Canada, Russia will face off in Toronto to kick off 2017 world junior championship

TORONTO - Canada will open the 2017 world junior hockey championship against Russia on Dec. 26 at Toronto's Air Canada Centre.

Hockey Canada has released the schedule for the tournament, which will be held in Toronto and at Montreal's Bell Centre.

Other highlights include Canada's preliminary-round finale against the United States on New Year's Eve.

Canada headlines Group B along with Latvia, Russia, Slovakia, and the United States. Preliminary-round games for Group B will be played in Toronto.

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

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