The IIHF World Under-20 Championships (colloquially known as the World Junior Hockey Championship) is an annual event organized by the International Ice Hockey Federation for national under-20 ice hockey teams from around the world. It is traditionally held from late December to the beginning of January. 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.[1]
The first official tournament was held in held in 1977. Prior to that, there had been invitational tournaments in 1974, 1975 and 1976 that were not sanctioned by the IIHF.[2]
One of the most infamous incidents in tournament history occurred in 1987 in Piestany, Czechoslovakia, where a massive bench-clearing brawl involving all players on both teams occurred between Canada and the Soviet Union, leading to the disqualification of each team.[3] The brawl helped raise the profile of the tournament in Canada where the tournament now ranks as one of the most important events on the hockey calendar.[4][5]
As of 2011, 35 official tournaments have been staged. Seven nations have won a gold medal and ten have won medals. Historically, the tournament has been dominated by the Soviet Union/Russia and Canada, together accounting for 28 of the 35 gold medals awarded. Canada leads the all-time gold medal count with 15 and have won a total of 27 medals; the Soviet Union/Russia leads by number of total medals won at 29.
Contents |
| Year | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Host city (cities) | Host country |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1974 | Soviet Union | Finland | Canada | Leningrad | Soviet Union |
| 1975 | Soviet Union | Canada | Sweden | Winnipeg | Canada |
| 1976 | Soviet Union | Canada | Czechoslovakia | Tampere | Finland |
These tournaments have been announced.
| Year | Host city (cities) | Host country |
|---|---|---|
| 2012 | Calgary and Edmonton | Canada[8] |
| 2013 | Ufa | Russia[9] |
| 2014 | Malmö | Sweden[10] |
| 2015 | Canada[11] | |
| 2016 | ||
| 2017 | Canada[11] | |
| 2018 | United States[12] | |
| 2019 | Canada[11] | |
| 2020 | ||
| 2021 | Canada[11] |
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 | 15 | 8 | 4 | 27 |
| Russia Soviet Union |
4 9 13 |
6 3 9 |
5 2 7 |
15 14 29 |
| Czech Republic Czechoslovakia |
2 0 2 |
0 5 5 |
1 6 7 |
3 11 14 |
| Finland | 2 | 4 | 6 | 12 |
| United States | 2 | 1 | 4 | 7 |
| Sweden | 1 | 8 | 5 | 14 |
| Slovakia | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Switzerland | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
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