The following year, he moved up to the Canadian under-20 team for the 1992 World Junior Championships in Germany. The youngest player on the team, he recorded a goal and an assist over six games as Canada finished in sixth place. Playing in the tournament a second consecutive year in 1993, Kariya improved to two goals and eight points over seven games, ranking second in team scoring behind Martin Lapointe. Helping Canada to a record of six winsand one loss, they tied Sweden for first overall in the standings, but won the gold medal by way of their 5–4 win against them in their second game. The championship marked Kariya's first international gold medal and began a streak of five consecutive gold medals for Canada at the tournament. He was named to the Tournament All-Star Team, alongside Canadian goaltender Manny Legace and defenceman Brent Tully. Nearly ten years later, TSN held a fan-voted poll on the Internet to select Canada's all-time World Junior team. The poll garnered in excess of 350,000 votes with Kariya chosen as one of 13 forwards on the team.