# 2008 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships

The 2008 IIHF World U20 Championship, commonly referred to as the 2008 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships (2008 WJHC), was the 32nd edition of the Ice Hockey World Junior Championship. The tournamement was held in Pardubice and Liberec, Czech Republic, between 26 December 2007 and 5 January 2008. Canada won the gold medal for the fourth consecutive time. Sweden earned its first World Junior medal since 1996 by reaching the final.

## Top Division
### Venues

| ČEZ Aréna Capacity: 10,194 | Tipsport Arena Capacity: 7,500 |
| Czech Republic – Pardubice | Czech Republic – Liberec |

### Preliminary round

All times are local (UTC+1).

#### Group A

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | OTW | OTL | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Sweden | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 22 | 9 | +13 | 12 | Semifinals |
| 2 | Canada | 4 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 12 | 5 | +7 | 9 | Quarterfinals |
| 3 | Czech Republic (H) | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 12 | 11 | +1 | 6 | Quarterfinals |
| 4 | Slovakia | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 9 | 14 | −5 | 3 | Relegation round |
| 5 | Denmark | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 7 | 23 | −16 | 0 | Relegation round |
Game reference :
| Robin Figren 10:20 (SH) Patrik Berglund 16:14 (PP) Robin Figren 48:05 (PP) Johan Alcén 55:03 (PP) | Goals | Milan Bališ 02:10 (PP2) Ivan Roháč 48:56 Tomáš Marcinko 50:15 |
Game reference :
| Goals | John Tavares 31:21 (PP) Matthew Halischuk 43:57 John Tavares 51:53 (PP) |
Game reference :
| Goals | Kyle Turris 20:54 (PP2), 53:20 (PP) |
Game reference :
| Michael Frolík 00:22, 03:26 (PP), 13:09 Jakub Sklenář 23:30 Petr Strapáč 51:41 (PP) | Goals | Kevin Leder 28:00 Sune Hjulmand 33:09 (PP) |
Game reference :
| Morten Poulsen 01:06 | Goals | Oscar Möller 07:19 Tobias Forsberg 09:56 Mikael Backlund 26:20 (SH), 32:43 (SH) Tony Lagerström 30:12, 46:29 Robin Figren 34:20 Patrik Berglund 51:58 Magnus Pääjärvi-Svensson 52:30 Patrik Lundh 54:25 |
Game reference :
| Oliver Ďuriš 38:17 Erik Čaládi (PP2) 52:20 | Goals | Jakub Sklenář 7:11, 26:10 Michael Frolík 19:59 Daniel Bártek 24:45 Martin Látal 54:27 (SH) |
Game reference :
| Brad Marchand 19:05 Shawn Matthias 42:17 Claude Giroux 56:18 (PP2) | Goals | Eric Moe 45:14 (PP) Tony Lagerström 46:45 Oscar Möller 49:09 (PP) Tobias Forsberg 59:53 |
Game reference :
| Mikkel Bødker 43:36 (PP) Nichlas Hardt 48:01 Morten Poulsen 59:35 (PP) | Goals | Ivan Roháč 8:25 (PP) Matej Češík 27:43 Erik Čaládi 31:06 (PP2) Marek Slovák 48:24 |
Game reference :
| Oscar Möller 4:11 Patrik Berglund 23:37 (PP2) Thomas Larsson 24:42 Robin Figren 41:26 | Goals | Antonín Bořuta 40:44 (PP) Jakub Sklenář 50:10 |
Game reference :
| Shawn Matthias 12:44 (PP) John Tavares 18:08 Kyle Turris 28:18, 54:42 (PP) | Goals | Mikkel Bødker 49:36 (PP2) |

