The Canadians won the 2015 tournament, held on their home ice in the same two cities, but were knocked out in the quarter-finals last time out by hosts and eventual winners Finland.

Dylan Strome, Mathew Barzal and Thomas Chabot have been named as the country's captains as they look to make use of familiar surroundings once again.

The competition is for under-20 players.

"We have eight players on this team who are captains of their club teams, and numerous other associate captains, so there is an abundance of leadership," said Canada's head coach Dominique Ducharme.

"Dylan, Mat and Thomas have been through this tournament before, and we have confidence in their ability to lead this team on and off the ice."

Canada have been placed in Group B which will be contested at Toronto's Air Canada Centre.

They will begin tomorrow against 2016 runners-up Russia, with Latvia meeting the United States in another opening day fixture in the group.

Slovakia complete the pool.

Group A, which will be played at Montreal's Bell Centre, features defending champions Finland, Sweden, Denmark, Czech Republic and Switzerland.

The Finns will begin their defence against the Czechs tomorrow, with day one also featuring a clash between Denmark and Sweden.

The top four countries in each five team group will advance to the quarter-finals.

The two countries who finish last will enter the relegation series. 

The final will be held in Montreal on January 5.