The 2024 WJC is in Gothenburg, Sweden this year.
Where is that?
Gothenburg or Göteborg is on the west coast of Sweden and is the home of Frölunda in the SHL. The German/English name Gothenburg has been in use since the city's founding in the 17th century, and you will mostly hear and see that form of the name.
Gothenburg is six hours ahead of the Eastern Time Zone, so games will be played in the morning to mid-afternoon Toronto time.
Who is in the WJC this year?
As is standard, there are two groups of teams that play in two separate arenas in Gothenburg. The smaller rink, Frölundaborg, will host Group B, who are:
- Czechia
- USA
- Slovakia
- Switzerland
- Norway
The larger rink, the Scandinavium which is the home rink of Frölunda, will host Group A, who are:
- Canada
- Sweden
- Finland
- Germany
- Latvia
Format
The format is as always: the groups play each other once, and then the top four teams in each group cross over for quarterfinals. The semifinals are determined by a re-seeding of the remaining four teams. The losers of the semis play for bronze and the winners are in the gold medal game.
Points are awarded in a three-point system, and the initial overtime format is one five-minute period of three-on-three followed by a shootout if necessary.
In all playoff round games except the gold medal game, the three-on-three overtime is 10 minutes followed by a shootout if necessary.
In the gold medal game, the three-on-three is 20 minute periods until a winning goal is scored. There is a full intermission between each, and no shootout will be used.
In the shootout, once the first five shooters for each team have taken a turn, teams can re-use shooters.
The teams that come last in each group will play off with the loser relegated to Division I Group A. They will be replaced by Kazakhstan, who just won that division tournament in mid-December.
When is it on?
The WJC always starts on Boxing Day and ends in the first week of January. The gold medal game is on January 5, 2024.
Team Canada, featuring the only two Leafs prospects at the event Fraser Minten and Easton Cowan, open against Finland at 8:30 am on December 26, Toronto Time.
The full schedule, results, stats, rosters and standings can be found here:
When the event is in Canada, there is a traditional New Year's Eve game that features Canada and USA if possible. They are in different groups this year, so that game features Germany this time. But it is the last game of the preliminary round and will likely decide the final standings. It's on at 1:30 pm.
The quarterfinals begin on January 2, so nothing interferes with our enjoyment of the first ever game of the PWHL as Toronto hosts New York on New Year's Day.
