The World Junior Championship is always unpredictable, but that doesn't mean we can't make some bold predictions on what will happen.

The 10-team tournament starts Thursday, with the best under-20 players in hockey. Here are the gold medal favorites and players set to break out.

The tournament has become a holiday tradition for many hockey fans around the world, beginning on Boxing Day (Dec. 26) each year and ending during the first week of the new year. The WJC has grown remarkably since the inaugural (official) tournament was held in 1977 and has massive international support.

The World Junior Championship pre-tournament started on Dec. 19, and while the results don’t matter, it’s a great time to get some confidence and momentum before the meaningful games start on the 26th.

World Junior Championship is set to kick-off and the top amateur players go toe-to-toe for global hockey supremacy. The United States enter the tournament as the defending gold medalists after they knocked off silver medalist Sweden 6-2 in the final game.

IIHF World Junior Championship will be held in Ottawa, from Dec. 26-Jan. 5. Today, we preview the Group B preliminary-round bracket. Sweden is looking for its first gold medal at the World Juniors since 2012,

At the conclusion of the Gold Medal match the IIHF directorate are asked to vote on a variety of awards for the year’s tournament. They name the best defenseman, best forward, and best goaltender for the tournament while members of the media decide the tournament’s MVP.