#### Group B

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | OTW | OTL | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | United States | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 17 | 8 | +9 | 12 | Semifinals |
| 2 | Russia | 4 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 18 | 14 | +4 | 9 | Quarterfinals |
| 3 | Finland | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 16 | 15 | +1 | 5 | Quarterfinals |
| 4 | Kazakhstan | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 8 | 16 | −8 | 3 | Relegation round |
| 5 | Switzerland | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 9 | 15 | −6 | 1 | Relegation round |
Game reference :
| James van Riemsdyk 19:57 Rhett Rakhshani 24:58 Mike Carman 26:23 Colin Wilson 44:11 (PP) Kyle Okposo 57:43 | Goals | Alexandr Kurshuk 14:46 (PP) |
Game reference :
| Nico Aaltonen 07:20 (PP) Joonas Jalvanti 15:02 (PP) Juuso Puustinen 43:33 Max Wärn 43:59 | Goals | Marat Kalimulin 11:47 (PP) Yevgeni Bodrov 26:26 Vadim Golubtsov 27:32 (PP) Artem Anisimov 32:34 Anton Korolev 34:32 Viktor Tikhonov 40:25 (PP) Dmitri Kugryshev 56:22 |
Game reference :
| Evgeny Rymarev 03:58 Konstantin Savenkov 14:21 Yakov Vorobyov 35:47 (PP) Mikhail Kachulin 53:10 | Goals | Viktor Tikhonov 20:25 (PP) Alexei Cherepanov 21:19 Evgenij Kurbatov 31:37 Artyom Gordeyev 36:27 Yuri Alexandrov 53:30 |
Game reference :
| Juuso Puustinen 17:36 (PP) Harri Pesonen 22:45 Jarkko Malinen 43:05 Sakari Salminen GWG | Goals | Kevin Lotscher 09:37 Reto Suri 14:47 Gregory Sciaroni 59:14 |
Game reference :
| Andrej Bykov 24:17 Arnaud Jacquemet 55:45 (PP) | Goals | Colin Wilson 05:08 (PP), 49:30 (PP2) Bobby Sanguinetti 22:57(PP) James van Riemsdyk 42:27 (PP2) |
Game reference :
| Goals | Nico Aaltonen 02:59 Joonas Kemppainen 23:37 (PP), 26:37 Niclas Lucenius 46:17 (PP2) Juuso Puustinen 48:30 |
Game reference :
| Alexei Cherepanov 28:36 Viktor Tikhonov 54:36 | Goals | Tyler Ruegsegger 11:31 (PP2) James van Riemsdyk 43:01 (PP) Mike Carman 47:44 |
Game reference :
| Yannick Weber 53:49 (PP) | Goals | Yakov Vorobiev 7:39, 28;19 (PP) Evgeny Rymarev 59:07 |
Game reference :
| Anton Korolev 1:31 Dmitri Sayustov 20:46 (PP2) Artyom Gordeyev 37:49 Viktor Tikhonov 55:31 | Goals | Arnauld Jacquemet 9:41 (PP) Dino Wieser 28:45 Marco Maurer 57:40 |
Game reference :
| Colin Wilson 9:29, 13:20 (PP), 21:43 Tyler Ruegsegger 24:44 James van Riemsdyk 29:14 | Goals | Nico Aaltonen 50:52 (PP) Mikko Kousa 55:21 (PP) Niclas Lucenius 59:14 |

### Relegation round

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | OTW | OTL | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Relegation |
| 7 | Slovakia | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 17 | 5 | +12 | 9 | |
| 8 | Kazakhstan | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 9 | 12 | −3 | 6 | |
| 9 | Switzerland | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 8 | 10 | −2 | 3 | Relegated to the 2009 Division I |
| 10 | Denmark | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 8 | 15 | −7 | 0 | Relegated to the 2009 Division I |
Game reference :
| Marek Slovák 5:50 (PP) Dalibor Jančovič 31:13 Tomáš Marcinko 39:48 Erik Čaládi 58:54 (ENG) Juraj Mikuš 59:51 (ENG) | Goals | Étienne Froidevaux 40:40 Aurelio Lemm 46:07 (PP) |
Game reference :
| Evgeny Gasnikov 08:53 (PP) Yakov Vorobiev 33:42 Evgeny Rymarev 38:36 (SH), 52:08 (PP), 59:11 (ENG), 59:25 (ENG) | Goals | Lars Eller 22:38 (PP), 38:59 (PP) Nichlas Hardt 43:43 (PP) |
Game reference :
| Yannick Weber 15:31 Aurelio Lemm 32:36, 39:29 (PP) Reto Suri 43:12 Roman Schlagenhauf 58:37 (PP) | Goals | Lars Eller 04:38 Philip Larsen 26:57 (PP) |
Game reference :
| Oliver Ďuriš 6:40 Dávid Skokan 14:00 (PP), 19:39 (PP2) Ivan Roháč 15:45 Erik Čaládi 32:33 (PP) Patrik Lušňák 35:13 (PP), 37:32 Dalibor Jančovič 50:05 | Goals |

