IIHF World U20 Championship The IIHF Ice Hockey World Junior Championships ( WJC ) , commonly known simply as the World Juniors , is an annual event organized by the International Ice Hockey Federation ( IIHF ) for national under - 20 ice hockey teams from around the world . It is traditionally held in late December , ending in the beginning of January . The main tournament features the top ten ranked hockey nations in the world , comprising the ' Top Division ' , from which a world champion is crowned . There are also three lower pools — Divisions I , II and III — that each play separate tournaments playing for the right to be promoted to a higher pool , or face relegation to a lower pool . The competition ' s profile is particularly high in Canada ; its stature has been credited to Canada ' s strong performance in the tournament ( it has won the gold medal sixteen times since its inception ) , the role of hockey in Canadian culture , along with strong media coverage and fan attendance . As such , in recent years , nearly half of the tournaments have been held in Canadian cities , with the remainder being held in Europe and the United States . Finland is the defending champion of the tournament , after having beaten Russia to win the 2016 edition . History . The tournament was first held in 1977 ( 1974 – 1976 were not official tournaments ) . The tournament has been dominated by the teams from Russia / Soviet Union and Canada , together accounting for 29 of the 40 overall gold medals awarded . The USSR won the first four official tournaments , while the Canadians put together five straight championships between 1993 and 1997 , and another five straight from 2005 to 2009 . Canada leads the all - time gold medal count with 16 , while USSR / Russia leads the all - time overall medal count with 32 . Head - to - head matches between these two countries are always much anticipated . In addition to the domination of gold medals by these two countries , Canada , Russia ( and its predecessors ) are joined by the Czech Republic ( and its predecessor Czechoslovakia ) , Finland , Sweden , and the United States in dominating the medals overall . Among them , these six nations have taken every medal in the history of the tournament with the exception of two bronze medals for Slovakia and one bronze medal for Switzerland . When it began , the World Junior Championship was a relatively obscure tournament . It has since grown in prestige , particularly in Canada , where the tournament ranks as one of the most important events on the sports calendar and during the holiday season . " Globe and Mail " writer Bruce Dowbiggin credits TSN , along with Canada ' s strong performance at the tournament , for turning it from an obscure non - event when it acquired the rights in 1991 ( which , however , also began growing in prominence due to the Punch - up in Piestany ) to one of Canada ' s most beloved annual sports events , and at the same time cementing the link between Canadian nationalism and hockey , and inspiring the NHL ' s Winter Classic Sportsnet writer Stephen Brunt calls the attention paid to the tournament in Canada " overkill " , but says it is understandable given the nationalistic feelings its stirs and its excellent timing and marketing . Based on increasing attendances for countries repeatedly hosting the event , the popularity of the tournament seems to be growing in other nations as well . At editions of the tournament held in the country , Team Canada matches have consistently sold out , offering large profit guarantees to Hockey Canada and the IIHF . Canada is expected to host the tournament every second year starting in 2015 due to the significantly greater following the tournament has in Canada compared to other participating countries . Originally , Switzerland was selected to host the WJHC in 2010 , but withdrew . Buffalo , New York , USA hosted the tournament in 2011 and will host it again in 2018 ; in both cases , proximity to Canada ' s population core in Southern Ontario was a key factor in the city winning the bidding rights . The tournament offers one of the most prestigious stages for young hockey players , able to significantly boost a player ' s value for upcoming NHL Entry Draft s . Punch - up in Piestany . One of the most infamous incidents in WJC history occurred in 1987 in Piestany , Czechoslovakia ( today ' s Slovakia ) , where a bench - clearing brawl occurred between Canada and the Soviet Union . It began when the Soviet Union ' s Pavel Kostichkin took a two - handed slash at Canadian player Theoren Fleury . The Soviet Union ' s Evgeny Davydov then came off the bench , eventually leading to both benches emptying . The officials , unable to break up the fight , left the ice and eventually tried shutting off the arena lights , but the brawl lasted for 20 minutes before the IIHF declared the game null and void . A 35 - minute emergency meeting was held , resulting in the delegates voting 7 – 1 ( the sole dissenter was Canadian Dennis McDonald ) to eject both teams from the tournament . The Canadian team chose to leave rather than stay for the end - of - tournament dinner , from which the Soviet team was banned . While the Soviets were out of medal contention , Canada was playing for the gold medal , and were leading 4 – 2 at the time of the brawl . The gold medal ultimately went to Finland , hosts Czechoslovakia took the silver and Sweden , who had previously been eliminated from medal contention , was awarded the bronze . Participating countries . Sweden , Finland and Canada have participated in all 36 IIHF World Junior Hockey Championships as well as the three unofficial World Junior Hockey Championships . USSR / CIS / Russia and Czechoslovakia / Czech - Republic have also participated in all IIHF World Junior Hockey Championships , and the United States have participated in all except one ( 1976 ) . When Czechoslovakia peacefully split in 1993 , the Czech Republic remained in Pool A but Slovakia ( Slovak Republic ) was placed in Pool C ( now Division II ) . Slovakia was promoted to the top division for the 1996 Championships and have remained there since . Starting with the 1996 tournament , competition was increased from an 8 - round robin to the current 10 team format . Since then Switzerland has become a main participant . Germany has been a frequent participant in the top pool , having played there roughly half the time in the past decade . Latvia , Belarus , and Kazakhstan have also each made a number of top division appearances since the early 1990s . Less frequent top pool appearances have been made by Austria , Denmark , France , Italy , Japan , Norway , Poland and Ukraine . Player eligibility . A player is eligible to play in the 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 . Tournament awards . At the conclusion of each tournament , the Directorate of the IIHF presents awards to the Top Goalie , Forward and Defenceman of the tournament . The media attending the event select an All - Star team separately from this . Broadcast coverage . The following television networks and websites broadcast World Junior Championship games on television or online . TSN ( Canada ) is the IIHF ' s main broadcast partner for this tournament . TSN . ca carries all Canada , select preliminary round , and all medal round games live , as well as most games on demand after their completion . Starting with the 2013 tournament , TSN . ca online coverage - both Live and On - Demand - is behind a paywall and only available from Canadian I . P . addresses .