Hockey Canada has named the 44 players from across the Canadian Junior Hockey League (CJHL) who will wear the Maple Leaf with Canada East and Canada West at the 2024 Junior A World Challenge, set for Dec. 9-15 in Camrose, Alberta.
Both teams were chosen following a three-day selection camp in Calgary that wrapped up Thursday.
The 22 players representing Canada East were selected from the CJHL’s five eastern leagues – the Northern Ontario Junior Hockey League (NOJHL), Ontario Junior Hockey League (OJHL), Central Canada Hockey League (CCHL), Ligue de hockey junior AAA du Québec (LHJAAAQ) and Maritime Hockey League (MHL).
The 22 players representing Canada West come from the CJHL’s four western leagues – the Alberta Junior Hockey League (AJHL), Manitoba Junior Hockey League (MJHL), Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League (SJHL) and Superior International Junior Hockey League (SIJHL).
“Anytime there is an opportunity to bring together the best Junior A players from across the Canadian Junior Hockey League, we know difficult decisions will have to be made,” said Scott Salmond, senior vice-president of high performance and hockey operations. “We feel we have assembled two strong and competitive teams that will proudly represent Canada and compete for a gold medal.”
The communities of Drumheller and Wetaskiwin will host pre-tournament games on Dec. 7. Canada East will face off against Sweden at the Drumheller Memorial Arena at 3 p.m. MT, while Canada West will play the United States at 4:30 p.m. MT at Co-Op Place in Wetaskiwin.
The puck drops on the tournament at Encana Arena on Dec. 9 when Canada East, the 2023 silver medallist, opens against the United States at 3 p.m. MT, followed by Canada West, the defending gold medallist, facing Sweden at 7:30 p.m. MT.
Fans still looking to secure their seat for the 2024 Junior A World Challenge can purchase full-event ticket packages for $140, including fees, at HockeyCanada.ca/Tickets. The package includes one ticket to all six preliminary-round games, both semifinals and the medal games. Mini-packages for the preliminary round and medal round are also available.
TSN and RDS, the official broadcast partners of Hockey Canada, will broadcast the bronze medal and gold medal games; check local listings for details.
All preliminary-round games and both semifinals will be available via Hockey Canada’s livestreaming partner at HNLive.ca.
Of the 16 gold medal games at the Junior A World Challenge, 13 have featured at least one Canadian team. Canada East will look to earn its first gold medal, having won silver eight times (2006, 2007, 2010, 2011, 2016, 2019, 2022, 2023) and bronze once (2008), while Canada West has won gold six times (2006, 2007, 2011, 2015, 2017, 2023), silver three times (2008, 2009, 2012) and bronze twice (2013, 2018).
For more information on Hockey Canada and the 2024 Junior A World Challenge, please visit HockeyCanada.ca/WJAC, or follow along via social media on Facebook, X, Instagram and TikTok.
Media contact:
Esther Madziya
Manager, Communications
emadziya@hockeycanada.ca
403-284-6484