1996 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships
The 1996 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships ("1996 WJHC") was the 20th edition of the Ice Hockey World Junior Championship, hosted in Massachusetts. The tournament was won by Canada—defeating Sweden 4–1 in the gold-medal game—earning Canada their fourth straight gold medal and ninth overall, tying the Soviet team's record in both regards. Attendance was less than spectacular for the championships in the United States. It would be the last time the US would host the tournament until 2005 in Grand Forks. Among this edition of the tournament's future NHL  stars were Milan Hejduk, Miikka Kiprusoff, Chris Drury, Marco Sturm, José Théodore, Mattias Öhlund, Daymond Langkow, Sergei Samsonov and tournament scoring leader Jarome Iginla. This was the first World Juniors tournament to implement the two groups, round-robin/preliminaries and playoff format. It was also Slovakia's first appearance at the top level in the junior tournament. Relegation round. " was relegated for the 1997 World Junior Championships." Pool B. The second tier was held in Sosnowiec and Tychy, Poland, from December 28 to January 4. Two groups of four played round robins, and then the top three played each of  the top three teams from the other group. All scores carried forward except the results against the lone eliminated team from each group. Final Round. " was promoted to Pool A for 1997." Relegation Round. " was relegated to Pool C for 1997." Pool C. Played in Jesenice, Bled, and Kranj, Slovenia, from December 30 to January 3. Placement Games. " was promoted to Pool B, and was relegated to Pool D for 1997." Pool D. Played in Tallinn, Estonia, from December 31 to January 4. Placement Games. " was promoted to Pool C for 1997."