Halifax and Moncton, N.B., will host the 2023 world junior hockey championship, giving Canada the unique distinction of hosting the event twice in a span of four months.
Hockey Canada announced Thursday that the elite under-20 tournament will be returning to Atlantic Canada for the first time in 20 years. Halifax and Sydney, N.S., co-hosted the tournament in 2003.
The International Ice Hockey Federation needed to find a new location for the 2023 event after stripping Russia of hosting privileges due to the ongoing war in Ukraine.
The 2023 championship will kick off Dec. 26, just a few months after the 2022 edition wraps up in Edmonton. The tournament will run until Jan. 5, 2023.
The 2022 world juniors in Red Deer, Alta., and Edmonton were cancelled in December after COVID-19 outbreaks sidelined several teams at the tournament.
Edmonton's Rogers Place is serving as the host for a restarted tournament from Aug. 9-20, in partnership with the NHL's Edmonton Oilers.
Hockey Canada said that the results of December's games will not be carried over to this summer's world juniors. Players born in 2002 or later will remain eligible to represent their respective countries.
Hockey Canada has hosted the International Ice Hockey Federation-sanctioned event championship 15 times since its official debut in 1977.
"Hosting the World Juniors twice in less than six months is a unique opportunity for our organization and Canadian hockey fans, and with the IIHF’s need to find a host, we were in the position to entertain bids from passionate hockey communities across the country," Hockey Canada president and chief operating officer Scott Smith said in a statement.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 5, 2022.
The Canadian Press
Note to readers: This is a corrected story. A previous version had the incorrect tournament date.
