Upcoming season or competition: 2025 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships | |
Sport | Ice hockey |
---|---|
First season | 1974 (unofficial) 1977 (official) |
No. of teams | 10 |
Most recent champion(s) | United States (6th title) (2024) |
Most titles | Canada (20 titles) |
Relegation to | Division I Division II Division III |
Official website | IIHF.com |
The IIHF World Junior Championship (WJC), sometimes referred to as World Juniors, is an annual event organized by the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) for national under-20 ice hockey teams from around the world. It is traditionally held in late December, ending in early January (beginning from Boxing Day to January 5). The tournament usually attracts the top hockey players in this age category.
The main tournament features the top ten ranked hockey nations in the world, comprising the 'Top Division', from which a world champion is crowned. There are also three lower pools—Divisions I, II and III—that each play separate tournaments playing for the right to be promoted to a higher pool, or face relegation to a lower pool.
The competition's profile is particularly high in Canada, and this is partly for historical reasons because prior to NHL players being allowed in the Winter Olympics, this was a rare tournament where the best western players faced the best players from the Soviet Bloc, and the only other tournament of similar stature where this occurred was the irregularly scheduled Canada Cup for senior sides. The tournament's stature in Canada can also be credited to Canada's strong performance in the tournament (it has won the gold medal twenty times since its inception), the role of hockey in Canadian culture, along with strong media coverage and fan attendance. As such, in recent years, nearly half of the tournaments have been held in Canadian cities, with the remainder being held in Europe and the United States.
The United States is the defending champion, having defeated Sweden to win the 2024 edition in Gothenburg, Sweden.
The first official tournament was held in 1977, although the first three tournaments were held unofficially from 1974 to 1976. [1] The tournament has been dominated by the teams from Canada and Soviet Union/CIS/Russia, together accounting for 33 of the 48 overall gold medals awarded (through 2024). The USSR won the first four official tournaments, while the Canadians put together five straight championships between 1993 and 1997, and another five straight from 2005 to 2009. Canada leads the all-time gold medal count with 20 golds, while the Soviet Union, the CIS, and Russia combined have 13 golds.
When it began, the World Junior Championship was a relatively obscure tournament. It has since grown in prestige, particularly in Canada, where the tournament ranks as one of the most important events on the sports calendar and during the holiday season. The Globe and Mail writer Bruce Dowbiggin credits TSN, along with Canada's strong performance at the tournament, for turning it from an obscure non-event when it acquired the rights in 1991 (which had started to grow in prominence due to the 1987 Punch-up in Piestany) to one of Canada's most beloved annual sports events, and at the same time cementing the link between Canadian nationalism and hockey, and inspiring the NHL's Winter Classic. [2] [3] Based on increasing attendances for countries repeatedly hosting the event, the popularity of the tournament seems to be growing in other nations as well.
At editions of the tournament held in the country, games involving Team Canada consistently sell out NHL arenas, offering large profit guarantees to Hockey Canada and the IIHF. [4] In the 21st century, Canada has and will continue to host the tournament every second or third year due to the significantly greater following the tournament has in Canada compared to other participating countries. Originally, Switzerland was selected to host the WJHC in 2010, but withdrew. [5] Buffalo, New York, in the United States, hosted the tournament in 2011 and 2018; in both cases, proximity to Canada's population core in Southern Ontario was a key factor to the city winning the bidding rights. [6]
The tournament offers one of the most prestigious stages for young hockey players, significantly boosting a player's value for upcoming NHL Entry Drafts. [3]
One of the most infamous incidents in WJC history occurred in 1987 in Piestany, Czechoslovakia (now part of Slovakia), where a bench-clearing brawl occurred between Canada and the Soviet Union. It began when the Soviet Union's Pavel Kostichkin took a two-handed slash at Canadian player Theoren Fleury. The Soviet Union's Evgeny Davydov then came off the bench, eventually leading to both benches emptying. The officials, unable to break up the numerous fights, left the ice and eventually tried shutting off the arena lights, but the brawl lasted for 20 minutes before the IIHF declared the game null and void. A 35-minute emergency meeting was held, resulting in the delegates voting 7–1 (the sole dissenter was Canadian Dennis McDonald) to eject both teams from the tournament. The Canadian team chose to leave rather than stay for the end-of-tournament dinner, from which the Soviet team was banned.
