Tournament History:
The
origins of the
International Ice
Hockey Federation World
Junior Hockey Championship
began in 1974 as a
six-team individual
tournament involving the
Soviet Union, Canada,
Finland, Sweden,
Czechoslovakia and the
United States.
International competition
continued in popularity
following the tremendous
success of the 1972 Summit
Series between Team Canada
and the Soviet Union, and
the presence of
professional players
representing Canada at the
World Championships. Since
its inception as a world
championship event, the
World Juniors now feature
ten junior (U-20) teams
and the best junior
players in the world.
The
success of the event can
be seen in the number of
hockey superstars who have
taken part in the World
Juniors. For example,
Wayne Gretzky, Mike Modano,
Jeremy Roenick, Mario
Lemieux, Jaromir Jagr and
Peter Forsberg all have
participated in the event.
More recent players
include: Ed Jovanovski and
Jarome Iginla, not to
mention former Fighting
Sioux players Brad Berry,
Greg Johnson, James
Patrick, Brad Bombadir,
and last year's Team USA
Gold medal winners Zach
Parise, Brady Murray and
Drew Stafford.
The
World Junior Hockey
Championship has become
the Stanley Cup of junior
hockey. For many players,
it is the beginning of a
brilliant career, for
others, the pinnacle. It
is a tournament of
emotion, desire and pride.
