The 2026 World Juniors has the same format it followed in 2025, with two, five-team groups battling it out to get the easiest path through the knockout rounds and reach for the WJC gold medal on January 5.

Can Team USA pull off the three-peat?

FloHockey will be providing coverage throughout including behind the scenes coverage, interviews, and live updates during the games.

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Here's the 2026 IIHF World Juniors tournament format and relegation game explained, plus more information on how to track the action live on FloHockey.

2026 World Juniors Hockey Tournament Format And Relegation Game Explained

Click here to read more info on IIHF.com.

Each year, the top ten ranked hockey nations in the world put together a roster of their best under-20 players to convene for a multi-round tournament to earn the title of IIHF World Junior champion.

In 2026, the tournament follows a similar format to previous seasons. 

WJC uses a three point system:

• 3 points for a winning team at the conclusion of regulation time
• 1points for both teams at the conclusion of regulation time if the game is tied
  • An additional point is earned for the team winning in a 5-minute overtime, or the penalty-shot shootout if the teams are still tied following overtime
• 0 points for a team losing the game in regulation time

Similar to the NHL regular season rules, overtime is played with each team icing three skaters and a goalie.

The tournament starts with two round-robin tournaments five teams each and then moves into single-elimination playoff games.

Ten teams are divided into two, five-team groups in a preliminary round, also called the group stage. After a single round-robin series in each group, the top four teams as scored by points in each group advance to the playoff rounds. 

Relegation Game

The fifth place teams move to the relegation round. The winner will play in the next IIHF World Junior Championship. The loser is relegated to the U20 World Championships Division I Group A.

Quarterfinal & Semifinal Games

Based on placements from the group stage, the remaining eight teams move into single-elimination playoffs to compete in a cross-over quarterfinal game. The top placed team in one group play the lowest placed team from the other group, and so forth.

Heading into the semifinal round, the remaining four teams are reseeded based on the following criteria:

1. Placement in their group
2. Points in the group stage
3. Goal difference in the group stage
4. Goals scored in the group stage
5. Seeding coming into the tournament

Finally, the semifinal winners move into the Gold medal game while the losers play for the bronze medal.

2026 World Junior Championship Schedule

View the full schedule below for the Group Stage and Knockout rounds of the 2026 IIHF World Junior Championship in Minnesota.

Friday, December 26

• 1:00 p.m. ET - Sweden vs Slovakia
• 2:30 p.m. ET - Denmark vs Finland
• 6:00 p.m. ET - Germany vs USA
• 8:30 p.m. ET - Czechia vs Canada

Saturday, December 27

• 2:00 p.m. ET - Slovakia vs Germany
• 4:30 p.m. ET - Latvia vs Canada
• 6:00 p.m. ET - USA vs Switzerland
• 8:30 p.m. ET - Denmark vs Czechia

Sunday, December 28

• 2:00 p.m. ET - Sweden vs Switzerland
• 4:30 p.m. ET - Finland vs Latvia

Monday, December 29

• 1:00 p.m. ET - Germany vs Sweden
• 3:30 p.m. ET - Finland vs Czechia
• 6:00 p.m. ET - Slovakia vs USA
• 8:30 p.m. ET - Canada vs Denmark

Tuesday, December 30

• 2:00 p.m. ET - Switzerland vs Germany
• 4:30 p.m. ET - Latvia vs Denmark

Wednesday, December 31

• 1:00 p.m. ET - Switzerland vs Slovakia
• 3:30 p.m. ET - Czechia vs Latvia
• 6:00 p.m. ET - USA vs Sweden
• 8:30 p.m. ET - Canada vs Finland

Friday, January 2

• 12:30 p.m. ET - Relegation Game
• 2:00 p.m. ET - Quarterfinals Game 1
• 4:30 p.m. ET - Quarterfinals Game 2
• 6:00 p.m. ET - Quarterfinals Game 3
• 8:30 p.m. ET - Quarterfinals Game 4

Sunday, January 4

• 4:30 p.m. ET - Semifinals Game 1
• 8:30 p.m. ET - Semifinals Game 2

Monday, January 5

• 4:30 p.m. ET - Bronze Medal Game
• 8:30 p.m. ET - Gold Medal Game

Team USA World Junior Championship 2026 Schedule

Friday, December 26

• 6:00 p.m. ET - Germany vs USA

Saturday, December 27

• 6:00 p.m. ET - USA vs Switzerland

Monday, December 29

• 6:00 p.m. ET - Slovakia vs USA

Wednesday, December 31

• 6:00 p.m. ET - USA vs Sweden

Team Canada World Junior Championship 2026 Schedule

Friday, December 26

• 8:30 p.m. ET - Czechia vs Canada

Saturday, December 27

• 4:30 p.m. ET - Latvia vs Canada

Monday, December 29

• 8:30 p.m. ET - Canada vs Denmark

Wednesday, December 31

• 8:30 p.m. ET - Canada vs Finland

2026 World Junior Championship Teams

View the list of teams, by group, for the 2026 IIHF World Junior Championship.

Group A

• USA
• Germany
• Switzerland
• Sweden
• Slovakia

Group B

• Canada
• Czechia
• Latvia
• Denmark
• Finland

Follow FloHockey's Coverage Of The 2026 World Junior Championship

FloHockey will be on site for complete coverage of the 2026 IIHF World Junior Championship in St. Paul and Minneapolis, Minnesota. You can expect game-by-game coverage of both Team USA and Team Canada from FloHockey's experts, interviews with key players and coaches and much more. Follow FloHockey's WJC coverage here.

NHL Prospect Coverage On FloHockey

The best, and most complete, coverage of the NHL minor league hockey and NHL Draft is found on FloHockey. Don't miss the latest new prospect guides, rankings and more from Chris Peters and the FloHockey staff.

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