The IIHF World Junior Championship is an annual event organized by the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) for national under-20 ice hockey teams. Traditionally held from late December to the beginning of January, the main tournament features the top ten ranked hockey nations in 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 with the last place team facing relegation to a lower pool.
Prior to the first official tournament held in 1977, there had been invitational tournaments in 1974, 1975 and 1976 not sanctioned by the IIHF. There have been 49 official tournaments as of 2025, while the 2022 tournament was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Historically, the tournament has been dominated by Canada (20 gold medals) and the Soviet Union/CIS/Russia (13 gold medals). The USSR won the first four official tournaments, while the Canadians put together five consecutive championships between 1993 and 1997, and another five consecutive from 2005 to 2009.
Since the tournament moved to a championship-game format, just three gold medal games have not featured Canada, the United States, or Russia (2001, 2014 and 2026). 1987 remains the only year in which none of the three won a medal, due to the disqualification of Canada and the Soviet Union.
Medalists The winners by season listed below. Unofficial tournaments Year Gold Silver Bronze 4th place Host city (cities) Host country (countries) 1974 Leningrad 1975 Winnipeg and BrandonMinneapolis, Bloomington and Fargo 1976 Tampere, Turku, Pori and Rauma
Official tournaments Key Number of tournaments (or 2nd, 3rd or 4th places) won at the time.
Year Gold Silver Bronze 4th place Host city (cities) Host country (countries) 1977 Zvolen and Banská Bystrica 1978 Montreal, Quebec City, Chicoutimi, Hull and Cornwall 1979 Karlstad and Karlskoga 1980 Helsinki and Vantaa 1981 Füssen, Landsberg and Kaufbeuren 1982 Bloomington, Minneapolis and DuluthWinnipeg and Kenora 1983 Leningrad 1984 Norrköping and Nyköping 1985 Helsinki and Turku 1986 Hamilton, Toronto and London 1987 Piešťany, Topoľčany, Trenčín and Nitra 1988 Moscow 1989 Anchorage and Eagle River 1990 Helsinki and Turku 1991 Saskatoon 1992 Füssen and Kaufbeuren 1993 Gävle, Uppsala and Falun 1994 Ostrava and Frýdek-Místek 1995 Red Deer, Edmonton and Calgary 1996 Boston, Amherst and Marlborough 1997 Geneva and Morges 1998 Helsinki and Hämeenlinna 1999 Winnipeg, Brandon and Selkirk 2000 Skellefteå and Umeå 2001 Moscow and Podolsk 2002 Pardubice and Hradec Králové 2003 Halifax and Sydney 2004 Helsinki and Hämeenlinna 2005 Grand Forks and Thief River Falls 2006 Vancouver, Kelowna and Kamloops 2007 Leksand and Mora 2008 Pardubice and Liberec 2009 Ottawa 2010 Saskatoon and Regina 2011 Buffalo and Lewiston 2012 Calgary and Edmonton 2013 Ufa 2014 Malmö 2015 Toronto and Montreal 2016 Helsinki 2017 Montreal and Toronto 2018 Buffalo and Orchard Park 2019 Vancouver and Victoria 2020 Ostrava and Třinec 2021 Edmonton 2022 Edmonton 2023 Halifax and Moncton 2024 Gothenburg 2025 Ottawa 2026 Minneapolis and Saint Paul 2027 Edmonton and Red Deer 2028 Tampere and Turku 2029 Quebec City and Trois-Rivières
In 2024, the IIHF announced that Canada will host the tournament every odd year until their agreement with Hockey Canada runs out in 2034.
Medal table
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 BronzeMedals 20 10 6 36 Total 7 2 7 16 5 6 7 18 3 12 7 22Total 0 0 2 2 0 0 1 1Total 50 50 50 150
See also List of IIHF World Championship medalists
Notes
References
General
Specific