifinals				Final
	30 January
	A1  Australia	28
					1 February
	B4  South Africa	0
					1  Israel	6
	30 January
					5  Turkey	4
	B1  Israel	10
									2 February
	A4  Bosnia and Herzegovina	0
									1  Israel	1
	30 January
									2  Australia	4
	A2  Kyrgyzstan	1
					1 February
	B3  Turkey	3
					2  Australia	4
	30 January
					3  Bulgaria	1			3rd place match
	B2  Bulgaria	6
									2 February
	A3  New Zealand	2
									3  Bulgaria	8
									5  Turkey	3

7th place match 1 February 7  Bosnia and Herzegovina 7 8  South Africa 3

5th place match 2 February 4  Kyrgyzstan 2 6  New Zealand 3

Final standings

Rank	Team
	Australia
	Israel
	Bulgaria
4	Turkey
5	New Zealand
6	Kyrgyzstan
7	Bosnia and Herzegovina
8	South Africa

Promoted to the 2024 Division II B

Relegated to the 2024 Division III B