VANCOUVER & VICTORIA, B.C. – Hockey fans can sharpen up their new year’s plans by taking advantage of newly-released 2019 IIHF World Junior Championship medal packs.

Starting at $399, the medal packs include tickets to both semifinals on Friday, Jan. 4, as well as Saturday’s bronze- and gold-medal games. An event more than 18 months in the making, this Canadian holiday tradition has been embraced by the province of British Columbia and Canadian hockey fans by the thousands who have secured their tickets to this bucket-list event.

“The fan response to our full- and half-package ticket options has been tremendous, so we wanted to make sure we set a special package aside for fans who want to round out their holiday celebrations with a great final weekend of the best in international junior hockey talent,” said tournament director Riley Wiwchar. “Being on the West Coast, our game times and pricing make this a very family-friendly event, and we look forward to packing the house for our semifinals and the medal games.”

In August, Hockey Canada, on behalf of the IIHF, unveiled the full tournament schedule for the 2019 IIHF World Junior Championship, being co-hosted in Vancouver and Victoria, Dec. 26, 2018 to Jan. 5, 2019. Canada faces Denmark to open the tournament when the red-and-white hits the ice at home in search of a second consecutive gold medal this December.

The 10-team tournament features Canada in Group A with the Czech Republic, Denmark, Russia and Switzerland. Group B is comprised of Finland, Kazakhstan, Slovakia, Sweden and the United States.

Hockey Canada previously announced the launch of two new half-package ticket options available HockeyCanada.ca/Tickets to help fans REPRESENT in Vancouver this December.

The 10-game pack (Pack A) includes one pre-competition game, five preliminary-round games, one relegation-round game, one quarter-final, one semifinal, and the gold-medal game. This package guarantees one Team Canada pre-competition game and two Team Canada preliminary-round games.

The nine-game (Pack B) ticket package includes five preliminary-round games, one relegation-round game, one quarter-final, one semifinal, and the bronze-medal game. This package also guarantees two Team Canada preliminary-round games. Both ticket packages can be purchased for as low as $499 (plus fees).

Regional economic impact studies of past IIHF World Junior Championships hosted in Canada have topped $80 million. In addition, a legacy plan for the profits of the event will provide for grassroots hockey program support across the province and throughout Hockey Canada’s 13 regional members, as well as the CHL.

Limited quantities of full-event ticket packages for both Vancouver and Victoria are also available for fans to purchase online at HockeyCanada.ca/Tickets.

TSN and RDS, the official broadcast partners of Hockey Canada, will carry extensive game coverage and analysis throughout the tournament. TSN Radio will also provide comprehensive tournament coverage; details to be announced at a later date.

Overall, Canada has captured 17 gold medals (1982, 1985, 1988, 1990, 1991, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2015, 2018). Canada has also won silver 11 times (1975, 1976, 1977, 1986, 1999, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2010, 2011, 2017), and bronze six times (1974, 1978, 1983, 2000, 2001, 2012).

For information on the IIHF and the official tournament site, please visit 2019.worldjunior.hockey.

For more information on Hockey Canada, Canada’s National Junior Team and the 2019 IIHF World Junior Championship, please visit HockeyCanada.ca, or follow along through social media on Facebook, Twitter, and #WorldJuniors.