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 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. The tournament usually attracts the top hockey players in this age category.
The IIHF Women's World U18 Championship, officially the IIHF Ice Hockey U18 Women's World Championship, is an annual ice hockey tournament for national women's under-18 (U18) ice hockey teams, administered by the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF). It is the junior edition of the IIHF Women's World Championship and participation is limited to female ice hockey players under 18 years of age.
The International Ice Hockey Federation is a worldwide governing body for ice hockey. It is based in Zurich, Switzerland, and has 82 member countries.
Oleg Valerievich Znarok is a Soviet-Latvian professional ice hockey player. In 2022, he was the head coach of Ak Bars Kazan in the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL) and consultant of the Russia men's national ice hockey team.
The Belarusian men's national under-20 ice hockey team is the national under-20 ice hockey team in Belarus. The team represented Belarus at the International Ice Hockey Federation's World Junior Hockey Championship. Prior to independence in 1991, Belarusian players played for the Soviet Union, which played in the World Juniors from its inception in 1974. Belarus has played in the top division eight times, first in 1999 and most recently in 2018, with their best finish being ninth overall in both 2001 and 2002.
The Slovenia men's national under 20 ice hockey team is the national under-20 ice hockey team of Slovenia. The team is controlled by the Ice Hockey Federation of Slovenia, a member of the International Ice Hockey Federation.
The New Zealand men's national under 20 ice hockey team is the national under-20 ice hockey team of New Zealand. The team is controlled by the New Zealand Ice Hockey Federation, a member of the International Ice Hockey Federation.
The French men's national under 20 ice hockey team is the national under-20 ice hockey team in France. The team represents France at the International Ice Hockey Federation's IIHF World U20 Championship's World Junior Hockey Championship Division I.
The Latvian women's national ice hockey team represents Latvia at the International Ice Hockey Federation's IIHF Women's World Championship and is controlled by the Latvian Ice Hockey Federation. In recent years, participation women's hockey has increased in Latvia; the number of registered women's players grew from 74 in 2018 to 223 in 2020.
The Ukraine women's national ice hockey team is the women's national ice hockey team of Ukraine. The team is controlled by the Ice Hockey Federation of Ukraine, a member of the International Ice Hockey Federation. They made their World Championship debut in 2019 winning all four games to gain promotion to Division II B.
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 Australian National Women's Under-18 ice hockey Team (NWU18T) is the women's National Under-18 ice hockey team of Australia. The team is controlled by Ice Hockey Australia, a member of the International Ice Hockey Federation.
The 2023 IIHF World Championship was co-hosted by Tampere, Finland, and Riga, Latvia. The tournament was held from 12 to 28 May 2023, organized by the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF).
The 2021 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships were the 45th edition of the Ice Hockey World Junior Championship. It began on December 25, 2020, and ended with the gold medal game on January 5, 2021. This marked the 16th time that Canada hosted the WJIHC. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Canada, it was hosted in a "bubble" behind closed doors in Edmonton, Alberta, with no spectators admitted for any game.
Ice hockey in Latvia is the most popular sport in the country. The first hockey match on Latvian soil took place on February 15, 1909, with two teams facing Union and Strēlnieka Dārzs. However, it took another 20 years to supplant the popular sport of Bandy.
The 2022 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships were the 46th edition of the Ice Hockey World Junior Championship, played from August 9–20, 2022 at Rogers Place in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.
The 2023 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships was the 47th edition of the Ice Hockey World Junior Championship, held between December 26, 2022 and January 5, 2023. It was won by Canada, in overtime of the gold-medal game. Czechia won the silver, their first medal since 2005.
The 2024 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships was the 48th edition of the Ice Hockey World Junior Championship's top division. It was held from 26 December 2023 to 5 January 2024. This was the seventh time that Sweden has hosted the WJHC, and the first time in Gothenburg. Canada entered the tournament as two-time defending champions. The United States won their sixth championship, defeating host Sweden 6–2 in the gold medal game.
Artis Ābols
Canada 16 – 0 Latvia 
