Rivalries headline must-see World Junior games on TSN
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Hockey rivalries will be renewed once again as the 2024 World Junior Championship begins on Boxing Day from Gothenburg, Sweden.
Watch every game of the 2024 World Junior Tournament LIVE on TSN, TSN.ca, and the TSN App.
The tournament, being held from Dec. 26 - Jan 5, consists of two groups with five teams each.
Canada will be a part of Group A which holds Sweden, Finland, Germany and Latvia while Group B consists of the United States, Czechia, Switzerland, Slovakia, and Norway.
The top four teams in each group move to the quarter-finals where they will crossover.
Here is a look at some of the must-see matchups during group play.
Canada opens versus Finland
Team Canada begins their quest for a third straight gold medal against Finland in the tournament opener on Boxing Day.
This game is a rematch of the 2022 gold-medal game between the two clubs that ended with Columbus Blue Jackets forward Kent Johnson scoring an overtime winner to secure the win for Canada.
Last year, Canada went 6-1-0 in the tournament, culminating in Arizona Coyotes prospect Dylan Guenther scoring the golden goal over Czechia to become back-to-back champions.
Canada will be led by Boston Bruins prospect Matt Poitras, who is fresh off his 27-game stint in the NHL where he scored five goals and 13 points.
The eyes of the NHL scouts will also be on 2024 draft prospect Macklin Celebrini, who leads the NCAA's Boston University with 10 goals and 25 points in 15 games.
Finland went 3-1-1 last year and were knocked out by Nordic-rival Sweden in the quarter-finals
Canada moves on to take on Sweden on Dec. 29 in their third game of the round robin.
Sweden is aiming for a gold medal at home and break a 12-year drought at the World Juniors, despite some very strong teams.
Last year, Sweden fell in a heart-breaking 2-1 overtime loss to Czechia in the semifinals and then lost a rollercoaster bronze-medal game 8-7 in overtime that saw five lead changes, including two goals in the final two minutes of the third period.
United States vs. Czechia
Group B could end up being decided on Dec. 29 when powerhouse United States takes on last year's runner up Czechia in the round-robin.
Czechia found themselves in the gold-medal game after routing Switzerland 9-1 in the quarter-finals and surviving Sweden 2-1 in overtime in the semifinals.
The Czechs rallied from a two-goal deficit in the third period against Canada in the final before eventually losing in overtime.
Seattle Kraken prospect Eduard Sale is one of six returning players at this year's tournament while eyes will be on defenceman Adam Jiricek, who is ranked No. 7 in TSN's Director of Scouting Craig Button's draft list for the 2024 draft.
The United States routed Germany 11-1 in the quarter-finals but fell to Canada 6-2 in the semifinals to force the Americans to play for third.
USA took home the bronze medal after surviving a highly offensive, back-and forth game against Sweden.
The Americans are headlined by Montreal Canadiens prospect Lane Hutson and Philadelphia Flyers prospect Cutter Gauthier, who are both returning from last year's squad.
Fans also have an opportunity to see 2025 NHL prospect James Hagens, who has 13 goals and 38 points in 24 games with the U.S. National Under-18 Team.
A New Year's Tradition
Archrivals Sweden and Finland wrap up their round-robin portion of the tournament against each other to highlight New Year's Eve action.
Finland will be looking for revenge after falling to Sweden 3-2 in the quarter-finals to place them fifth in last year's tournament.
They will be headlined by 2024 top prospects Konsta Helenius and Emil Hemming, who rank fifth and 12th on Button's November draft list respectively.
Sweden is hosting the tournament for the first time since 2014 and have failed to make the gold medal game in the last three years.
The Swedes have a number of NHL prospects littering their roster including Detroit Red Wings 2023 first-round selection Axel Sandin Pellikka and Vancouver Canucks 2022 first-round pick Jonathan Lekkerimaki.
The entire World Junior Tournament Schedule can be found here.