Canada men's national junior ice hockey team
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

The Canadian men's national under-20 ice hockey team is the
ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice hock ...
team representing
Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
internationally in under-20 competition. Their primary participation in this age group comes at the
International Ice Hockey Federation The International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF; french: Fédération internationale de hockey sur glace; german: Internationale Eishockey-Föderation) is a worldwide governing body for ice hockey. It is based in Zurich, Switzerland, and has 83 m ...
's World Junior Championship, held annually every December and January. The team also participates in various exhibition matches and occasional exhibition series, such as the
2007 Super Series The 2007 Super Series (russian: Суперсерия 2007; french: 2007 Super Série) was an eight-game Under-20 ice hockey challenge between Russia and Canada. The series was won by Canada, who shocked the Russians with seven wins and one tie ...
against their
Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...
n counterparts, an eight-game exhibition series commemorating the 35th anniversary of the 1972
Summit Series The Summit Series, Super Series 72, Canada–USSR Series (russian: Суперсерия СССР — Канада, Superseriya SSSR — Kanada), or Series of the Century (french: Série du siècle, Séries of the Century), was an eight-game ic ...
. The national junior team is extremely popular in Canada, with World Junior events in Canada being often sold out, television ratings are extremely high, and even events in Europe are well attended by a contingent of Canadian fans. The Canadian junior team is the most successful in the world, having medalled in 34 of 46 events held since 1977, winning a record 19 gold medals. Its success can be traced back to the formation of the Program of Excellence in 1982 by the
Canadian Amateur Hockey Association The Canadian Amateur Hockey Association (CAHA; french: Association canadienne de hockey amateur) was the national governing body of amateur ice hockey in Canada from 1914 until 1994, when it merged with Hockey Canada. Its jurisdiction include ...
, which created the first true national junior team. Since that time, Canada has won 19 of 41 World Junior championships – including five in a row on two occasions, 1993–1997 and 2005–2009.


History


Early tournaments (1974–1981)

The
International Ice Hockey Federation The International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF; french: Fédération internationale de hockey sur glace; german: Internationale Eishockey-Föderation) is a worldwide governing body for ice hockey. It is based in Zurich, Switzerland, and has 83 m ...
(IIHF) created an invitation-only junior tournament for the top ice hockey nations in the world to be held in late December 1973 and early January 1974 in
Leningrad Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...
,
Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...
. It featured six teams: the
Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...
,
Czechoslovakia , rue, Чеськословеньско, , yi, טשעכאסלאוואקיי, , common_name = Czechoslovakia , life_span = 1918–19391945–1992 , p1 = Austria-Hungary , image_p1 ...
,
Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...
,
Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...
, the
United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
and Canada. The Canadian Amateur Hockey Association (CAHA) hoped to send the defending
Memorial Cup The Memorial Cup () is the national championship of the Canadian Hockey League, a consortium of three major junior ice hockey leagues operating in Canada and parts of the United States. It is a four-team round-robin tournament played between t ...
champion
Toronto Marlboros The Toronto Marlborough Athletic Club, commonly known as the Toronto Marlboros, was founded in 1903. It operated junior ice hockey and senior ice hockey teams in the Ontario Hockey Association and later the Ontario Hockey League. The Marlboros ...
to represent Canada, but after they declined, the
Peterborough Petes The Peterborough Petes are a junior ice hockey team in the Ontario Hockey League. The team has played at the Peterborough Memorial Centre in Peterborough, Ontario, Canada, since 1956, and is the oldest continuously operating team in the league. ...
, runner up to Toronto in the
Ontario Hockey Association The Ontario Hockey Association (OHA) is the governing body for the majority of junior and senior level ice hockey teams in the Province of Ontario. The OHA is sanctioned by the Ontario Hockey Federation along with the Northern Ontario Hockey As ...
(OHA) standings, was sent. The Petes finished third, despite being the only club team in the tournament A second tournament was held in
1975 It was also declared the ''International Women's Year'' by the United Nations and the European Architectural Heritage Year by the Council of Europe. Events January * January 1 - Watergate scandal (United States): John N. Mitchell, H. R. ...
, primarily in
Winnipeg Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the province of Manitoba in Canada. It is centred on the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine rivers, near the longitudinal centre of North America. , Winnipeg had a city population of 749,6 ...
,
Manitoba Manitoba ( ) is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada at the Centre of Canada, longitudinal centre of the country. It is Canada's Population of Canada by province and territory, fifth-most populous province, with a population o ...
. The CAHA sent an all-star team made up of players representing the
Western Canada Hockey League The Western Canada Hockey League (WCHL), founded in 1921, was a major professional ice hockey league originally based in the prairies of Canada. It was renamed the Western Hockey League (WHL) in 1925 and disbanded in 1926. The WCHL's Victoria C ...
WCHL as Canada's representative. The team finished in second place with a 4–1 record, their lone loss at the hands of the champion Soviet Union. As the OHA and WCHL had each sent a representative already, the
Quebec Major Junior Hockey League The Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (french: Ligue de hockey junior majeur du Québec; abbreviated ''QMJHL'' in English, ''LHJMQ'' in French) is one of the three major junior ice hockey leagues that constitute the Canadian Hockey League. The l ...
(QMJHL) sent Canada's entry in the form of the
Sherbrooke Beavers The Sherbrooke Castors or Beavers (in English) was the name of two different junior ice hockey teams in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League and another team in the Quebec Eastern Provincial Hockey League. Both later franchises played at the Pal ...
for the 1976 tournament. The team finished second despite scoring only 12 goals and giving up 27 in four games The growing popularity of international competition begun by the 1972
Summit Series The Summit Series, Super Series 72, Canada–USSR Series (russian: Суперсерия СССР — Канада, Superseriya SSSR — Kanada), or Series of the Century (french: Série du siècle, Séries of the Century), was an eight-game ic ...
and continued with the
Canada Cup The Canada Cup (french: Coupe Canada) was an invitational international ice hockey tournament held on five occasions between 1976 and 1991. The brainchild of Toronto lawyer Alan Eagleson, the tournament was created to meet demand for a true world ...
led the IIHF to formalize the tournament in
1977 Events January * January 8 – Three bombs explode in Moscow within 37 minutes, killing seven. The bombings are attributed to an Armenian separatist group. * January 10 – Mount Nyiragongo erupts in eastern Zaire (now the Democratic R ...
as the
IIHF World U20 Championship The IIHF World Junior Championship (WJC), or simply the "World Juniors" in ice hockey circles, 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 t ...
(colloquially the World Junior Hockey Championship). The defending Memorial Cup champion
St. Catharines Fincups The Hamilton Fincups were a Canadian junior ice hockey team in the Ontario Major Junior Hockey League for 4 years, from 1974 to 1978. The team played in Hamilton, Ontario for three years, and in St. Catharines, Ontario for one. The Hamilton Fin ...
of the OHA represented Canada at this first official tournament, winning the silver medal, while
Dale McCourt Dale Allen McCourt, (born January 26, 1957), is a former professional ice hockey forward. He was drafted first overall by the Detroit Red Wings in the 1977 NHL amateur draft. Junior hockey McCourt played major junior in the Ontario Hockey Associ ...
was named the tournament's best forward. The 1978 tournament was held in
Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...
. It was the first major international tournament for
Wayne Gretzky Wayne Douglas Gretzky ( ; born January 26, 1961) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player and former head coach. He played 20 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for four teams from 1979 to 1999. Nicknamed "the Great One ...
, a 16-year-old phenom whom the Montreal crowd cheered wildly. Though he led the tournament in scoring with 17 points, Canada managed only a bronze medal after losing the final round-robin game to Sweden, 6–5, in which they needed only a tie for silver. The following three years yielded poor results. The
1979 Events January * January 1 ** United Nations Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim heralds the start of the ''International Year of the Child''. Many musicians donate to the ''Music for UNICEF Concert'' fund, among them ABBA, who write the song ...
team was represented primarily by the WHL's
New Westminster Bruins The New Westminster Bruins were a major junior ice hockey team in the Western Hockey League. There were two franchises that carried this name: * 1971–1981 (formerly the Estevan Bruins, now the Kamloops Blazers) * 1983–1988 (formerly the Nan ...
and finished in fifth place. The CAHA nearly chose not to send a team in
1980 Events January * January 4 – U.S. President Jimmy Carter proclaims a grain embargo against the USSR with the support of the European Commission. * January 6 – Global Positioning System time epoch begins at 00:00 UTC. * January 9 – ...
due to travel costs, but donations from the three major junior leagues ensured Canada's participation. The Peterborough Petes formed the primary core of the team, supplemented by players from other OHA squads. The result, however, was another fifth-place finish. The 1981 tournament was even worse, as the
Cornwall Royals The Cornwall Royals were a junior ice hockey team based in Cornwall, Ontario, Canada. The team played in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League from 1969 to 1981, and the Ontario Hockey League from 1981 to 1992. This team shared its name with o ...
, with some additions from other QMJHL teams, finished in seventh place out of eight teams.


Program of Excellence

The CAHA had long hoped to send a true national team to the tournament, but were limited by costs. To assemble such a team in 1981 would have cost four times the amount it spent to send the Cornwall Royals. The CAHA lacked the resources for such a program and preferred not to send a team at all if it couldn't send its best. However, it was in a dispute at the time with
Hockey Canada Hockey Canada (which merged with the Canadian Amateur Hockey Association in 1994) is the national governing body of ice hockey and ice sledge hockey in Canada. It is a member of the International Ice Hockey Federation and controls the majority ...
and feared that if it did not send a team, the IIHF would turn to the rival governing body instead. Though the CAHA typically sent the defending Memorial Cup champion, those teams were typically weakened by the loss of graduating players and were often only a shadow of the team which won their championships. Disappointed by frequent complaints from European teams that the Canadian juniors were just "slugs" who couldn't play the game at an elite level, CAHA president
Murray Costello James Murray Costello (born February 24, 1934) is a Canadian retired ice hockey player, executive and administrator who dedicated a lifetime to the advancement of ice hockey in Canada. He played four seasons in the National Hockey League, and ...
finally set out to build a true national team program. Known as the "Program of Excellence", Costello and the CAHA proposed a multifaceted approach that would see Canada send its top eligible juniors from across the nation. It included the creation of U-17 and U-18 programs to develop younger players and a summer training camp to evaluate potential players for the junior team. The three major-junior leagues were initially reluctant to support the proposal, as it would have required them to surrender their top players for a longer period for the tournament, as well as their younger players for regional development tournaments. The CAHA ultimately gained the support of each league, but not before having to also convince them to allow the organization to also invite eligible players from outside major junior hockey. The team that was sent to the 1982 Tournament in
Rochester, Minnesota Rochester is a city in the U.S. state of Minnesota and the county seat of Olmsted County. Located on rolling bluffs on the Zumbro River's south fork in Southeast Minnesota, the city is the home and birthplace of the renowned Mayo Clinic. Acco ...
was the first true national junior team sent. It was composed of ten players from the WHL, four from the OHL, three from the QMJHL, two playing United States college and one playing professionally in the Finnish league. The team lacked star players, but relied on a balanced offence and strong defence to post a 6–0–1 record in the round robin tournament. Canada defeated the Soviet Union 7–0 in the second-to-last game, the worst defeat the Soviets suffered in the tournament's history. The game was played at the
Winnipeg Arena Winnipeg Arena was an indoor arena located in the Polo Park district of Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. The arena was the city's premier ice hockey venue from 1955 to 2004 and is best remembered as the home of the first Winnipeg Jets franchise, whic ...
before a rabid crowd, which amazed the players. The Canadians entered the final game, against Czechoslovakia, guaranteed a silver medal, and needed only a tie to win gold. Played at a half-full arena in Rochester, the Czechs entered the third period leading 2–1, and would have had a larger lead if not for goaltender Mike Moffat. Two third-period goals gave Canada the lead before the Czechs tied it. They held on despite a frenzied attack in the final minutes to end with a 3–3 tie, and win Canada's first gold medal in the tournament's history. The arena either did not have a copy of the Canadian anthem, or had technical difficulty with it, so was unable to follow the IIHF tradition of playing the winning team's anthem following the game. The players themselves chose to sing the anthem, badly off-key, an image that has since become an iconic moment in the junior program's history. The gold medal marked the first international amateur championship for Canada in 20 years, and established the value of the Program of Excellence.


Rivalry with the Soviet Union (1983–1991)

Attempting to repeat as champions in
1983 The year 1983 saw both the official beginning of the Internet and the first mobile cellular telephone call. Events January * January 1 – The migration of the ARPANET to Internet protocol suite, TCP/IP is officially completed (this is consid ...
, Canada endured numerous incidents and mind games perpetrated by the host Soviet Union. The Soviets initially refused to grant a sufficient number of visas for the Canadian delegation, then when the team landed in
Leningrad Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...
, had their clothing and equipment seized immediately by government officials. It was returned three hours later, but only after the team threatened to withdraw from the tournament. Canada's first three games, all wins, were played in a small, empty arena. The fourth game was against the hosts in a larger rink at full capacity, which the team was denied the ability to practice in beforehand. The players struggled to adapt to the new playing conditions, losing 7–3, and even surrendered a goal when they mistook a whistle from somewhere in the crowd for the referees whistle and stopped playing. The Canadians finished with the bronze medal. The game against the Soviets was a much closer affair in the following year, ending in a 3–3 tie. However, Canada needed a win in the game to retain a chance for gold. Left with bronze as the best possibility, the disheartened Canadians lost to Czechoslovakia in the final game of the tournament and finished in fourth place. Canada and Czechoslovakia entered their contest on the final day of the 1985 tournament in
Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...
with identical 5–0–1 records. Playing for the gold medal, the game was dominated by the goaltenders:
Craig Billington Craig Richard Billington (born September 11, 1966) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey goaltender. He played with several teams in a 15-year National Hockey League career, always known as "Biller," and serves as an assistant general manage ...
and
Dominik Hašek Dominik Hašek (, ; born January 29, 1965) is a Czech former ice hockey goaltender who mostly played for the Buffalo Sabres of the National Hockey League (NHL). Widely regarded as one of the best goaltenders of all time, Hašek also played for t ...
. It ended in a 2–2 draw and Canada claimed gold in the round-robin tournament as a result of a better goal differential. It was the nation's first World Championship won on European ice in 24 years. With 5–0 records, Canada and the Soviet Union again faced off for the gold medal in their match-up at the
1986 The year 1986 was designated as the International Year of Peace by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** Aruba gains increased autonomy from the Netherlands by separating from the Netherlands Antilles. **Spain and Portugal ente ...
in Hamilton. The Soviets emerged 4–1 victors and won the gold, while Canada finished as silver medalists. Believing that the Canada-Soviet match-up would again determine who won gold, the Czechoslovak hosts scheduled the two teams to be the final game of the 1987 tournament. It did not turn out that way, as the Soviets struggled and were eliminated from contention. However, Canada could win silver with a victory, or gold with a victory of 5 or more goals. Norwegian referee Hans Rønning, assigned based on his neutrality despite his inexperience officiating at the international level, quickly lost control as both teams frequently hacked and slashed each other. Midway through the second period, with Canada leading 4–2, a
line brawl Fighting is an established tradition in North American ice hockey, with a long history that involves many levels of amateur and professional play and includes some notable individual fights. Fights may be fought by enforcers, or "goons" ()— ...
broke out that ultimately involved nearly every player for both teams after the Soviets left their bench, closely followed by the Canadians. The melee lasted 20 minutes, ending only when the players were too exhausted to continue fighting. The brawl, which became known as the
Punch-up in Piestany The Punch-up in Piestany was a bench-clearing brawl between Canada and the Soviet Union during the final game of the 1987 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships in Piešťany, Czechoslovakia (now Slovakia) on January 4, 1987. The incident result ...
, resulted in the disqualification of Canada and the Soviet Union. Players who were on the 1987 team entered the 1988 tournament in Moscow seeking redemption. They won the gold medal, finishing the tournament at 6–0–1. The 3–2 victory over the Soviet Union was the difference maker, dropping the tournament hosts to the silver medal. Canada would achieve the same feat at the
1990 File:1990 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1990 FIFA World Cup is played in Italy; The Human Genome Project is launched; Voyager I takes the famous Pale Blue Dot image- speaking on the fragility of Humankind, humanity on Earth, Astroph ...
and
1991 File:1991 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Boris Yeltsin, elected as Russia's first president, waves the new flag of Russia after the 1991 Soviet coup d'état attempt, orchestrated by Soviet hardliners; Mount Pinatubo erupts in the Phil ...
tournaments, capturing back-to-back gold medals for the first time, hinging on crucial wins over the Soviet Union. This ultimately broke the tie in points at the top of the standings each time, leaving the Soviets with silver.


Golden years (1993–1997)

From 1993 through to 1997, Canada won a record five-straight gold medals. The streak started under difficult circumstances beginning at the
1993 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships The 1993 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships (''1993 WJHC'') was the 17th edition of the Ice Hockey World Junior Championship and was held in Gävle, Sweden. Canada won the gold medal, its sixth championship, while Sweden won silver, and the co ...
in Sweden, one of the most competitive engagements in tournament history. The host Swedes, led by
Peter Forsberg Peter Mattias Forsberg (; born 20 July 1973) is a Swedish former professional ice hockey player and former assistant general manager of Modo Hockey. Nicknamed "Peter the Great" and "Foppa", Forsberg was known for his on-ice vision and physical pl ...
,
Markus Näslund Markus Sten Näslund (born 30 July 1973) is a Swedish former professional ice hockey player and former general manager for Modo Hockey of the Swedish Hockey League (SHL, formerly named Elitserien). He played in the National Hockey League (NHL) f ...
, and
Niklas Sundström Lars Niklas Sundström (born June 6, 1975) is a Swedish former professional ice hockey player who started his professional career in Modo Hockey. He was drafted eighth overall in the 1993 NHL Entry Draft by the New York Rangers. He was also on W ...
, broke scoring records. In
1995 File:1995 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: O.J. Simpson is O. J. Simpson murder case, acquitted of the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman from the 1994, year prior in "The Trial of the Century" in the United States; The ...
, the host Canadians benefited from a squad bolstered by the
1994–95 NHL lockout The 1994–95 NHL lockout was a lockout that came after a year of National Hockey League (NHL) hockey that was played without a collective bargaining agreement. The lockout was a subject of dispute as the players sought collective bargaining and ...
, resulting in a perfect record ''en route'' to winning gold. The streak culminated at the
1997 File:1997 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The movie set of ''Titanic'', the highest-grossing movie in history at the time; ''Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'', is published; Comet Hale-Bopp passes by Earth and becomes one of t ...
tournament in Switzerland, with excellent defence and goaltending covering for an offence that struggled early in the competition. The run of dominance ended in
1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The '' Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for frozen water, in soil in permanently ...
, when the team buckled under enormous media pressure and lost interest once gold was no longer a possibility, suffering an embarrassing eighth place exit.


Medal streak (1999–2012)

