# 2015 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships

The 2015 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships was the 39th edition of Ice Hockey World Junior Championship, played from December 26, 2014 to January 5, 2015. It was co-hosted by Toronto, Ontario, and Montreal, Quebec, Canada, and organized by Hockey Canada, Hockey Quebec, the Ontario Hockey Federation, the Montreal Canadiens, Maple Leafs Sports and Entertainment and Evenko. Games were split between Air Canada Centre in Toronto and Bell Centre in Montreal, with Montreal hosting Group A matches and two quarter finals, and Toronto hosting Group B, along with the relegation games, two quarter finals, along with the semi-finals, bronze medal, and gold medal games.
After failing to medal at the previous two editions of the tournament, Canada beat Russia in the final to win the gold medal, marking Canada's first medal at the World Juniors since 2012, and Canada's first gold since 2009. Slovakia defeated Sweden in the bronze medal game to win their second-ever medal. Germany finished tenth overall and was relegated to Division I-A for the 2016 tournament. Slovak goaltender Denis Godla was named the tournament's most valuable player, while Sam Reinhart of Canada was the scoring leader with 11 points.

## Player eligibility

A player is eligible to play in the 2015 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships if:
* the player is of male gender;
* the player was born at the earliest in 1995, and at the latest, in 2000;
* the player is a citizen in the country he represents;
* the player is under the jurisdiction of a national association that is a member of the IIHF.
If a player who has never played in IIHF-organized competition wishes to switch national eligibility, he must have played in competitions for two consecutive years in the new country without playing in another country, as well as show his move to the new country's national association with an international transfer card. In case the player has previously played in IIHF-organized competition but wishes to switch national eligibility, he must have played in competitions for four consecutive years in the new country without playing in another country, he must show his move to the new country's national association with an international transfer card, as well as be a citizen of the new country. A player may only switch national eligibility once.

## Top Division
### Venues

| Toronto | MontrealToronto | MontrealToronto | Montreal |
| Air Canada Centre Capacity: 18,800 | MontrealToronto | MontrealToronto | Bell Centre Capacity: 21,287 |

### Match officials

The IIHF selected 12 referees and 10 linesmen to officiate during the tournament:
Referees
* Vladimír Baluška
* Lars Bruggemann
* Roman Gofman
* Antonin Jeřábek
* Mikko Kaukokari
* Geoffrey Miller
* Linus Öhlund
* Konstantin Olenin
* Steve Patafie
* Pascal St-Jaques
* Marcus Vinnerborg
* Tobias Wehrli
Linesmen
* Jordan Browne
* Pierre Dehaen
* Gleb Lazarev
* Miroslav Lhotský
* Andreas Malmqvist
* Bevan Mills
* Jani Pesonen
* Nikolaj Ponomarjow
* Judson Ritter
* Simon Wust

### Format

The four best ranked teams from each group of the preliminary round advance to the quarterfinals, while the last placed teams from each group played a relegation round in a best of three format to determine the relegated team.

### Preliminary round

All times are local. (Eastern Standard Time – UTC-5)

#### Group A

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | OTW | OTL | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Canada | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 21 | 4 | +17 | 12 | Quarterfinals |
| 2 | United States | 4 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 14 | 6 | +8 | 8 | Quarterfinals |
| 3 | Slovakia | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 7 | 14 | −7 | 6 | Quarterfinals |
| 4 | Finland | 4 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 5 | 8 | −3 | 4 | Quarterfinals |
| 5 | Germany | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 17 | −15 | 0 | Relegation round |

#### Group B

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | OTW | OTL | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Sweden | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 18 | 6 | +12 | 12 | Quarterfinals |
| 2 | Czech Republic | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 12 | 14 | −2 | 5 | Quarterfinals |
| 3 | Russia | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 13 | 9 | +4 | 5 | Quarterfinals |
| 4 | Denmark | 4 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 10 | 15 | −5 | 4 | Quarterfinals |
| 5 | Switzerland | 4 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 9 | 18 | −9 | 4 | Relegation round |