While the Soviets were out of medal contention, Canada was playing for the gold medal and was leading 4–2 at the time of the brawl. The gold medal ultimately went to Finland, hosts Czechoslovakia took the silver and Sweden, who had previously been eliminated from medal contention, was awarded the bronze. [7]
The winners by season listed below.
Year | Gold | Silver | Bronze | 4th place | Host city (cities) | Host country (countries) |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1974 | Soviet Union | Finland | Canada | Sweden | Leningrad | Soviet Union |
1975 | Soviet Union | Canada | Sweden | Czechoslovakia | Winnipeg and Brandon Minneapolis, Bloomington and Fargo | Canada United States |
1976 | Soviet Union | Canada | Czechoslovakia | Finland | Tampere, Turku, Pori and Rauma | Finland |
The unofficial tournaments held prior to 1977 are not included in this table.
Countries in italics no longer compete at the World Championships.
Country | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Medals |
---|---|---|---|---|
Canada | 20 | 10 | 5 | 35 |
Russia Soviet Union CIS Total | 4 8 1 13 | 10 3 0 13 | 9 2 0 11 | 23 13 1 37 |
United States | 6 | 2 | 7 | 15 |
Finland | 5 | 5 | 7 | 17 |
Sweden | 2 | 12 | 7 | 21 |
Czechia Czechoslovakia Total | 2 0 2 | 1 5 6 | 2 6 8 | 5 11 16 |
Slovakia | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
Switzerland | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
Total | 48 | 48 | 48 | 144 |
These tournaments have been announced:
Year | Host city (cities) | Host country |
---|---|---|
2025 | Ottawa [15] | Canada |
2026 | Minneapolis/Saint Paul [16] | United States |
2027 | Calgary/Edmonton | Canada |
2028 | TBD | Finland |
2029 | TBD | Canada |
The IIHF announced that Canada will host the tournament every other year until their agreement with Hockey Canada runs out in 2034. [17]
Host country | Tournaments [18] |
---|---|
Canada | 18 [19] |
Finland | 7 |
Sweden | 7 |
United States | 7 [20] |
Czechia Czechoslovakia Total | 4 2 6 |
Russia Soviet Union CIS Total | 2 3 0 5 |
Germany West Germany Total | 1 1 2 |
Switzerland | 1 |
Canada, Finland, Sweden, and Czechoslovakia/Czechia have participated in all 44 IIHF Ice Hockey World Junior Championships as well as the three unofficial tournaments. The United States has participated in all except the unofficial tournament in 1976. The USSR/CIS/Russia participated in all tournaments until the 2023 edition (having been suspended by the IIHF in February 2022). [21]
When Czechoslovakia peacefully split in 1993, Czechia remained in Pool A but Slovakia was placed in Pool C (now Division II). Slovakia was promoted to the top division for the 1996 Championships and has remained there since.
When the Soviet Union broke up, Russia remained in Pool A, while all other former Soviet republics started competing in Pool C in 1993.
Starting with the 1996 tournament, the competition was increased from an 8-team round-robin to the current 10-team format, including elimination rounds. Since then, Switzerland has become a regular participant.
Germany has been a frequent participant in the top pool, having played there roughly half the time in the past decade. Latvia, Belarus, and Kazakhstan have also each made a number of top division appearances since the early 1990s. Less frequent top pool appearances have been made by Austria, Denmark, France, Japan, Norway, Poland and Ukraine.
At the most recent championship, held in Sweden in 2024, participating teams included Canada, Czechia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Norway, Slovakia, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United States.