### Final round
#### Bracket

| Quarter-Finals | Quarter-Finals | Quarter-Finals | Semi-Finals | Semi-Finals | Semi-Finals | Gold Medal Game | Gold Medal Game | Gold Medal Game |
| | | | A1 | Sweden (OT) | 2 | | | |
| B2 | Russia | 4 | B2 | Russia | 1 | | | |
| A3 | Czech Republic | 1 | | | | A1 | Sweden | 2 |
| | | | | | | A2 | Canada (OT) | 3 |
| | | | B1 | United States | 1 |
| A2 | Canada | 4 | A2 | Canada | 4 |
| B3 | Finland | 2 | | | | Bronze Medal Game | Bronze Medal Game | Bronze Medal Game |
| | | | | | | B1 | United States | 2 |
| | | | | | | B2 | Russia | 4 |

#### Quarterfinals

Game reference :
| John Tavares 27:23 (PP) Steven Stamkos 42:20 Brad Marchand 50:32 Stefan Legein 59:30 (ENG) | Goals | Juuso Puustinen 7:23 Jan-Mikael Juutilainen 45:42 |

#### Fifth place game

Game reference :
| Daniel Bártek 26:44 Michael Frolík 27:59 Tomáš Kundrátek 39:20 (PP) Zbyněk Hampl 47:46 Martin Látal 57:07 (ENG) | Goals | Harri Pesonen |

#### Semifinals

Game reference :
| James van Riemsdyk 53:26 | Goals | Shawn Matthias 22:46 Karl Alzner 30:00 (PP) Colton Gillies 47:04 Brad Marchand 47:24 |

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

| Pos | Player | Country | GP | G | A | Pts | +/− | PIM |
| 1 | James van Riemsdyk | United States | 6 | 5 | 6 | 11 | +4 | 2 |
| 2 | Nikita Filatov | Russia | 7 | 4 | 5 | 9 | +7 | 10 |
| 3 | Marek Slovák | Slovakia | 6 | 2 | 7 | 9 | +2 | 12 |
| 4 | Kyle Turris | Canada | 7 | 4 | 4 | 8 | +3 | 2 |
| 5 | Arnaud Jacquemet | Switzerland | 6 | 2 | 6 | 8 | +1 | 4 |
| 5 | Dávid Skokan | Slovakia | 6 | 2 | 6 | 8 | +1 | 6 |
| 7 | Jordan Schroeder | United States | 6 | 1 | 7 | 8 | +1 | 2 |
| 8 | Yevgeni Rymarev | Kazakhstan | 6 | 6 | 1 | 7 | +2 | 0 |
| 8 | Colin Wilson | United States | 5 | 6 | 1 | 7 | +2 | 4 |
| 10 | Robin Figren | Sweden | 6 | 5 | 2 | 7 | +4 | 2 |
GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; +/− = Plus–minus; PIM = Penalties In Minutes Source: IIHF

#### Goaltending leaders

(minimum 40% team's total ice time)
| Pos | Player | Country | TOI | GA | GAA | SA | Sv% | SO |
| 1 | Steve Mason | Canada | 303:36 | 6 | 1.19 | 123 | 95.12 | 1 |
| 2 | Július Hudáček | Slovakia | 359:08 | 16 | 2.67 | 202 | 92.08 | 1 |
| 3 | Sergei Bobrovsky | Russia | 366:07 | 15 | 2.46 | 184 | 91.85 | 0 |
| 4 | Michal Neuvirth | Czech Republic | 240:00 | 10 | 2.50 | 111 | 90.99 | 0 |
| 5 | Jhonas Enroth | Sweden | 308:56 | 12 | 2.33 | 126 | 90.48 | 0 |
TOI = Time on ice (minutes:seconds); GA = Goals against; GAA = Goals against average; SA = Shots against; Sv% = Save percentage; SO = Shutouts Source: IIHF

