The World Juniors that everyone is familiar with consists of the 10 best U20 teams in the world, meeting around the holidays for the right to be crowned World Juniors champion.
However, that’s not the only World Junior Championship that occurs through the IIHF. There are Division I A and B and Division II A and B tournaments that also occur, with some of the smaller countries sending teams in the hopes of advancing year after year.
It’s not the same 10 teams year after year that compete at the top tournament of the World Juniors. While an exception was made between the 2022 and 2023 games, typically one team is relegated down a level and one is promoted to the top competition. This rewards those teams who have succeeded at the Division I A tournament and gives incentives for teams at the top level to not finish last.
The Division I A tournament concluded on Dec. 17, meaning that we already know one team that we will see at the 2024 World Juniors.
Who will be promoted to the 2024 World Juniors?
Every year, the IIHF has one country promoted to the World Juniors tournament and one country is relegated to Division I A, the second tier of the IIHF U20 championships. From 2022 to 2023, an exception was made considering the unique timing of the 2022 event, so there were no relegations/promotions for the 2023 games.
Norway finished as the top team at the World Juniors Division I A tournament, meaning they will be promoted to the top competition for 2024. The team won all five of their games at the Division I A tournament and will be one of the 10 teams at the 2023 competition.
Whoever finishes 10th at the 2023 World Juniors will be relegated to the Division I A tournament.
Where are the 2024 World Juniors?
Gothenburg, Sweden will be the next site for the World Juniors. It is the first time since 2014 that Sweden will host the tournament and the first time Gothenburg will act as a host city.
The country was initially scheduled to have the 2022 tournament, but due to COVID restrictions, they swapped spots with Canada, taking their place as the hosts for 2024.
What cities are hosting the World Juniors in the future?
The IIHF previously announced the host countries all the way until the 2032 tournament, however, the host cities are only known for the next two tournaments.
| YEAR | CITY | COUNTRY |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | Gothenburg | Sweden |
| 2025 | TBD | United States |
| 2026 | TBD | Canada |
| 2027 | TBD | Finland |
| 2028 | TBD | Czech Republic |
| 2029 | TBD | Canada |
| 2030 | TBD | United States |
| 2031 | TBD | Russia |
| 2032 | TBD | Canada |
What country has won the most medals?
Canada enters the 2023 tournament with the most gold medals of all time. The 2022 win marked the 19th gold medal for the country.
But Russia, which is not participating in the 2023 World Juniors, owns the most total medals with 37. It has won the most silver and bronze medals out of any country.
The United States is tied for the third-most gold medals with Finland and owns the sixth-most total medals.
| Country | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
| Russia* | 13 | 13 | 11 | 37 |
| Canada | 19 | 10 | 5 | 34 |
| Sweden | 2 | 11 | 7 | 20 |
| Finland | 5 | 5 | 7 | 17 |
| Czech Republic+ | 2 | 5 | 7 | 14 |
| United States | 5 | 2 | 6 | 13 |
| Slovakia | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| Switzerland | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
* Includes medals won as the Soviet Union and CIS
+ Includes medals won as Czechoslovakia
List of all the World Juniors winners
The last winner to be crowned the World Juniors champion was Canada, which took down Finland in overtime of the gold-medal game.
Mason McTavish swiped away a puck on the goal line early in overtime to prevent Finland from claiming the 2022 World Juniors. A minute later, Kent Johnson buried the game-winning goal.
