The International Ice Hockey Federation announced the pools for Group A and Group B in the 2016 World Junior Championship in Helsinki, Finland.

The 11-day tournament will run Dec. 26 through Jan. 5, 2016, at the two biggest ice rinks in the Finnish capital, Hartwall Arena and Helsinki Ice Hall.

Host Finland will play against 2015 silver medalist Russia, bronze medal winner Slovakia, the Czech Republic and Belarus in Group B at Hartwall Arena, a 13,665-seat venue that is home to Jokerit Helsinki.

TORONTO -- Russia goaltender Igor Shesterkin will make his third straight start in the medal round when his team plays against Canada in the gold-medal game in the 2015 IIHF World Junior Championship at Air Canada Centre on Monday (8 p.m. ET; NHLN-US).

Shesterkin (New York Rangers) has started the past two games of the medal round for Russia and has performed well with 65 saves on 68 shots in victories against the United States (3-2) in the quarterfinal round and Sweden (4-1) in the semifinal round. He has saved 120 of 126 for the tournament with a 1.50 goals-against average and .952 save percentage.

TORONTO -- Tom Renney, president and chief executive officer of Hockey Canada, is proud of the effort put forth by the Canadian National Junior Team and host cities Montreal and Toronto during the 2015 IIHF World Junior Championship the past two weeks.

Renney took the time to answer some questions during a press conference before the bronze-medal game between Slovakia and Sweden at Air Canada Centre on Monday.

"This is my first go-round at the [WJC] and it's certainly unique in lots of ways," Renney said. "It's a premier event in the world at this time in the year and the level of play in both Montreal and Toronto has been exceptional, as usual. I'm proud of Canada and the performance of our team, coaching staff and staff, and the volunteers in Toronto and Montreal for having done an outstanding job in putting this whole thing together to the point where Canada gets an opportunity to play the last game of the tournament. It's rightfully so and justified."

Here are a few highlights of Renney's discussion:

TORONTO -- The opportunity to celebrate a gold medal at the IIHF World Junior Championship is something Canadian hockey fans have waited to do for the past six years.

The top junior-aged players for Canada will look to make that happen Monday against Russia in the gold-medal game of the 2015 WJC at Air Canada Center (8 p.m. ET, NHLN-US).

The last gold medal won by Canada was 2009 in Ottawa, the last of an unprecedented five straight championships. Russia has eliminated Canada in the medal round the past four years, including the 2011 gold-medal game in Buffalo.

The long journey that began in August with development camp in Toronto and continued with selection camp in early December comes down to one game.

TORONTO -- Russia coach Valeri Bragin told the Russian media that he remains undecided about his starting goaltender for the gold-medal game against Canada in the 2015 IIHF World Junior Championship at Air Canada Centre on Monday (8 p.m. ET, NHLN-US).

Igor Shesterkin (New York Rangers) has started the two medal-round games and has performed well, stopping 65 of 68 shots in victories against the United States (3-2) in the quarterfinals and Sweden (4-1) in the semifinals. He has stopped 120 of 126 shots for the tournament, with a 1.50 goals-against average and .952 save percentage.

Ilya Sorokin (New York Islanders), meanwhile, has been waiting patiently for his moment. The 6-2, 168-pound left-handed catching goalie was the youngest starter in the Kontinental Hockey League in 2013-14 and this season, at age 19, has done well again for Metallurg Novokuznetsk. He has a 2.41 GAA and .903 save percentage in two games for Russia at the WJC, and starred in a 2-1 overtime victory against Canada in a pre-tournament game Dec. 19 behind a 52-save performance. It wouldn't surprise the Russia media covering the WJC in Toronto if Bragin started Sorokin.

Hockey Canada announced Zachary Fucale (Montreal Canadiens) will start in goal for Canada against Russia in the gold-medal game of the 2015 IIHF World Junior Championship.

Fucale has allowed one goal on 29 shots in medal-round wins against Denmark (8-0) and Slovakia (5-1).

"It's his moment," Canada coach Benoit Groulx said, according to TSN.

TORONTO – IIHF president Rene Fasel said the 2015 IIHF World Junior Championship will likely be the third-best ever in terms of overall attendance.

"The numbers are not too bad, but the expectations were very high in Montreal," Fasel said.

Total attendance at the WJC in Ottawa in 2009 was 453,000, and the combined attendance in 2012 when the tournament was co-hosted by Edmonton and Calgary was 444,000. Fasel said he expects attendance from the 2015 WJC in Montreal and Toronto to be between 365,000 and 385,000.

"It's not too bad," Fasel said. "Yesterday a game between Germany and Switzerland had 8,000 people. If you do that game in Finland you might draw 400 people. It is really a nice problem to discuss."

TORONTO -- Robby Fabbri entered the mixed zone in the interview area using two crutches and in a walking boot on Sunday to discuss his new role with the Canadian National Junior Team after sustaining a tournament-ending high ankle sprain on Friday against Denmark in the 2015 IIHF World Junior Championship.

"The guys know that I'm here for them," Fabbri said. "I'm a cheerleader the next couple of days and I'll be there cheering them along the way."

Fabbri spoke to reporters for the first time since sustaining his ankle injury on Friday in an 8-0 victory against Denmark in the tournament quarterfinal round. The St. Louis Blues prospect sustained his injury just over three minutes into the first period when he got tangled up with a Denmark defenseman in the left-wing corner and fell awkwardly. He was assisted off the ice and into the locker room.

TORONTO -- Russia forward Ivan Barbashev knows staying out the penalty box will be critical when his team takes the ice against Sweden in the semifinal round of the 2015 IIHF World Junior Championship at Air Canada Centre on Sunday (4 p.m. ET; NHLN-US).

Sweden enters the game first on the power-play with a 50 percent efficiency (12-of-24) and Russia has been the second-most penalized team in the tournament with 75 minutes in penalties (15 minutes per game).

TORONTO -- Pius Suter scored two goals and Timo Meier had a goal and two assists to lead Switzerland to a 5-2 victory against Germany and complete a two-game sweep in the best-of-3 relegation round series in the 2015 IIHF World Junior Championship at Air Canada Centre on Saturday.

The win gives Switzerland a berth in the 2016 WJC in Finland, while Germany was relegated to Division I Group A in the 2016 tournament. Switzerland and Germany finished fifth in their respective pools in the top division of the 2015 WJC.