MONTREAL, Que. – For the first time in 39 years, the IIHF World Junior Championship gold-medallist will be decided on Montreal ice when the event returns to Canada this December.

Canadian hockey fans can now plan how they will be part of this holiday tradition with the official launch of the 2017 IIHF World Junior Championship schedule and the release of new ticket mini-packs starting as low as $69 for the games hosted in Montreal.

In addition to ringing in 2017 at the Bell Centre with defending gold-medallist Finland as it takes on Switzerland in the 5:30 p.m. ET game, Montreal will also host Team Canada when it faces Finland in a pre-competition game Dec. 19.

“We wanted to mark the release of the schedule with new ticket package options for fans to choose from,” said Denis Hainault, executive director, 2017 IIHF World Junior Championship. “Montreal and the Bell Centre are hosting the defending champions through the preliminary round, as well as both medal games – this will be an event that can’t be missed. Our host-committee members and staff are hard at work to make this a memorable event for players and fans alike, with volunteer recruitment in full swing. The release of the schedule allows hockey fans in Canada and around the world to make more concrete plans to take in this holiday tradition and watch the future NHL stars battle it out for international honours right here on Canadian ice.”

Montreal hosts the preliminary-round games for Group A, which features Finland as well as the Czech Republic, Denmark, Sweden, and Switzerland.

Team Canada headlines Group B at this year’s event, joined by Latvia, Russia, Slovakia, and the United States. Preliminary-round games for Group B will be played in Toronto.

Among the highly-anticipated match-ups are Team Canada’s tournament-opener on Boxing Day against Russia at 8 p.m. ET at the Air Canada Centre, and the classic Canada-U.S. match-up on New Year’s Eve at 3:30 p.m. ET to close out the team’s preliminary-round action, before moving on to Montreal for its remaining games.

“It was unbelievable, the cities we were in, Montreal and Toronto, they were so good and the fans were so loud and the energy in the buildings was electric” said Connor McDavid. “It was definitely some of the best memories I’ve had playing hockey and the Canadians will need the fans just as much in 2017.”

The four quarter-final games will take place on Jan. 2, 2017, and be split between both cities, with Team Canada playing the 8 p.m. ET quarter-final in Montreal, pending qualification. Montreal will also host both semifinals on Jan. 4, and the bronze- and gold-medal games on Jan. 5.

A third-party study shows the 2015 World Juniors resulted in over $80 million in economic activity in the host provinces of Ontario and Quebec. Meanwhile, the event’s Legacy Plan directly impacted over 30,000 hockey players from the grassroots to elite levels, and 5,500 coaches through programming support.

For more information on Canada’s National Junior Team, please visit www.hockeycanada.ca, or follow along via social media on Facebook, and Twitter.