After winning four gold medals in the last 12 years, the United States is looking to win back-to-back gold medals for the first time in tournament history at the 2025 IIHF World Junior Championships.

The 10-team event will take place from December 26th to January 5th in Ottawa, Canada. The last time Canada hosted in 2009, Canada capped a streak of five straight gold medals after Jordan Eberle kept the streak alive with a game-winning goal against Russia with less than five seconds left in the semifinals.

The hosts, who lead all nations with 20 gold medals in the tournament’s 48-year history, will be looking to get back on the podium after a disappointing fifth-place finish in Sweden last year.

Russia, including the Soviet Union and the CIS, is in second place with 13 gold medals but will not take part in the fourth consecutive event in 2025. Due to the ongoing war in Ukraine, it is currently banned from all IIHF competitions along with Belarus.

With now six gold medals, the Americans have moved to third place in the all-time rankings. And with 10 players from the 2024 squad returning, they will have a tough time.

This year’s tournament format remains the same as it has been for more than a decade. Ten teams will compete in two round-robin groups until New Year’s Eve. The top four teams from each group then advance to the one-game crossover knockout round, which takes place on January 2nd. The semi-finals will then take place on January 4th and the medal games on January 5th.

Games will be broadcast on TSN in Canada and NHL Network in the U.S., with staggered start times each day.

It all starts with Sweden taking on Slovakia on Tuesday, December 26th at 12pm ET, with three more games to follow. A highlight is likely to be Canada against the USA on New Year’s Eve (8:00 p.m. ET), which marks the end of the preliminary round and could very well determine the first place in Group A.

Here’s a look at the two round-robin groups.

Group A

Group A will play its round-robin games at the Canadian Tire Centre, home of the NHL’s Ottawa Senators.

Defending champion Team USA is the top seed, completing a veteran roster that includes 22 players drafted by NHL teams. That list includes captain Ryan Leonard, a returner selected eighth overall by the Washington Capitals in 2023, as well as fellow returner and 12th overall pick in 2024 Zeev Buium on the blue line.

In net, 2023 second-rounder Trey Augustine returns for his third World Junior Championship. David Carle also returns as coach after winning his second national championship in the last three years at the University of Denver in 2024.

The US squad also includes striker James Hagens, who is in the running for number 1 in the 2025 NHL Draft. However, the Americans are missing 19-year-old striker Will Smith. Smith was drafted fourth overall in 2023 and has accepted a full-time position with the San Jose Sharks this season.

Finland enters the tournament as the fourth seed after losing to the Czech Republic in the 2024 bronze medal game. The returnees include forwards Konsta Helenius and Emil Henning, both first-round selections in the 2024 draft.

Only four Canadians return from their 2024 squad: captain Brayden Yager, fellow forwards Easton Cowan and Carson Rehkopf, and defenseman Oliver Bonk. Another defenseman, Tanner Molendyk, was named to the 2024 squad but missed the tournament due to injury.

After last year’s disappointment, the Canadians have something to prove in front of their home fans, who were the deciding factor in gold medal wins in Halifax and Moncton in 2023. The Canadians look deep into the goal, where 18-year-old Carter George has already won gold at the Hlinka-Gretzky Cup and the U18 World Championship. It looks like George will get the nod to start Canada’s first game against Finland on Boxing Day, supported by Carson Bjarnason and draft-eligible Jack Ivankovic.

Canada’s 2024 roster looks deep and includes another prodigy in potential 2026 first-over pick Gavin McKenna, as well as two tantalizing talents in defenseman Matthew Schaefer and forward Porter Martone who are eligible for the 2025 draft. Although they are still technically eligible for the tournament, teenagers Connor Bedard, Macklin Celebrini and Zach Benson have all remained with their NHL teams.

The other two squads in Group A are Latvia (No. 8) and Germany (No. 9).

Group B

Group B will play its round-robin games at TD Place, home of the Ottawa 67’s of the OHL and the Ottawa Charge of the PWHL.

This group is led by No. 2 seed Sweden after reaching the gold medal game on home soil last season – its best result since 2018. While the Swedes have been consistently strong in the round-robin, they have had a tough time the medal rounds and have only won two gold medals in the history of the World Junior Championships.

After beating Finland to secure the bronze medal in 2024, the Czechs come to Ottawa with a little less firepower than in recent years. After just a mediocre performance in his tournament debut in 2024 as an 18-year-old, the 1.80 meter tall goalkeeper Michael Hrabal has what it takes to make the difference.

Rounding out Group B are No. 6 Slovakia, No. 7 Switzerland and No. 11 Khazakhstan, who are from Div. rose. 1A in 2024.