A player is eligible to play in the World Junior Ice Hockey Championships if: [22]
If a player who has never played in IIHF-organized competition wishes to switch national eligibility, he must have played in competitions for two consecutive years in the new country without playing in another country, as well as show his move to the new country's national association with an international transfer card. In case the player has previously played in IIHF-organized competition but wishes to switch national eligibility, he must have played in competitions for four consecutive years in the new country without playing in another country, he must show his move to the new country's national association with an international transfer card, as well as be a citizen of the new country. A player may only switch national eligibility once. [23]
At the conclusion of each tournament, the Directorate of the IIHF presents awards to the Top Goalie, Forward, and Defenceman of the tournament. The media attending the event select an All-Star team separately from this.
The following television networks and websites broadcast World Junior Championship games on television or online.
Country | Broadcaster(s) |
---|---|
Canada | TSN RDS |
Czechia | ČT Sport |
Europe | Eurosport |
Finland | TV5 |
Russia | Match TV Channel One Russia |
Slovakia | JOJ Šport |
Sweden | SVT TV4/TV12 C More |
Switzerland | UPC Switzerland (MySports) |
United States | NHL Network ESPN+ |
TSN is the IIHF's main broadcast partner for this tournament. TSN.ca carries all games excluding relegation games live, as well as most games on demand after their completion. [24] Beginning with 2022 WJC, the international feed produced by TSN as seen on NHL Network's USA Hockey team games and in other countries has the IIHF lettering for game scores instead of TSN's.
Starting with the 2013 tournament, a paywall and geo-block was implemented on TSN's online coverage. [25] The same system applies to Canadian cable subscribers and subscribers of TSN's streaming service – users cannot stream the tournament outside of Canada on TSN Direct. [26]
Norway is currently a 'blackout' zone. Neither Eurosport or Viasat carry the tournament.
The Ice Hockey World Championships are an annual international men's ice hockey tournament organized by the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF). First officially held at the 1920 Summer Olympics. The IIHF was created in 1908 while the European Championships, the precursor to the World Championships, were first held in 1910. The tournament held at the 1920 Summer Olympics is recognized as the first Ice Hockey World Championship. From 1920 to 1968, the Olympic hockey tournament was also considered the World Championship for that year.
The Czech Republic men's national ice hockey team is the national ice hockey team of the Czech Republic. Since 2021, the team has been officially known in English as Czechia. It is one of the most successful national ice hockey teams in history and a member of the so-called "Big Six", the unofficial group of the six strongest men's ice hockey nations, along with Canada, Finland, Russia, Sweden and the United States. It is governed by the Czech Ice Hockey Association. The Czech Republic has 85,000 male players officially enrolled in organized hockey.
The Soviet national ice hockey team was the national men's ice hockey team of the Soviet Union. From 1954, the team won at least one medal each year at either the Ice Hockey World Championships or the Olympic hockey tournament.
Gord Miller is a Canadian sportscaster for Bell Media's sports cable network TSN. He is the lead play-by-play announcer for TSN Hockey and coverage of international hockey, including the IIHF World Junior Championship. He also covers the annual NHL Entry Draft, provided play-by-play for Canadian Football League games, and does play-by-play for the Stanley Cup playoffs on ESPN in the United States. Miller was awarded the Paul Loicq Award by the International Ice Hockey Federation in 2013, for his contributions to international ice hockey.
Cheryl Pounder is a women's ice hockey player. She played defence for the Canadian Women's Hockey League's Mississauga Chiefs, and competed in the 2002 and 2006 Winter Olympics.
The 2007 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships was the 2007 edition of the Ice Hockey World Junior Championship and was held in Mora and Leksand, Sweden between December 26, 2006 and January 5, 2007. The venues were FM Mattsson Arena in Mora, and Ejendals Arena in Leksand. The total attendance was a significant drop off from the 325,000-plus visitors at the previous World Juniors in British Columbia, Canada.
The 1987 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships was the 11th edition of the Ice Hockey World Junior Championship and was held in Piešťany, Trenčín, Nitra, and Topoľčany, Czechoslovakia. Finland captured its first World Junior gold medal, Czechoslovakia took silver, and Sweden the bronze. The tournament is most remembered, however, for how the medals were allocated.
The 2009 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships, was the 33rd edition of the Ice Hockey World Junior Championship and was played in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, between December 26, 2008, and January 5, 2009. Games were held at the Ottawa Civic Centre and Scotiabank Place. The tournament set a record for WJC attendance at 453,282. Canada won the gold medal for a record-tying fifth consecutive time. No country would win back-to-back gold until the 2023 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships when Canada won the 2022 and 2023 tournaments respectively.
The Canadian men's national under-20 ice hockey team is the ice hockey team representing Canada internationally in under-20 competition. Their primary participation in this age group comes at the International Ice Hockey Federation's World Junior Championship, held annually every December and January. The team also participates in various exhibition matches and occasional exhibition series, such as the 2007 Super Series against their Russian counterparts, an eight-game exhibition series commemorating the 35th anniversary of the 1972 Summit Series.
The Punch-up in Piestany was a bench-clearing brawl between Canada and the Soviet Union during the final game of the 1987 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships in Piešťany, Czechoslovakia on January 4, 1987. The incident resulted in the ejection of both teams, and while the Soviets had already been eliminated from medal contention, the disqualification cost Canada a medal – potentially the gold. The brawl is famous for officials having turned off the arena lights in a desperate attempt to end the 20-minute melee. Much of the blame was placed on Norwegian referee Hans Rønning, who had been selected for the game based on his perceived neutrality rather than experience.
The 1983 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships was the seventh edition of the Ice Hockey World Junior Championship and was held in Leningrad, Soviet Union between December 26, 1982, and January 4, 1983. The host Soviet team won the tournament with a perfect 7–0 record.
The 2011 IIHF World U20 Championship, commonly referred to as the 2011 World Junior Hockey Championships, was the 35th edition of the Ice Hockey World Junior Championship and was hosted by the United States. The games were played in Western New York, at HSBC Arena in Buffalo and Niagara University's Dwyer Arena in Lewiston. Russia won the gold medal with a 5–3 victory over Canada in the championship game, after completing the biggest comeback in the WJHC history; being down 3–0 after two periods, the Russians scored five goals in the third period to capture their first WJHC gold medal since 2003. The host team, the United States, won the bronze medal with a 4–2 win over Sweden.
The Soviet Union men's national under 20 ice hockey team was the national under-20 ice hockey team in the Soviet Union. The team represented the Soviet Union at the International Ice Hockey Federation's IIHF World U20 Championship. The team has won eleven gold medals, three silver medals, and two bronze medals at the World U20 Championships.
The Switzerland men's national under 20 ice hockey team is the national under-20 ice hockey team of Switzerland. The team is controlled by the Swiss Ice Hockey Federation, a member of the International Ice Hockey Federation.
Jared Seth Jones is an American professional ice hockey defenseman and alternate captain for the Chicago Blackhawks of the National Hockey League (NHL). He was selected fourth overall by the Nashville Predators in the 2013 NHL Entry Draft. After two seasons playing for the United States National Team Development Program, Jones joined the Western Hockey League's (WHL) Portland Winterhawks.
The 2015 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships was the 39th edition of Ice Hockey World Junior Championship, played from December 26, 2014 to January 5, 2015. It was co-hosted by Toronto, Ontario, and Montreal, Quebec, Canada, and organized by Hockey Canada, Hockey Quebec, the Ontario Hockey Federation, the Montreal Canadiens, Maple Leafs Sports and Entertainment and Evenko. Games were split between Air Canada Centre in Toronto and Bell Centre in Montreal, with Montreal hosting Group A matches and two quarter finals, and Toronto hosting Group B, along with the relegation games, two quarter finals, along with the semi-finals, bronze medal, and gold medal games.
The 2017 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships was the 41st edition of the Ice Hockey World Junior Championship. The main tournament was co-hosted by the Bell Centre in Montreal, Quebec and Air Canada Centre in Toronto, Ontario. This was the 14th championship that Canada had hosted. Montreal and Toronto also jointly hosted the 2015 edition. The tournament consisted of 30 games between 10 nations.
The 2022 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships were the 46th edition of the Ice Hockey World Junior Championship, played from August 9 to 20, 2022 at Rogers Place in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.
Media related to IIHF World U20 Championship at Wikimedia Commons