### Relegation round

Note: Germany was relegated to the 2016 Division I A

### Playoff round

| Quarterfinals | Quarterfinals | Quarterfinals | Semifinals | Semifinals | Semifinals | Finals | Finals | Finals |
| 1A | Canada | 8 | | | | | | |
| 4B | Denmark | 0 | | | | | | |
| 4B | Denmark | 0 | 1A | Canada | 5 | | | |
| | | | 3A | Slovakia | 1 | | | |
| 2B | Czech Republic | 0 | 3A | Slovakia | 1 | | | |
| 3A | Slovakia | 3 | | | | | | |
| 3A | Slovakia | 3 | | | | 1A | Canada | 5 |
| | | | | | | 3B | Russia | 4 |
| 1B | Sweden | 6 | | | | | | | 3B | Russia | 4 |
| 4A | Finland | 3 | | | |
| 4A | Finland | 3 | 1B | Sweden | 1 | Bronze medal game | Bronze medal game | Bronze medal game |
| | | | 3B | Russia | 4 |
| 2A | United States | 2 | 3B | Russia | 4 | 1B | Sweden | 2 |
| 3B | Russia | 3 | | | | 3A | Slovakia | 4 |

#### Final
### Statistics
#### Scoring leaders

| Pos | Player | Country | GP | G | A | Pts | +/− | PIM |
| 1 | Sam Reinhart | Canada | 7 | 5 | 6 | 11 | +13 | 6 |
| 2 | Nic Petan | Canada | 7 | 4 | 7 | 11 | +4 | 0 |
| 3 | Connor McDavid | Canada | 7 | 3 | 8 | 11 | +8 | 0 |
| 4 | Max Domi | Canada | 7 | 5 | 5 | 10 | +10 | 4 |
| 5 | William Nylander | Sweden | 7 | 3 | 7 | 10 | –2 | 0 |
| 6 | Curtis Lazar | Canada | 7 | 5 | 4 | 9 | +8 | 0 |
| 7 | Oskar Lindblom | Sweden | 7 | 4 | 5 | 9 | –1 | 0 |
| 7 | Martin Réway | Slovakia | 7 | 4 | 5 | 9 | –1 | 2 |
| 9 | Adrian Kempe | Sweden | 6 | 4 | 4 | 8 | 0 | 2 |
| 10 | Anthony Duclair | Canada | 7 | 4 | 4 | 8 | +11 | 16 |
GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; +/− = Plus–minus; PIM = Penalties in minutes Source: IIHF.com

#### Goaltending leaders

(minimum 40% team's total ice time)
| Pos | Player | Country | TOI | GA | GAA | Sv% | SO |
| 1 | Zachary Fucale | Canada | 300:00 | 6 | 1.20 | 93.94 | 2 |
| 2 | Igor Shesterkin | Russia | 242:13 | 8 | 1.98 | 93.80 | 1 |
| 3 | Thatcher Demko | United States | 241:42 | 7 | 1.74 | 93.75 | 1 |
| 4 | Denis Godla | Slovakia | 391:35 | 18 | 2.76 | 92.56 | 1 |
| 5 | Ville Husso | Finland | 183:12 | 7 | 2.29 | 92.31 | 1 |
TOI = Time On Ice (minutes:seconds); GA = Goals against; GAA = Goals against average; Sv% = Save percentage; SO = Shutouts Source: IIHF.com

### Tournament awards

Reference: Most Valuable Player
* Goaltender: Denis Godla
All-star team
* Goaltender: Denis Godla
* Defencemen: Gustav Forsling, Josh Morrissey
* Forwards: Sam Reinhart, Max Domi, Connor McDavid
IIHF best player awards
* Goaltender: Denis Godla
* Defenceman: Vladislav Gavrikov
* Forward: Max Domi

### Final standings

| Rank | Team |
| | Canada |
| | Russia |
| | Slovakia |
| 4th | Sweden |
| 5th | United States |
| 6th | Czech Republic |
| 7th | Finland |
| 8th | Denmark |
| 9th | Switzerland |
| 10th | Germany |
* Relegated to the 2016 Division I A
* 2015 IIHF Junior World champions
* Canada 16th title
Note that due to the lack of playoff games for determining the spots 5–8, these spots were determined by the preliminary round records for each team.

