# 2024 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships

The 2024 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships (2024 WJHC) was the 48th edition of the Ice Hockey World Junior Championship, held from 26 December 2023 to 5 January 2024. This was the seventh time Sweden hosted the WJHC, and the first time the competition was held in Gothenburg. The United States won their sixth championship, defeating host Sweden 6–2 in the gold medal game.

## Background

On 14 March 2019, it was announced that Gothenburg would be the host city for 2022. However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, adjustments were made. The 2022 championship was given to Edmonton, the 2023 edition to Halifax and Moncton, and Gothenburg secured hosting rights for 2024.

## Top Division
### Venues

| Gothenburg | Gothenburg | Gothenburg |
| Scandinavium Capacity: 12,044 | Frölundaborg Capacity: 6,044 (2,430 seated) | Gothenburg |

### Match officials

The following officials were assigned by the International Ice Hockey Federation to officiate the 2024 World Junior Championships.
Referees
* Tobias Björk
* Riku Brander
* Daniel Eriksson
* Micha Hebeisen
* Killian Hinterdobler
* Lukas Kohlmüller
* Joonas Kova
* Troy Murray
* Jiří Ondráček
* Mark Pearce
* Jack Young
* Marek Zak
Linesmen
* Oto Durmis
* Jeremy Faucher
* Shane Gustafson
* Tim Heffner
* Daniel Konc
* Anders Nyqvist
* Lukáš Rampir
* Simon Riecken
* Davids Rozitis
* Dominik Schlegel
* Jussi Thomann

### Preliminary round
#### Seeding
##### Group A (Scandinavium)

* Canada (1)
* Sweden (4)
* Finland (5)
* Germany (8)
* Latvia (9)

##### Group B (Frölundaborg)

* Czechia (2)
* United States (3)
* Slovakia (6)
* Switzerland (7)
* Norway (11-Promoted)

#### Group A

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | OTW | OTL | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Sweden (H) | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 17 | 5 | +12 | 10 | Advance to quarterfinals |
| 2 | Canada | 4 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 21 | 7 | +14 | 9 | Advance to quarterfinals |
| 3 | Finland | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 14 | 13 | +1 | 5 | Advance to quarterfinals |
| 4 | Latvia | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 6 | 22 | −16 | 3 | Advance to quarterfinals |
| 5 | Germany | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 9 | 20 | −11 | 3 | Advance to relegation |
* 1 2 Germany 2–6 Latvia

#### Group B

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | OTW | OTL | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | United States | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 29 | 9 | +20 | 11 | Advance to quarterfinals |
| 2 | Slovakia | 4 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 19 | 16 | +3 | 9 | Advance to quarterfinals |
| 3 | Czechia | 4 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 17 | 13 | +4 | 7 | Advance to quarterfinals |
| 4 | Switzerland | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 11 | 20 | −9 | 3 | Advance to quarterfinals |
| 5 | Norway | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 8 | 26 | −18 | 0 | Advance to relegation |

### Playoff round

Winning teams will be reseeded for the semi-finals in accordance with the following ranking:
* Higher position in their group
* Higher number of points in preliminary pool play
* Better goal differential
* Higher number of goals scored
* Better seeding coming into the tournament (final placement at the 2023 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships).
| Rank | Team | Group | Pos | Pts | GD | GF | Seed |
| 1 | United States | B | 1 | 11 | +20 | 29 | 3 |
| 2 | Sweden | A | 1 | 10 | +12 | 17 | 4 |
| 3 | Canada | A | 2 | 9 | +14 | 21 | 1 |
| 4 | Slovakia | B | 2 | 9 | +3 | 19 | 6 |
| 5 | Czechia | B | 3 | 7 | +4 | 17 | 2 |
| 6 | Finland | A | 3 | 5 | +1 | 14 | 5 |
| 7 | Switzerland | B | 4 | 3 | –9 | 11 | 7 |
| 8 | Latvia | A | 4 | 3 | –16 | 6 | 9 |

#### Bracket

| Quarterfinals | Quarterfinals | Semifinals | Semifinals | | Final | Final |
| 2 January – Scandinavium | 2 January – Scandinavium | | | |
| 1A Sweden (OT) | 3 | | | |
| 1A Sweden (OT) | 3 | 4 January – Scandinavium | 4 January – Scandinavium | | |
| 4B Switzerland | 2 | 4 January – Scandinavium | 4 January – Scandinavium | |
| 4B Switzerland | 2 | 1 United States | 3 | |
| 2 January – Frölundaborg | 2 January – Frölundaborg | | 1 United States | 3 | |
| 2 January – Frölundaborg | 2 January – Frölundaborg | 6 Finland | 2 | |
| 2B Slovakia | 3 | 6 Finland | 2 | |
| 2B Slovakia | 3 | | | | 5 January – Scandinavium | 5 January – Scandinavium |
| 3A Finland (OT) | 4 | | | | 5 January – Scandinavium | 5 January – Scandinavium |
| 3A Finland (OT) | 4 | | | | 1 United States | 6 |
| 2 January – Frölundaborg | 2 January – Frölundaborg | | | | | 1 United States | 6 |
| 2 January – Frölundaborg | 2 January – Frölundaborg | | | | 2 Sweden | 2 |
| 1B United States | 7 | | | | 2 Sweden | 2 |
| 1B United States | 7 | 4 January – Scandinavium | 4 January – Scandinavium | | | |
| 4A Latvia | 2 | 4 January – Scandinavium | 4 January – Scandinavium | | | |
| 4A Latvia | 2 | 2 Sweden | 5 | | | |
| 2 January – Scandinavium | 2 January – Scandinavium | | 2 Sweden | 5 | | | |
| 2 January – Scandinavium | 2 January – Scandinavium | 5 Czechia | 2 | | Third place | Third place |
| 2A Canada | 2 | 5 Czechia | 2 | | Third place | Third place |
| 2A Canada | 2 | | | | 5 January – Scandinavium | 5 January – Scandinavium |
| 3B Czechia | 3 | | | | 5 January – Scandinavium | 5 January – Scandinavium |
| 3B Czechia | 3 | | | | 5 Czechia | 8 |
| | | | | | 6 Finland | 5 |

#### Gold medal game
### Statistics
#### Scoring leaders

| Pos | Player | Country | GP | G | A | Pts | +/− | PIM |
| 1 | Jiří Kulich | Czechia | 7 | 6 | 6 | 12 | +3 | 0 |
| 2 | Cutter Gauthier | United States | 7 | 2 | 10 | 12 | +9 | 4 |
| 3 | Matyáš Melovský | Czechia | 7 | 1 | 10 | 11 | +3 | 4 |
| 4 | Jonathan Lekkerimäki | Sweden | 7 | 7 | 3 | 10 | +2 | 0 |
| 5 | Gavin Brindley | United States | 7 | 6 | 4 | 10 | +7 | 0 |
| 6 | Ondřej Becher | Czechia | 7 | 3 | 7 | 10 | +6 | 4 |
| 6 | Noah Östlund | Sweden | 7 | 3 | 7 | 10 | +3 | 16 |
| 6 | Gabe Perreault | United States | 7 | 3 | 7 | 10 | +4 | 2 |
| 9 | Isaac Howard | United States | 7 | 7 | 2 | 9 | +10 | 0 |
| 10 | Servác Petrovský | Slovakia | 5 | 5 | 4 | 9 | 0 | 0 |
GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; +/− = Plus–minus; PIM = Penalties In Minutes Source: IIHF.com

#### Goaltending leaders

(minimum 40% team's total ice time)
| Pos | Player | Country | TOI | GA | GAA | SA | Sv% | SO |
| 1 | Trey Augustine | United States | 240:00 | 7 | 1.75 | 110 | 93.64 | 0 |
| 2 | Hugo Hävelid | Sweden | 305:05 | 9 | 1.77 | 109 | 91.74 | 2 |
| 3 | Adam Gajan | Slovakia | 239:52 | 10 | 2.50 | 119 | 91.60 | 1 |
| 4 | Mathis Rousseau | Canada | 299:39 | 10 | 2.00 | 114 | 91.23 | 1 |
| 5 | Alessio Beglieri | Switzerland | 243:16 | 10 | 2.47 | 107 | 90.65 | 0 |
TOI = Time on ice (minutes:seconds); GA = Goals against; GAA = Goals against average; SA = Shots against; Sv% = Save percentage; SO = Shutouts Source: IIHF.com

### Awards

* Best players selected by the directorate:
** Best Goaltender: Hugo Hävelid
** Best Defenceman: Axel Sandin Pellikka
** Best Forward: Cutter Gauthier
Source:
* Media All-Stars:
** MVP: Jonathan Lekkerimäki
** Goaltender: Hugo Hävelid
** Defencemen: Lane Hutson / Theo Lindstein
** Forwards: Cutter Gauthier / Jiří Kulich / Jonathan Lekkerimäki
Source:

### Final standings

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | OTW | OTL | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Final Result |
| 1 | United States | 7 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 45 | 15 | +30 | 20 | Champions |
| 2 | Sweden | 7 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 27 | 15 | +12 | 15 | Runners-up |
| 3 | Czechia | 7 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 30 | 25 | +5 | 13 | Third Place |
| 4 | Finland | 7 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 25 | 27 | −2 | 7 | Fourth Place |
| 5 | Canada | 5 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 23 | 10 | +13 | 9 | Eliminated in quarter-finals |
| 6 | Slovakia | 5 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 22 | 20 | +2 | 10 | Eliminated in quarter-finals |
| 7 | Switzerland | 5 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 13 | 23 | −10 | 4 | Eliminated in quarter-finals |
| 8 | Latvia | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 8 | 29 | −21 | 3 | Eliminated in quarter-finals |
| 9 | Germany | 5 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 14 | 24 | −10 | 5 | Avoided relegation |
| 10 | Norway | 5 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 12 | 31 | −19 | 1 | Relegated to the 2025 Division I A |

