2012 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships

The 2012 IIHF U20 World Championship was the 36th World Junior Ice Hockey Championships (WJHC). It was hosted in Calgary and Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. It began on December 26, 2011, and ended with the gold medal game played in Calgary on January 5, 2012. Sweden defeated defending-champion Russia 1–0 in overtime to win their first title in 31 years. Russian forward Evgeny Kuznetsov was named MVP of the tournament. Denmark was relegated to Division I and Germany was promoted to the 2013 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships.

Canada missed the final for the first time in 11 years when they lost 6–5 against Russia in a semifinal in which Canada were down 6–1 halfway through the third period. However, the Canadians extended their consecutive medal streak at the tournament to 14 (5 gold, 6 silver, 3 bronze) with a 4–0 victory over Finland in the bronze medal game. The fourth place finish for Finland was their best result in the tournament since 2006. The United States ended up in the relegation round for the first time since 1999.

IIHF World U20 Championship

The IIHF Ice Hockey World Junior Championships (WJC), commonly known simply as the 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 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.

The competition's profile is particularly high in Canada; its stature has been credited to Canada's strong performance in the tournament (it has won the gold medal sixteen times since its inception), the role of hockey in Canadian culture, along with strong media coverage and fan attendance. As such, in recent years, nearly half of the tournaments have been held in Canadian cities, with the remainder being held in Europe and the United States.

IIHF World U18 Championship

The IIHF U18 World Championship is an annual event organized by the International Ice Hockey Federation for national under-18 ice hockey teams from around the world. The tournament is usually played in April and is organized according to a system similar to Ice Hockey World Championships and World Junior Ice Hockey Championships. The United States has dominated the tournament with nine championships followed by Canada and Russia with three. Countries generally send their best team to this tournament, however, several top North American and European amateurs may not participate as in April both the United States Hockey League (USHL) and Canadian Hockey League (CHL) are still involved in league playoffs. Players who do not participate in the World Championship due to their respective league postseasons have the alternative of representing their country in the Ivan Hlinka Memorial Tournament in August.

Results

Medal table

See also