## Division I
### Division I A

The Division I A tournament was played in Asiago, Italy, from 14 to 20 December 2014.
| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | OTW | OTL | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Promotion or relegation |
| 1 | Belarus | 5 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 22 | 9 | +13 | 14 | Promoted to the 2016 Top Division |
| 2 | Norway | 5 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 16 | 11 | +5 | 10 | |
| 3 | Latvia | 5 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 15 | 11 | +4 | 7 | |
| 4 | Italy (H) | 5 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 16 | 22 | −6 | 5 | |
| 5 | Austria | 5 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 21 | 27 | −6 | 5 | |
| 6 | Slovenia | 5 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 17 | 27 | −10 | 4 | Relegated to the 2016 Division I B |

### Division I B

The Division I B tournament was played in Dunaújváros, Hungary, from 14 to 20 December 2014.
| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | OTW | OTL | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Promotion or relegation |
| 1 | Kazakhstan | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 23 | 9 | +14 | 15 | Promoted to the 2016 Division I A |
| 2 | Ukraine | 5 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 10 | 11 | −1 | 8 | |
| 3 | Poland | 5 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 13 | 15 | −2 | 7 | |
| 4 | France | 5 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 11 | 13 | −2 | 7 | |
| 5 | Japan | 5 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 15 | 17 | −2 | 5 | |
| 6 | Hungary (H) | 5 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 9 | 16 | −7 | 3 | Relegated to the 2016 Division II A |

## Division II
### Division II A

The Division II A tournament was played in Tallinn, Estonia, from 7 to 13 December 2014.
| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | OTW | OTL | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Promotion or relegation |
| 1 | Great Britain | 5 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 22 | 13 | +9 | 14 | Promoted to the 2016 Division I B |
| 2 | Lithuania | 5 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 24 | 19 | +5 | 9 | |
| 3 | South Korea | 5 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 18 | 18 | 0 | 9 | |
| 4 | Netherlands | 5 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 18 | 16 | +2 | 5 | |
| 5 | Estonia (H) | 5 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 12 | 22 | −10 | 4 | |
| 6 | Romania | 5 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 18 | 24 | −6 | 4 | Relegated to the 2016 Division II B |

### Division II B

The Division II B tournament was played in Jaca, Spain, from 13 to 19 December 2014.
| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | OTW | OTL | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Promotion or relegation |
| 1 | Croatia | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 22 | 9 | +13 | 15 | Promoted to the 2016 Division II A |
| 2 | Spain (H) | 5 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 27 | 10 | +17 | 12 | |
| 3 | Australia | 5 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 15 | 15 | 0 | 7 | |
| 4 | Belgium | 5 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 15 | 17 | −2 | 6 | |
| 5 | Serbia | 5 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 9 | 19 | −10 | 5 | |
| 6 | Iceland | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 11 | 29 | −18 | 0 | Relegated to the 2016 Division III |

## Division III

The Division III tournament was played in Dunedin, New Zealand, from 20 to 25 January 2015.
On December 27, 2014 organizers announced that the Bulgarian Ice Hockey Federation withdrew their U20 team from the tournament.
| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | OTW | OTL | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Promotion |
| 1 | China | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 29 | 3 | +26 | 12 | Promoted to the 2016 Division II B |
| 2 | New Zealand (H) | 4 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 13 | 11 | +2 | 7 | |
| 3 | Mexico | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 8 | 10 | −2 | 5 | |
| 4 | South Africa | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 4 | 22 | −18 | 3 | |
| 5 | Turkey | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 7 | 15 | −8 | 3 | |