What: Junior World Ice Hockey Championships, men's.
Where: Minneapolis/Saint Paul, Minnesota, USA.
When: December 26-January 6.
TV: SVT broadcasts Sweden's matches.
+ Sweden plays here
Sweden is in Group A along with the home nation USA, Slovakia, Germany and Switzerland. All matches in the group will be played in the main arena, Grand Casino Arena, also the home arena of the NHL team Minnesota, with space for over 18,000 spectators.
+ Sweden's matches
Group stage:
December 26 at 7:00 PM (Swedish time): Sweden–Slovakia.
28/12 at 8:00 PM: Sweden–Switzerland.
29/12 19:00: Germany–Sweden.
1/1 00:00: USA–Sweden.
Quarterfinals will be played on January 2 and 3, semifinals on January 4 and 5, the bronze medal match on January 5 and the final on January 6.
+ 13 years of gold drought
It has been 13 years since Sweden last won gold at the Junior World Championships when Mika Zibanejad won the final against Russia in extra time in Calgary in 2012. Here are Sweden's rankings in recent years:
2025: 4, 2024: silver, 2023: 4, 2022: bronze, 2021: 5, 2020: bronze, 2019: 5, 2018: silver.
+ Talented team to challenge
National team captain Magnus Hävelid says his team will challenge the USA and Canada for gold. "We have a lot of match winners," he said in connection with the squad selection.
Frölunda's success story Ivar Stenberg, 18 (6 goals and 24 points, ninth in the SHL's scoring league) will lead the offense. Stenberg will be drafted high in the NHL draft next summer; some believe he could even go first.
But there are also hot talents like Djurgården's Anton Frondell (10 goals and 15 points in the SHL), selected by Chicago as number three this summer, Timrå's Eddie Genborg (8 goals and 15 points) and Brynäs' Lucas Pettersson (9 goals and 13 points).
It is a young team too, with twelve of the players born in 2007 or later. The final-year juniors were born in 2006.
+ Canadian with NHL experience.
Canada has six players with NHL experience in its preliminary squad of 27 players.
One of them is forward talent Michael Misa, who was selected second overall in the last draft. He has played seven games in San Jose and scored one goal.
Canada has already exited the World Championships in the quarterfinals two years in a row.
+ USA chasing third straight
The USA has two straight gold medals in the JVM and beat Sweden in the final in Gothenburg two years ago.
Now the two will meet in the group stage of the JVM in a match that starts around midnight on New Year's Eve.
The United States has nine players returning from last year's gold team for the home tournament.
+ Seven recent gold teams
2025: United States
2024: United States
2023: Canada
2022: Canada
2021: United States
2020: Canada
2019: Finland
+ TV hit
Since SVT began investing in the Junior World Championships in 2007, the tournament has become a Christmas and mid-week tradition.
The JVM final between Sweden and the USA in Gothenburg almost two years ago was watched by an incredible 1,499,000 viewers according to MMS figures, and last year's semi-final between Sweden and Finland in Canada was watched by 907,000 viewers on SVT.
