Hockey fans, the wait is finally over. The presents have been unwrapped, the stockings have been taken down from the fireplace and the Christmas dinner has turned into leftovers.
That all can only mean one thing — the 2024 World Juniors are here.
The annual international competition begins on Boxing Day from Gothenburg, Sweden this year, with 10 of the top U20 teams from around the world competing for a gold medal. The IIHF tournament features the future stars of the NHL, as over 100 draft picks are going to be participating at the World Juniors.
Competing at the tournament is a mix of prospects from the 2022 and 2023 NHL Draft classes, highlight by top-10 picks Cutter Gauthier (USA), Ryan Leonard (USA), Will Smith (USA), Nate Danielson (Canada), Matthew Savoie (Canada) and Dalibor Dvorsky (Slovakia).
In addition, there are a select few from the upcoming 2024 draft, including anticipated No. 1 pick Macklin Celebrini (Canada) and potential top-10 picks in Konsta Helenius (Finland) and Michael Brandsegg-Nygard (Norway).
BET NOW:2024 World Juniors championship odds at Sports Interaction
The Sporting News has fans covered on the latest results and standings from the 2024 World Juniors
Here is how the medal round is shaping up at the 2024 World Juniors:
Here is how the medal round is shaping up at the 2024 World Juniors:
Gold: USA
Silver: Sweden
Bronze: Czechia
— Sweden vs. USA
— Czechia vs. Finland
— Sweden vs. Czechia
— USA vs. Finland
— 1A Sweden vs. 4B Switzerland
— 1B USA vs. 4A Latvia
— 2A Canada vs. 3B Czechia
* = advances to knockout stage
** = plays in relegation game
Teams will play four preliminary games in a round-robin format within their group, followed by a three-round playoff.
In the group stage, teams earn three points for a regulation win, two points for an overtime win, one point for an overtime loss and no points for a regulation loss.
The top four teams from each group advance to the quarterfinals, where the matchups are determined by seeding. They will cross over between groups for these games: 1A vs. 4B, 1B vs. 4A, 2A vs. 3B and 2B vs. 3A. The teams that advance to the semifinals will be reseeded.
MORE: Top 10 NHL prospects to know at the 2024 World Juniors
The winners of the semifinals will face off in the gold medal game. The losers will play for bronze.
Heading into the tournament, it is a four-horse race between USA, Canada, Sweden and Finland for gold, according to the oddsmakers.
Here is a look at the odds to win the 2024 World Juniors before the beginning of the tournament courtesy of Sports Interaction:
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Bryan Murphy is an NHL content producer at The Sporting News.
