WJC #16—1992, hosted by Germany (Füssen, Kaufbeuren)
World politics played an integral role in the 1992 World Juniors. At the start of the event, the Soviet Union took to the ice for their first game against Switzerland, a 10-1 win, but during the time of perestroika even hockey was affected. Late at night between New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day, the dissolution of the nation played out and the hammer and sickle flag of the old CCCP was taken down. It was announced that for the rest of the tournament, the team would be called CIS (Commonwealth of Independent States). It wasn’t long before Russia and many new nations announced their independence. On ice, CCCP/CIS rolled along, winning six of seven games and claiming the gold. Their only loss was to Czechoslovakia, 5-2, but on the final day the Americans surprised the Czechoslovaks, 3-2, to take bronze behind Sweden. Pat Peake scored the winning goal for the Americans with only 4:30 left in the third. Canada, meanwhile, was distracted by the Eric Lindros controversy and finished sixth. He had been drafted first overall by Quebec the previous summer but refused to play for the Nordiques, so he was with the team even though he should have been in the NHL. There was more final-day drama at the bottom of the standings as well when the Germans toppled the Swiss, 6-2, relegating the Swiss.
WJC #17—1993, hosted by Sweden (Gävle, Falun, Bollnäs, Skutskär, Uppsala, Hofors, Hudiksvall)
The storylines were many as Sweden took on the hosting duties, and for the second year in a row the New Year saw the formation of a new country. This year, Czechoslovakia became the Czech and Slovak Republics on New Year’s Day, and the old Czech flag and anthem were replaced by the IIHF’s for the balance of the tournament. On ice, there was good and bad news. Japan was playing for the first time, but they were humiliated by Sweden, 20-1, in a game in which Peter Forsberg collected ten points (3+7). Indeed, Forsberg set a record that stands today—31 points in one tournament—and he was joined by teammates Markus Naslund, Kenny Jonsson, and Niklas Sundblad on a team that was as star-studded as the Swedes have ever had. Forsberg made one misstep, though: He predicted a win over Canada. The Canadians used that bravado as motivation and produced a 5-4 victory en route to gold. Canada’s only loss was on the final day, by which time they had already won gold, 7-4 to Czech/Slovak, a result that gave the new country bronze and relegated the United States to fourth place. The hosts won the silver, but the hero was Canadian goalie Manny Legace, who had a 6-0 record and would surely have been named tournament MVP had the honour existed at the time.
WJC #18—1994, hosted by Czechia (Ostrava, Frydek-Mistek)
The Czech Republic hosted the 18th World Juniors in Ostrava and Frydek-Mistek, and for the second year in a row Canada came out on top. They had a 6-1-0 record, their only blemish a 3-3 tie with Russia. The gold medal came down to the final day, a Canada-Sweden game. Sweden had 12 points coming into the game and Canada 11, and both teams had the same goal differential. Canada, though, had scored more goals, so a tie would favour them. No matter. They jumped into an early 2-0 lead, but the Swedes scored twice late to make it 2-2 after one period. In the second, Canada struck three times, and a Sweden rally ended just short when Canada got an empty netter with six seconds left in the game. The Russia-Finland game for bronze was even more dramatic. The Finns needed to win, and they had leads of 1-0 and 2-1. Russia, however, built a 4-2 lead midway through the third period. Finland got one back to make it 4-3 and then pulled goalie Petri Engman. They tied the game at 19:26 with the extra attacker, but a tie would still give the bronze to Russia, so Engman stayed on the bench as Finland tried desperately to break the 4-4 tie. Alas for Suomi, Valeri Bure scored the empty netter to confirm Russia’s third-place finish.
WJC #19—1995, hosted by Canada (Red Deer, Leduc, Spruce Grove, Innisfail, Stettler, Rocky Mountain House, Edmonton, Wetaskiwin, Calgary, Sherwood Park, Lacombe, Camrose, Ponoka)
The NHL lockout had a positive effect on this year’s World Juniors, especially for Canada which was able to select all its best U20 players. Playing at home, in Alberta, and televised by TSN, this tournament has long been identified as the turning point in World Juniors history, when the event went from small time to big time, attracting fans and scouts and producing large TV audiences. Canada’s roster included Ryan Smyth, Ed Jovanovski, Eric Daze, Wade Redden, and Jason Botterill. The team went a perfect 7-0 and scored a whopping 49 goals. The only time they were in even the slightest danger was the Czech Republic game when the Czechs led in the second period by scores of 3-1, 4-3, and 5-4. But Canada scored three in the third to pull away, 7-5. Russia and Sweden battled for silver, Russia taking second with a 6-2 win over Finland on the final day as the Swedes fell 4-3 to Canada. Ukraine participated for the first time, marking the first former Soviet nation to play at the U20. In the coming years, Kazakhstan and Belarus would also make their World Juniors debut at the top level.
WJC #20—1996, hosted by USA (Worcester, Marlborough, Amherst, Boston, Springfield, Chestnut Hill)
Major change welcomed the 1996 World Juniors, played in Boston for the first time. The tournament now featured ten teams, not eight, and these were divided into two groups of five. The round-robin format was replaced by a preliminary round and then a playoffs, culminating with a winner-take-all, gold-medal game. The new format didn’t bother Canada, which won for a fourth straight year. They had a perfect 6-0 record and allowed a mere eight goals from start to finish. Jose Theodore was sensational in goal for the Canadians. In the gold-medal game, they took care of Sweden, 4-1. The win meant Jason Botterill won his third gold medal, an achievement that has yet to be equalled in half a century of U20 play. Sweden took the silver and Russia, 4-3 winners over the Czechs, took the bronze. Canada’s Jarome Iginla and Germany’s Florian Keller co-led the tournament in scoring with 12 points. The hosts finished a disappointing fifth, but did so with flair, winning a dedicated 5th-place game over Finland, 8-7, in overtime (Jeremiah McCarthy with the winner).
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