Editor’s note: This the second installment of a two-part series in which the Pucks and Rec staff will select the best moment in World Junior Championship history for each existing program that has played in the 20-and-under tournament’s top division.
Latvia: 2009
While the Latvians consistently qualify for the top tier of the WJC, they have struggled to gain traction beyond that. In 2009, they lost to Russia, Slovakia, Sweden and Finland in round-robin play.
But despite losing again to Finland in the relegation round, Latvia also shined in two 7-1 wins over Germany and Kazakhstan. It placed second in the bracket and subsequently secured a position in the top tier from 2010 to 2014. – John Morton
Norway: 2006
The 2005-06 Norwegians ended a 15-year absence from the top tier. They earned their place in this edition after dominating the 2005 Division I ranks with a 5-0 mark.
Granted, Norway did not win a game in round-robin play in this tournament. But what makes 2006 its most memorable moment was its valiant against Canada.
While they bowed to the United States and Finland, 11-2 and 9-1, respectively, the Norwegians gave Canada a hard-fought test in a 4-0 loss. They did this against a juggernaut team before a partisan sellout crowd of 16,083 at Vancouver’s Pacific Coliseum.
The Canadians, by the way, went on to win gold. – J.M.
Poland: 1987
Canada and the Soviet Union assisted Poland in their top WJC moment. A bench-clearing brawl in their matchup disqualified both teams from the tournament’s final standings.
In turn, Poland only defeated Switzerland 8-3 in this tournament, yet placed fifth in this tournament. This remains by far the program’s best performance in the WJC. The Poles last played at the top level in 1997. – J.M.
Russia/Soviet Union: 1999
Russia was the dominant force in early World Junior history, winning nine of the first 15 titles as the Soviet Union/Commonwealth of Independent State (CIS). After the fall of the USSR, the new Team Russia took an expected step back at the world stage. It would fail to win another championship for seven years.
For a lot of nations, finishing consistently in the top three of a major competition would be an accomplishment. But for Russia, that simply isn’t good enough.
This makes 1999 a pivotal year for the program. It was the first time the 20-and-under team broke through to a championship under the post-USSR flag.
Everyone knew Russia would one day find its way back to the top of the podium. But it took the goaltending tandem of Alexi Volkov and Yuri Gerasimov to propel the new-look nation back into its top-shelf standard. Since then, Russia has won three more WJC golds, but its first as a nation has to be its sweetest. – Eugene Helfrick
Slovakia: 2015
Slovakia has made some noise in this year’s tournament, upsetting the host and defending champion Americans. But that did not translate to anything further, as the Slovaks fell to Sweden, 3-2, in the playoff quarterfinal.
Their best WJC moment came in 2015, when tournament MVP Denis Godla backstopped the Slovaks to a bronze medal. In the bronze-medal game, Pavol Skalicky scored early in the third period to break a 2-2 tie. Slovakia would hang on and add an empty-net goal in the final minute for a 4-2 win over Sweden.
That third-place triumph matches Slovakia’s best finish ever, also a bronze medal in 1999. But in the more recent case, the team it beat for a medal had just been in three straight championship games. – Zach Green
Sweden: 2012
Sweden is a country rich with hockey history. It has won two Olympic championships and a pair of World Junior titles. In addition, Sweden claimed bronze in the 2016 World Cup of Hockey.
But it also went through the longest gold-medal drought of any country to win bragging rights at the WJC. With that said, its greatest moment came when Mika Zibanejad snuck a shot past Russia’s Andrei Makarov to win the gold in overtime.
This sudden-death upset of the defending champs marked the Swedes’ first WJC title in 31 years. They had previously prevailed in 1981 when Patrik Sundstrom led them in West Germany. – Z.G.
Switzerland: 1998
For the most part, Switzerland has stayed in the WJC’s top division since first entering junior hockey in 1978. While they have had the occasional star come through, like Nico Hischier or Roman Josi, the Swiss haven’t had two at the same time. With the frequent lack of a catalyst, they haven’t seen much IIHF success.
One shining moment did come two decades ago. The Swiss won their only WJC medal, a bronze, by defeating the Czech Republic in a shootout. – Z.G.
United States: 2017
In 2017, it was largely considered a forgone conclusion that Canada would win gold on home ice in Montreal. The hosts were stacked across the board, and they had the lingering bitter taste of failing to reach a podium in 2016.
Team USA, however, failed to read this memo. The Americans started by beating Canada, 3-1, in their round-robin showdown. When they met again for the playoff title, the visitors claimed a hard-fought 5-4 shootout victory.
While this was not the first time the U.S. won the championship, it had a unique sweetness for the victors given Canada’s dominance against the rest of the competitors. This wasn’t America’s most dominant team in WJC history. But it was a balanced bunch built to win no matter who they were facing. – E.H.
Ukraine: 1995
Between difficult matchups and logistical issues, the underdog Ukraine often finds itself falling short of the WJC’s top tier. Even when they do qualify, the Ukrainians often function as a stepping stone, failing to log a win before being sent back to relegation.
But in 1995, while they still had a tough championship as usual, they also turned in one of their grittiest performances. After taking tough losses to Canada, Russia, the Czech Republic and Sweden, they dug their heels and upset the U.S., 3-2.
Considering that Ukraine was giving up at least six goals a game to their competitors, this victory over the US was unexpected to say the least. This nation may never win gold, but it will always have this moment to its name. – E.H.
Leave a Reply