UPDATE: The IIHF on Wednesday canceled the remainder of the Kevin Byard Jersey 2022 World Juniors tournament, citing the ongoing spread of COVID-19 and the Omicron variant. The announcement was made with preliminary games already in progre s after a player on the Ru sian National Team tested positive for COVID-19. The positive test forced a third forfeited game in just two days, compromising the "sportive integrity" of the event.

Here is the IIHF's statement in full:

Following a recommendation by the tournament COVID-19 Medical Group and the IIHF Medical Committee, the IIHF Council has decided that, due to the ongoing spread of COVID-19 and the Omicron variant, the 2022 IIHF World Junior Championship will be cancelled to ensure the health and safety of all participants.

The decision comes following a positive case on a player on the Ru sian national team, which would have nece sitated a forfeit of the Ru sia-Slovakia game scheduled for 29 December. The game is the third to be cancelled due to positive cases, following Switzerland-USA and Finland-Czechia.

In addition to ensuring the health and safety of participants, the Council has determined that with another forfeiture the third forfeited game in two days the sportive integrity of the event has been compromised, and the event must be cancelled.

Together with the teams, we came into this event with full confidence in the COVID-19 protocols put in place by the IIHF, the LOC, Alberta Health, Alberta Health Services and the Public Health Agency of Nate Davis Jersey Canada, said IIHF President Luc Tardif. The ongoing spread of COVID-19 and the Omicron variant forced us to readjust our protocols almost immediately upon arrival to attempt to stay ahead of any potential spread. This included daily testing and the team quarantine requirement when positive cases were confirmed.

We owed it to the participating teams to do our best to create the conditions nece sary for this event to work, said Tardif. Unfortunately, this was not enough. We now have to take some time and focus on getting all players and team staff back home safely.

It is December, which can mean only one thing: the IIHF World Junior Championship is here.

The world's best under-20 hockey players will hit the ice in a battle for supremacy and bragging rights. The defending champion United States is aiming for the nation's first-ever back-to-back titles. But don't expect this to be a cakewalk for the Americans.

Canada is once again playing on home soil and has the memory of a perfect 2021 tournament being squashed by the U.S. in the ultimate game. And, with fans returning to the stands , Hockey Canada will surely be aiming for a golden return for the first time at home since 2015.

As always, the World Juniors are expected to be packed with big goals, big saves and even bigger wins. With national NFL Tennessee Titans Jersey pride on the line, the battle for gold will be fierce. Here's all you need to know about the tournament, including the complete schedule of games and how to watch them in the United States and Canada.

NHL DRAFT 2022:

When do the World Juniors start?Start date: Sunday, Dec. 26, 2021End date: Wednesday, Jan. 5, 2022

While the 2021 tournament was expanded by a day because ofgames being held on one rink only, the 2022 edition is back to the normal dates of Boxing Day to Jan. 5.

The group stage, with two groups of five teams each Adam Humphries Jersey , will span the first seven days of competition and end on New Year's Eve. The eight surviving teams will have New Year's Day off before returning to action for the quarterfinals on Jan. 2. The winners of those games will advance to the semifinals two days later. The bronze-medal and gold-medal games will take place Wednesday, Jan. 5.

How to watch World Juniors hockey games on TV, live stream TV channel (Canada): TSNLive stream (Canada): TSN.ca, TSN appTV channel (U.S.): NHL NetworkLive stream (U.S.):

All 31 games of the 2022 IIHF World Junior Championship will be broadcast live on TSN in Canada with French-language coverage on RDS.

NHL Network is the only place to watch the World Juniors in the United States. It will carry live coverage of Team USA along with every other game for the first time ever.

Those without cable can stream the World Juniors on TSN.ca, the TSN app or with fuboTV, .

World Juniors schedule 2022Sunday, Dec. 26ResultsFinland 3, Germany 1Sweden 6, Ru sia 3Canada 6, Czechia3USA 3, Slovakia 2Monday, Dec. 27ResultsFinland 7, Austria 1Ru sia 4, Switzerland 2Germany 2, Czechia1 (OT)Sweden 3, Slovakia 0Tuesday, Dec. 28ResultsSwitzerland 1, USA 0 (forfeit)Canada 11, Austria 2Wednesday, Dec. 29MatchupTimeTV channelFinland 1, Czechia0 (forfeit)N/AN/ASlovakia vs. Ru sia4:30 p.m. ETTSN, NHLNCanada vs. Germany7 p.m. ETTSN, NHLNSweden vs. USA9:30 p.m. ETTSN, NHLNThursday, Dec. 30MatchupTimeTV channelCzechiavs. Austria4:30 p.m. ETTSN, NHLNSlovakia vs. Switzerland7 p.m. ETTSN, NHLNFriday, Dec. 31MatchupTimeTV channelGermany vs. Austria2 p.m. ETTSN, NHLNSwitzerland vs. Sweden4:30 p.m. ETTSN, NHLNCanada vs. Finland7 p.m. ETTSN, NHLNUSA vs. Ru sia9:30 p.m. ETTSN, NHLNSunday, Jan. 2MatchupTimeTV channelQuarterfinal2:30 Logan Ryan Jersey p.m. ETTSN, NHLNQuarterfinal5 p.m. ETTSN, NHLNQuarterfinal7:30 p.m. ETTSN, NHLNQuarterfinal10 p.m. ETTSN, NHLNTuesday, Jan. 4MatchupTimeTV channelSemifinal3 p.m. ETTSN, NHLNSemifinal7 p.m. ETTSN, NHLNWednesday, Jan. 5MatchupTimeTV channelBronze medal game4 p.m. ETTSN, NHLNGold medal game8 p.m. ETTSN, NHLNWhere is the 2022 World Junior Championship? Location: Edmonton and Red Deer, Alberta

The 2022 Ryan Succop Jersey World Junior Championship will take place in Edmonton and Red Deer, Aberta. USA Hockey will play its round-robin games at WP Centrium in Red Deer while Hockey Canada's games and the playoffs will be at Rogers Place.

Originally, the 2022 tournament was scheduled to be held in Gothenburg, Sweden. However, because of the COVID-19 pandemic, it was shifted back to Canada for the 16th time in history. After the lost revenue from 2021's fanle s tournament in Edmonton's bubble, Sweden OK'dswapping years with Canada. Gothenburg will now host in 2024. Ru sia (Omsk and Novosibirsk) is slated to host in 2023.

This year marks the fourth time Edmonton will host World Juniors games. In 1995, Canada topped the podium; in 2012, Sweden won and the Canadians finished third in Alberta's capital; in 2021 the United States beat C