IIHF - Countdown to 50: Part 10 – World Juniors On the Road to Half a Century

Countdown to 50: Part 10 – World Juniors On the Road to Half a Century

by Andrew PODNIEKS|21 DEC 2025

Mason McTavish stops the puck at 2022 World Juniors.

photo: © International Ice Hockey Federation

WJC #46—2022, hosted by Canada (Edmonton, Red Deer)

The 46th World Juniors took place in the summer for the first time in the tournament’s history due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The best junior hockey players met in August at in Alberta. Canada and the United States breezed through the preliminary round with 4-0 records, but the Americans were stunned, 4-2, by Czechia, in the quarter-finals. Canada, in turn, took care of the Czechs in the semis, while Finland also advanced to the gold-medal game with a 1-0 win over their arch-rivals Sweden. The final game went to overtime, and the Finns looked like they had won when Topi Niemela redirected the puck into the open net. But Mason McTavish was there to bat the puck off the goal line, and moments later Kent Johnson knocked in a rebound at the other end to give Canada gold after a remarkable sequence in OT.

WJC #47—2023, hosted my Canada (Halifax, Moncton)

The World Juniors remained in Canada, Halifax hosting on the east coast this time, and fans were back after COVID-19 had been brought under control. Crowds at the Scotiabank Centre were large and enthusiastic, and half the preliminary round was played, for the first time, in Moncton, New Brunswick, where teams were greeted with equal passion by the fans. On ice, Canada was led by the sensational Connor Bedard, but Czechia and the United States also started off strong. Bedard scored the goal of the tournament in overtime of the quarter-finals to eliminate Slovakia, and in the semis Canada knocked off the U.S., 6-2, while Czechia advanced after defeating Sweden, 2-1, in overtime, thanks to a Jiri Kulich goal. It was Czechia’s first game for gold since 2001. Alas, the home side spoiled the party for Kulich and the Czechs, winning gold in overtime on a Dylan Guenther goal off a two-on-one rush. The U.S., meanwhile, beat Sweden for bronze in a wild, 8-7 game, Chaz Lucius the hero at 2:06 of OT as well. But most important, the buzz was back. No more COVID-19. No more bad news off ice. Just goals and great plays and big crowds.

Jiri Kulich celebrates after scoring an ovetime winner to send Czechia to the gold medal game

photo: © INTERNATIONAL ICE HOCKEY FEDERATION

WJC #48—2024, hosted by Sweden (Gothenburg)

Playing in Europe for the first time since 2020, the World Juniors landed in Gothenburg, Sweden with a bang. More than 170,000 fans passed through the turnstiles, but the locals left the final game proud yet disappointed after the U.S. won gold, defeating Sweden, 6-2. Czechia provided some quarter-finals drama by eliminating Canada, 3-2, and the Swedes avoided an early exit with an overtime win over Switzerland, 3-2. Axel Sandin Pellikka scored the winner at 5:22 of the OT. The Americans advanced with a 7-2 win over Latvia and then had a much tougher fight in the semis, beating Finland, 3-2. The Finns led 2-0 after the first, only to see the U.S. tie it in the second. Then, with overtime looming, Cutter Gauthier scored the winner at 16:47. Czechia won bronze with an 8-5 win, making a late and improbable comeback. But the U.S. was too strong in the final game. Although it was 1-1 early in the second, they stormed away with two goals later in the period and three unanswered markers in the third.

WJC #49—2025, hosted by Canada (Ottawa)

The Swedes and Americans were the class of the preliminary round while hosts Canada struggled to establish an identity in the first four games. As a result, Canada drew a tough opponent in Czechia in the quarter-finals and lost, 4-3. The Czechs built a 3-1 lead after the first period, but Canada fought back and finally tied the game with 5:18 to play. As the clock wound down, overtime seemed inevitable, but Adam Jecho scored with only 40 seconds remaining to send the Czechs on to the semis. They were no match for the Americans, however, who won, 4-1, and faced Finland for gold. Suomi had the upper hand at first and had a 3-1 lead early in the second period. But the experienced and determined U.S. didn’t panic. They tied the game before the second intermission, and a goalless third sent the game to overtime. Teddy Stiga scored the golden goal after taking a sensational breakaway pass from Zeev Buium. This was the first time the U.S. had won back-to-back gold at the World Juniors. The Czechs prevailed in the bronze-medal game, beating Sweden, 3-2, in the longest shootout in U20 history (28 shots).

Teddy Stiga scores the game winner on a breakaway to secure gold for the U.S.

WJC #50—2026, hosted by USA (Minnesota)

Minneapolis played host to one World Junior game back in 1982 (an 11-1 Canada win over Switzerland on New Year’s Day) and they are full hosts for the 50th World Junior Championship in 2026. Not only that, the U.S. enters the tournament as champions the last two years, hoping to make it a golden hat trick on home ice. Meanwhile, the Latvia-Denmark game on 30 December will be the 3,000th game in U20 history. In the first 49 years, only four countries have played more than 300 games—Sweden (324), Finland (323), United States (322), and Canada (319). Denmark is the promoted team, after winning Division I-A last year, and the final four games will be played at the Grand Casino Arena in St. Paul, which hosted four games of the 2004 World Cup of Hockey. In all, the Americans have won 16 medals (7-2-7) while Canada leads the way with 35 (20-10-5). The current start date (December 26) has been used for the World Juniors almost every year since 1986, and the traditional day off after the preliminary round is New Year’s Day. This is the seventh time the U.S. will host the tournament, and organizers will be looking at the attendance mark from 2011 in Buffalo when a U.S. record of 331,297 attended the 31 games.

Previous articles from the Countdown to 50 series: