The World Junior A Challenge (WJAC) is an annual under-20 international

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 ...

tournament sponsored by

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 ...

, the Canadian Junior Hockey League (CJHL), and 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 ...

(IIHF). The tournament showcases Junior A level players and is modeled after the IIHF World U20 Championships, which displays the best of all junior-aged hockey players. It has been hosted by Canadian cities every year in CJAHL markets. The tournament features six teams per year and has seen teams from Canada, the United States, Russia, Sweden, Slovakia, Germany, Switzerland and Belarus. Canada is represented by two regional squads; Canada West consists of players from the

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, for ...

Alberta Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest T ...

Saskatchewan Saskatchewan ( ; ) is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Western Canada, western Canada, bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, to the northeast by Nunavut, and on t ...

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 ...

, and

Superior International Junior Hockey League The Superior International Junior Hockey League (SIJHL) is a junior A ice hockey league and a member of the Canadian Junior Hockey League (CJHL) and Hockey Canada. The league operates in the Canadian province of Ontario and the U.S. states of Mi ...

s, while Canada East features players from the

Northern Ontario Northern Ontario is a primary geographic and quasi-administrative region of the Canadian province of Ontario, the other primary region being Southern Ontario. Most of the core geographic region is located on part of the Superior Geological Pro ...

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

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Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirte ...

, and Maritime Junior Hockey Leagues. American players are chosen from the

United States Hockey League The United States Hockey League (USHL) is the top junior ice hockey league sanctioned by USA Hockey. The league consists of 16 active teams located in the midwestern United States, for players between the ages of 16 and 21. The USHL is stric ...

. Canada West captured the first two gold medals in tournament history, while the United States won the next three. Also, Russia, who has been with the tournament since the beginning, generally sends their ''Under-18 Team'' in place of a general select squad.

History

The tournament was created in 2006 through a proposal by the

Canadian Junior A Hockey League The Canadian Junior Hockey League (CJHL) is an association of Canadian junior ice hockey#Junior A, junior A ice hockey leagues and teams and was formed in November 1993, emerging from the Canada West Association of Junior 'A' Hockey. The champi ...

(CJHL prior to 2008) to

. The idea behind the tournament was to showcase players from Canadian Junior "A" to

Canadian Hockey League The Canadian Hockey League (CHL; french: Ligue canadienne de hockey ‒ LCH) is an umbrella organization that represents the three Canada-based major junior ice hockey leagues. The CHL was founded in 1975 as the Canadian Major Junior Hockey ...

National Collegiate Athletic Association The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges ...

, and

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey sports league, league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranke ...

scouts, while also exposing them to an international level and style of play. The inaugural 2006 tournament was hosted in

Yorkton, Saskatchewan Yorkton is a city located in south-eastern Saskatchewan, Canada. It is about 450 kilometres north-west of Winnipeg and 300 kilometres south-east of Saskatoon and is the sixth largest city in the province. As of 2017 the census population of ...

, and featured six teams – Canada West, Canada East,

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-ei ...

Slovakia Slovakia (; sk, Slovensko ), officially the Slovak Republic ( sk, Slovenská republika, links=no ), is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwee ...

and

Belarus Belarus,, , ; alternatively and formerly known as Byelorussia (from Russian ). officially the Republic of Belarus,; rus, Республика Беларусь, Respublika Belarus. is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by ...

. Both Canadian teams met in the final with Canada West defeating Slovakia 7-1 and Canada East defeating Russia 5-1 in their respective semifinals. Led by

Kyle Turris Kyle Turris (born August 14, 1989) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey centre. He was selected third overall in the 2007 NHL Entry Draft by the Phoenix Coyotes. He has also played with the Ottawa Senators, Oulun Kärpät, Nashville Pre ...

, Canada West ran up a 4-0 tally against Canada East early in the game and held on for a 4-3 victory to win the first-ever WJAC championship. The 2007 tournament was held in

Trail, British Columbia Trail is a city in the West Kootenay region of the Interior of British Columbia, Canada. It was named after the Dewdney Trail, which passed through the area. The town was first called Trail Creek or Trail Creek Landing, and the name was short ...

. 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 Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

joined the tournament for the first time, replacing Slovakia.News
/ref> For the second straight year, Canada West defeated the East in the final. Beginning in 2008, the United States began a string of dominance at the tournament. They defeated Canada West in the 2008 (

Camrose, Alberta Camrose ( ) is a city in central Alberta, Canada that is surrounded by Camrose County. Located along Highway 13 it had its beginnings as a railroad hub. History The area around Camrose was first settled by Europeans around 1900. At that time t ...

) and 2009 (

Summerside, Prince Edward Island Summerside is a Canadian city in Prince County, Prince Edward Island. It is the second largest city in the province and the primary service centre for the western part of the island. History Summerside was officially incorporated as a town on ...

) finals before winning their third consecutive title against Canada East in 2010 ( Penticton, British Columbia). The 2009 tournament featured newcomers

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 countries, Nordic c ...

, who sent a team in place of Germany. That year also marked the first time in tournament history that Canada East failed to medal. At the 2010 WJAC,

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

competed in place of

. The 2013 tournament was won by the United States, 4-1, over Russia. This instance marked the first time in tournament history that both Canada East and Canada West were shut out of the gold medal game. In 2014, the tournament was played in late December as opposed to it usually taking place in early November.

Champions

All-time team records

References

External links

World Junior A ChallengeGuide and Record Book
{{Hockey Canada Hockey Canada International ice hockey competitions hosted by Canada International ice hockey competitions for junior teams

History

Champions

All-time team records

See also

References

External links