At the
1999 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships The 1999 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships (''1999 WJC'') was held in Winnipeg, and five other communities in Manitoba, Canada from December 26, 1998 to January 5, 1999. In the gold medal match at Winnipeg Arena, Russia defeated Canada 3–2 ...
, Canada won silver as hosts in
Winnipeg Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the province of Manitoba in Canada. It is centred on the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine rivers, near the longitudinal centre of North America. , Winnipeg had a city population of 749,6 ...
, dropping a 3–2 final in overtime to a powerful, deep Russian team. The tournament set records for attendance. This would also be the start of another unrivaled display of junior hockey by Canada, claiming 14-straight medals from 1999–
2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gather ...
, including their second run of five-straight gold medals from
2005 File:2005 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf of Mexico; the Funeral of Pope John Paul II is held in Vatican City; "Me at the zoo", the first video ever to be uploaded to YouTube; Eris was discovered in ...
through to
2009 File:2009 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The vertical stabilizer of Air France Flight 447 is pulled out from the Atlantic Ocean; Barack Obama becomes the first African American to become President of the United States; 2009 Iran ...
. At the 2009 tournament in
Ottawa Ottawa (, ; Canadian French: ) is the capital city of Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River in the southern portion of the province of Ontario. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the core ...
, where Team Canada last captured gold, Canada faced defeat against Russia in the final seconds of their semi-final before
Jordan Eberle Jordan Leslie Eberle (; born May 15, 1990) is a Canadian professional ice hockey right winger and alternate captain for the Seattle Kraken of the National Hockey League (NHL). He was selected in the first round (22nd overall) in the 2008 NHL En ...
scored the equalizing goal with 5.4 seconds remaining in the game, forcing overtime. Canada would win in a shootout and go on to rout Sweden 5–1 in the final.
John Tavares John Tavares (born September 20, 1990) is a Canadian professional ice hockey centre and captain of the Toronto Maple Leafs of the National Hockey League (NHL). He was selected first overall by the New York Islanders in the 2009 NHL Entry Draft ...
, the future first overall selection at the
2009 NHL Entry Draft The 2009 NHL Entry Draft was the 47th Entry Draft. It was held on June 26–27, 2009, at the Bell Centre in Montreal, Quebec. The Draft was part of the Montreal Canadiens' centennial celebrations. National Hockey League teams took turns select ...
, was named most valuable player of the tournament.


Sexual assault allegations (2022)

Players in the team were the subject of allegations of sexual assault after the team visited London, Ontario in 2018.


Current roster

Roster for the
2023 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships The 2023 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships are the 47th edition of the IIHF World Junior Championship, scheduled to be held from December 26, 2022 through January 5, 2023 in Halifax, Nova Scotia and Moncton, New Brunswick. They were origina ...
. (2022–23 teams listed at time of event) Head Coach: Dennis Williams


World Junior Championship record

The 1974, 1975 and 1976 tournaments were unofficial. The 1974 team was represented by the
Peterborough Petes The Peterborough Petes are a junior ice hockey team in the Ontario Hockey League. The team has played at the Peterborough Memorial Centre in Peterborough, Ontario, Canada, since 1956, and is the oldest continuously operating team in the league. ...
. Canada was ejected from the tournament in 1987 for a bench clearing brawl with the Soviet Union. In 1996, a playoff was added to the tournament (prior to this, it was just a round robin tournament.) Playoff games are included in record. Since 2007, the IIHF has awarded 3 points for a win, 2 points for an overtime win and 1 point for an overtime loss. Includes one win in extra time (in the preliminary round)
Includes one loss in extra time (in the preliminary round)
* Includes one win in extra time (in the playoff round)
+ Includes one loss in extra time (in the playoff round)


Super Series

In 2007, the Canadian junior team played the Russian junior team in an eight-game Super Series commemorating the 35th anniversary of the
1972 Summit Series The Summit Series, Super Series 72, Canada–USSR Series (russian: Суперсерия СССР — Канада, Superseriya SSSR — Kanada), or Series of the Century (french: Série du siècle, Séries of the Century), was an eight-game ic ...
. For the 40th anniversary, the two teams competed in a four-game series in August 2012. The two teams split the series, which was decided on an overtime goal by
Ryan Strome Ryan Edward Gaston Strome (born July 11, 1993) is a Canadian ice hockey centre for the Anaheim Ducks of the National Hockey League (NHL). He was selected fifth overall in the 2011 NHL Entry Draft by the New York Islanders and began playing with ...
after Game 4.


Awards and honours

Canadian players have earned numerous honours throughout the history of the World Junior Championship.


Directorate Awards


All-Star Teams


See also

*
Canada men's national ice hockey team The Canada men's national ice hockey team (popularly known as Team Canada; french: Équipe Canada) is the ice hockey team representing Canada inter ...


References

Footnotes General * * * * *


External links


Hockey Canada
at quanthockey.com {{Men's national junior ice hockey teams Junior national ice hockey teams
Junior ice hockey teams in Canada Junior or Juniors may refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * Junior (Junior Mance album), ''Junior'' (Junior Mance album), 1959 * Junior (Röyksopp album), ''Junior'' (Röyksopp album), 2009 * Junior (Kaki King album), ''Junior'' (Kaki King a ...