It's the most wonderful time of the year, for junior hockey fans at least.

Like clockwork, the World Junior Championship is set to get underway the day after Christmas, and the 2017 tournament will provide no shortage of holiday drama for fans all over North America and Europe.

Here are three things you need to know before the puck drops.

What's the format?

As a refresher, here's how the tournament works.

The 10 participating countries have been divided into two groups, with Group A set to play preliminary round games at the Bell Centre Montreal, and Group B taking to the ice at Toronto's Air Canada Centre.

Every team will play one game against each of the other four in its group, earning points as follows:

• Three points for the winning team at the conclusion of regulation time.
• One point for both teams at the conclusion of regulation time if the game is tied.
• An additional point earned for the team winning the game in a five-minute overtime period or a shootout if the teams are still tied following conclusion of the overtime period.
• 0 points for the team losing the game in regulation time.

The top four teams from Group A and Group B will advance to the quarterfinals and be matched up as follows: 1A-4B, 2A-3B, 1B-4A, 2B-3A. The fifth-place teams, meanwhile, will play a best-of-three mini-series to determine which country will be relegated.

The playoff round will be single elimination, with the gold and bronze medal matches scheduled for Jan. 5 at the Bell Centre.

Who's the favorite?

To no one's surprise, the host Canadians have been tabbed as the favorites to win, despite failing to medal at the 2016 tournament and without the strongest possible roster as a result of star players plying their trade at the NHL level.

Still, there's no shortage of talent, and the two arenas will be full of red and white jerseys cheering for this year's crop of holiday hero hopefuls.

It's no slam dunk, however, with the United States and Sweden both set to field strong teams, and the defending champions from Finland always capable of stealing the show.

Oh, and don't ever rule out the Russians, who are surely looking to beat Canada on its own ice.

Here's the list of favorites from top to bottom, courtesy of Bodog.

Appointment viewing

The playoff round is obviously must-see TV, but the group stage - running from Dec. 26-31 - has its fair share of intriguing matches.

Circle these four on the calendar.

• Russia vs. Canada, Dec. 26, 7 p.m. ET
• USA vs. Russia, Dec. 29, 3:30 p.m. ET
• Sweden vs. Finland, Dec. 29, 5:30 p.m. ET
• Canada vs. USA, Dec. 31, 3 p.m. ET

Yes, all of these involve the top five teams featured in the tournament, but the beauty of international play is the surprises along the way.

Get ready. It's bound to be another wild ride.

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