2015 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships The 2015 IIHF World Junior Championship was the 39th edition of World Junior Ice Hockey 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 IA 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 : 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 . Officials . The IIHF selected 12 referees and 10 linesmen to officiate during the tournament : Referees Linesmen 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 . Tournament awards . Most Valuable Player All - star team IIHF best player awards Final standings . 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 . Division I B . The Division I B tournament was played in Dunaújváros , Hungary , from 14 to 20 December 2014 . Division II . Division II A . The Division II A tournament was played in Tallinn , Estonia , from 7 to 13 December 2014 . Division II B . The Division II B tournament was played in Jaca , Spain , from 13 to 19 December 2014 . 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 .