Belarus competed in the 2002 and 2003 World Junior Championships, until finally being relegated along with Germany under the new IIHF format. Belarus returned to the top division in 2005, where they upset the hosts USA 5–2 in round-robin play, but were relegated again with Germany. Belarus has mainly been in the second-tier Division I level since then, though have been promoted to the top division on occasion, most recently in 2018.