### Awards

* Best players selected by the Directorate:
** Best Goaltender: Steve Mason
** Best Defenceman: Drew Doughty
** Best Forward: Viktor Tikhonov
** MVP: Steve Mason
Source: IIHF
* Media All-Stars:
** Goaltender: Steve Mason
** Defencemen: Victor Hedman / Drew Doughty
** Forwards: Patrik Berglund / Viktor Tikhonov / James van Riemsdyk
Source: IIHF

### Final standings

| | Team |
| | Canada |
| | Sweden |
| | Russia |
| 4th | United States |
| 5th | Czech Republic |
| 6th | Finland |
| 7th | Slovakia |
| 8th | Kazakhstan |
| 9th | Switzerland |
| 10th | Denmark |
* Relegated to the 2009 Division I

## Division I

The Division I Championships were played from 9 to 15 December 2007 in Bad Tölz, Germany (Group A), and from 12 to 18 December 2007 in Riga, Latvia (Group B).

### Group A

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | OTW | OTL | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Promotion or relegation |
| 1 | Germany (H) | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 42 | 6 | +36 | 15 | Promoted to the 2009 Top Division |
| 2 | Austria | 5 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 36 | 11 | +25 | 12 | |
| 3 | Norway | 5 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 19 | 16 | +3 | 9 | |
| 4 | Poland | 5 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 7 | 24 | −17 | 4 | |
| 5 | Ukraine | 5 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 10 | 26 | −16 | 3 | |
| 6 | Lithuania | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 8 | 39 | −31 | 2 | Relegated to the 2009 Division II |

### Group B

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | OTW | OTL | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Promotion or relegation |
| 1 | Latvia (H) | 5 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 28 | 9 | +19 | 12 | Promoted to the 2009 Top Division |
| 2 | Belarus | 5 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 21 | 8 | +13 | 12 | |
| 3 | Slovenia | 5 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 17 | 8 | +9 | 11 | |
| 4 | Hungary | 5 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 17 | 21 | −4 | 6 | |
| 5 | France | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 14 | 29 | −15 | 3 | |
| 6 | Great Britain | 5 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 8 | 30 | −22 | 1 | Relegated to the 2009 Division II |

## Division II

The Division II Championships were played from 9 to 15 December 2007 in Canazei, Italy (Group A), and from 10 to 16 December 2007 in Tallinn, Estonia (Group B).

### Group A

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | OTW | OTL | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Promotion or relegation |
| 1 | Italy (H) | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 37 | 8 | +29 | 15 | Promoted to the 2009 Division I |
| 2 | Japan | 5 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 37 | 7 | +30 | 12 | |
| 3 | South Korea | 5 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 18 | 11 | +7 | 9 | |
| 4 | Belgium | 5 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 12 | 21 | −9 | 5 | |
| 5 | Romania | 5 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 13 | 30 | −17 | 4 | |
| 6 | Iceland | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 7 | 47 | −40 | 0 | Relegated to the 2009 Division III |

### Group B

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | OTW | OTL | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Promotion or relegation |
| 1 | Estonia (H) | 5 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 35 | 8 | +27 | 14 | Promoted to the 2009 Division I |
| 2 | Netherlands | 5 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 36 | 5 | +31 | 13 | |
| 3 | Croatia | 5 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 24 | 19 | +5 | 9 | |
| 4 | Spain | 5 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 24 | 27 | −3 | 6 | |
| 5 | Mexico | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 8 | 27 | −19 | 3 | |
| 6 | China | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 8 | 49 | −41 | 0 | Relegated to the 2009 Division III |

## Division III

The Division III Championship was played from 16 to 24 January 2008 in Belgrade, Serbia.
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | OTW | OTL | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Promotion |
| 1 | New Zealand | 6 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 66 | 15 | +51 | 18 | Promoted to the 2009 Division II |
| 2 | Serbia (H) | 6 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 55 | 7 | +48 | 15 | Promoted to the 2009 Division II |
| 3 | Armenia | 6 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 47 | 23 | +24 | 12 | |
| 4 | Australia | 6 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 44 | 23 | +21 | 9 | |
| 5 | South Africa | 6 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 26 | 52 | −26 | 6 | |
| 6 | Turkey | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 18 | 62 | −44 | 3 | |
| 7 | Bulgaria | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 10 | 84 | −74 | 0 | |