Here is a list of every medalist for each year of the tournament.
| Year | Location | Gold | Silver | Bronze |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | Edmonton, Canada | Canada | Finland | Sweden |
| 2021 | Edmonton, Canada | United States | Canada | Finland |
| 2020 | Ostrava/Trinec, Czech Republic | Canada | Russia | Sweden |
| 2019 | Vancouver/Victoria, Canada | Finland | United States | Russia |
| 2018 | Buffalo, N.Y., United States | Canada | Sweden | United States |
| 2017 | Montreal/Toronto, Canada | United States | Canada | Russia |
| 2016 | Helsinki, Finland | Finland | Russia | United States |
| 2015 | Montreal/Toronto, Canada | Canada | Russia | Slovakia |
| 2014 | Malmo, Sweden | Finland | Sweden | Russia |
| 2013 | Ufa, Russia | United States | Sweden | Russia |
| 2012 | Calgary/Edmonton, Canada | Sweden | Russia | Canada |
| 2011 | Buffalo/Niagara, N.Y., United States | Russia | Canada | United States |
| 2010 | Regina/Saskatoon, Canada | United States | Canada | Sweden |
| 2009 | Ottawa, Canada | Canada | Sweden | Russia |
| 2008 | Pardubice/Liberec, Czech Republic | Canada | Sweden | Russia |
| 2007 | Leksand/Mora, Sweden | Canada | Russia | United States |
| 2006 | Kamloops/Kelowna/Vancouver, Canada | Canada | Russia | Finland |
| 2005 | Grand Forks, N.D./Thief River Falls, Minn., United States | Canada | Russia | Czech Republic |
| 2004 | Helsinki/Hameenlinna, Finland | United States | Canada | Finland |
| 2003 | Halifax/Sydney, Canada | Russia | Canada | Finland |
| 2002 | Pardubice/Hradec Kralove, Czech Republic | Russia | Canada | Finland |
| 2001 | Moscow/Podolsk, Russia | Czech Republic | Finland | Canada |
| 2000 | Skelleftea/Umea, Sweden | Czech Republic | Russia | Canada |
| 1999 | Winnipeg, Canada | Russia | Canada | Slovakia |
| 1998 | Helsinki/Hameenlinna, Finland | Finland | Russia | Switzerland |
| 1997 | Geneva/Morges, Switzerland | Canada | United States | Russia |
| 1996 | Boston, Mass., United States | Canada | Sweden | Russia |
| 1995 | Red Deer, Canada | Canada | Russia | Sweden |
| 1994 | Ostrava/Frydek-Mistek, Czech Republic | Canada | Sweden | Russia |
| 1993 | Gavle/Fulun, Sweden | Canada | Sweden | Czechoslovakia |
| 1992 | Fussen/Kaufbeuren, Germany | CIS | Sweden | United States |
| 1991 | Saskatoon, Canada | Canada | Soviet Union | Czechoslovakia |
| 1990 | Helsinki/Turku, Finland | Canada | Soviet Union | Czechoslovakia |
| 1989 | Anchorage, Alaska, United States | Soviet Union | Sweden | Czechoslovakia |
| 1988 | Moscow, Soviet Union | Canada | Soviet Union | Finland |
| 1987 | Piestany, Czechoslovakia | Finland | Czechoslovakia | Sweden |
| 1986 | Hamilton, Canada | Soviet Union | Canada | United States |
| 1985 | Helsinki/Turku, Finland | Canada | Czechoslovakia | Soviet Union |
| 1984 | Nykoping, Sweden | Soviet Union | Finland | Czechoslovakia |
| 1983 | Leningrad, Soviet Union | Soviet Union | Czechoslovakia | Canada |
| 1982 | Minneapolis/St. Paul, Minn., United States | Canada | Czechoslovakia | Finland |
| 1981 | Fussen/Augsburg, Germany | Sweden | Finland | Soviet Union |
| 1980 | Helsinki, Finland | Soviet Union | Finland | Sweden |
| 1979 | Karlstad, Sweden | Soviet Union | Czechoslovakia | Sweden |
| 1978 | Montreal, Canada | Soviet Union | Sweden | Canada |
| 1977 | Bystrica-Zvolen, Czechoslovakia | Soviet Union | Canada | Czechoslovakia |
| 1976* | Tampere, Finland | Soviet Union | Canada | Czechoslovakia |
| 1975* | U.S./Canada | Soviet Union | Canada | Sweden |
| 1974* | Leningrad, Soviet Union | Soviet Union | Finland | Canada |
* – IIHF began officially sponsoring World Junior Championship in 1977