## Division I
### Group A

The Division I Group A tournament was held in Budapest, Hungary, from 10 to 16 December 2023. Kazakhstan won promotion to the top division for the 2025 World Junior Championships, their first appearance since the 2020 edition of the tournament. Japan was relegated to Division I B for 2025.
| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | OTW | OTL | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Promotion or relegation |
| 1 | Kazakhstan | 5 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 21 | 12 | +9 | 13 | Promoted to the 2025 Top Division |
| 2 | France | 5 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 18 | 19 | −1 | 9 | |
| 3 | Denmark | 5 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 18 | 14 | +4 | 9 | |
| 4 | Austria | 5 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 22 | 21 | +1 | 8 | |
| 5 | Hungary (H) | 5 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 13 | 16 | −3 | 4 | |
| 6 | Japan | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 12 | 22 | −10 | 2 | Relegated to the 2025 Division I B |
* 1 2 Denmark 4–6 France

### Group B

The Division I Group B tournament was held in Bled, Slovenia, from 11 to 17 December 2023. Host nation Slovenia won promotion to Division I A, while Croatia was relegated to Division II A.
| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | OTW | OTL | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Promotion or relegation |
| 1 | Slovenia (H) | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 25 | 6 | +19 | 15 | Promoted to the 2025 Division I A |
| 2 | Ukraine | 5 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 23 | 13 | +10 | 11 | |
| 3 | Italy | 5 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 24 | 17 | +7 | 7 | |
| 4 | Estonia | 5 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 15 | 18 | −3 | 6 | |
| 5 | Poland | 5 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 9 | 19 | −10 | 4 | |
| 6 | Croatia | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 12 | 35 | −23 | 2 | Relegated to the 2025 Division II A |

## Division II
### Group A

The Division II Group A tournament was held in Dumfries, Great Britain, from 11 to 17 December 2023. South Korea was promoted to Division I B, while Spain was relegated to Division II B.
| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | OTW | OTL | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Promotion or relegation |
| 1 | South Korea | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 29 | 10 | +19 | 15 | Promoted to the 2025 Division I B |
| 2 | Lithuania | 5 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 27 | 13 | +14 | 11 | |
| 3 | Great Britain (H) | 5 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 21 | 12 | +9 | 10 | |
| 4 | China | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 13 | 20 | −7 | 3 | |
| 5 | Netherlands | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 10 | 25 | −15 | 3 | |
| 6 | Spain | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 8 | 28 | −20 | 3 | Relegated to the 2025 Division II B |
* 1 2 3 China 3 Pts +2 GD, Netherlands 3 Pts +1 GD, Spain 3 Pts –3 GD

### Group B

The Division II Group B tournament was held in Belgrade, Serbia, from 14 to 20 January 2024.
| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | OTW | OTL | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Promotion or relegation |
| 1 | Romania | 5 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 25 | 5 | +20 | 14 | Promoted to the 2025 Division II A |
| 2 | Serbia (H) | 5 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 21 | 5 | +16 | 13 | |
| 3 | Iceland | 5 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 21 | 14 | +7 | 9 | |
| 4 | Australia | 5 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 9 | 16 | −7 | 6 | |
| 5 | Belgium | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 7 | 17 | −10 | 3 | |
| 6 | Chinese Taipei | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 8 | 34 | −26 | 0 | Relegated to the 2025 Division III A |

## Division III
### Group A

The Division III Group A tournament was held in Sofia, Bulgaria, from 22 to 28 January 2024.
| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | OTW | OTL | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Promotion or relegation |
| 1 | Israel | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 41 | 14 | +27 | 15 | Promoted to the 2025 Division II B |
| 2 | New Zealand | 5 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 31 | 17 | +14 | 11 | |
| 3 | Bulgaria (H) | 5 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 22 | 19 | +3 | 10 | |
| 4 | Turkey | 5 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 15 | 19 | −4 | 6 | |
| 5 | Mexico | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 17 | 20 | −3 | 3 | |
| 6 | Kyrgyzstan | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 9 | 46 | −37 | 0 | Relegated to the 2025 Division III B |

### Group B

The Division III Group B tournament was held in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, from 25 to 30 January 2024.
| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | OTW | OTL | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Promotion |
| 1 | Bosnia and Herzegovina (H) | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 30 | 17 | +13 | 11 | Promoted to the 2025 Division III A |
| 2 | Luxembourg | 4 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 33 | 13 | +20 | 7 | |
| 3 | South Africa | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 10 | 43 | −33 | 0 | |