It’s World juniors time again…

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 25/12/2024 (514 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

On Dec. 26, the 2025 International Ice Hockey Federation World Junior

Hockey Championship starts play in Ottawa. Ten hockey nations are divided into two five-team divisions, with Canada in the same division as the defending champion United States. The gold medal game is scheduled for Jan. 5, 2025 and the Canadians will be hoping to improve on last year’s performance, when the team failed to medal.

Often referred to as the World Juniors, the first official tournament was held in Czechoslovakia in 1977, with the Soviet Union winning gold. Over the years, the tournament has grown in stature, particularly in Canada, where it has become a highlight of the holiday season. Players must be under the age of 20 to participate.

Manitoba hosted the 1999 championship with games played in Winnipeg, Brandon, Portage la Prairie and Selkirk from Dec. 26, 1998 until Jan. 5, 1999. Morden got to host one game, and Sweden edged Belarus 5-4. On New Year’s Eve, fans in the Teulon-Rockwood Arena saw Sweden down Kazakhstan 11-4.

Canada beat Sweden 6-1 in one semi-final while Russia edged Slovakia 3-2 in the other. The gold medal game was played on Jan. 5 in the Winnipeg Arena. The 13,225 fans in attendance saw a thrilling contest that went into overtime before Artem Chubarov gave the Russians a 3-2 victory at the 5:13 mark. It was his second goal of the game. Maxim Balmochnykh scored the other. Simon Gagne and Bryan Allen late in the third period scored for Canada, who outshot Russia 40-18.

The 2005 tournament was held in North Dakota and northern Minnesota from Christmas Day 2004 until Jan. 4, 2005. Many Manitobans took a trip down highways 75 and I-29 to Grand Forks to see games in the Ralph Engelstad Arena, home to the University of North Dakota Fighting Hawks. Games also were played in Thief River Falls, Minn., where there is a second Engelstad Arena.

The final result in 2005 was the opposite of 1999, with Canada beating Russia 6-1 in front of 11,862 fans. The Czech Republic won bronze with a 3-2 overtime victory over the United States. Scoring for Canada were Ryan Getzlaf, Danny Syvret, Jeff Carter, Patrice Bergeron, Anthony Stewart (with an assist from Winnipeg’s Nigel Dawes), and Dion Phaneuf. Alexei Emelin scored for Russia. Dawes had the winning goal when Canada beat the Czechs 3-1 in the semi-final.

Bergeron, with 13 points, and Getzlaf, with 12, led the tournament in scoring. Seventeen-year-old Sidney Crosby contributed six goals and three assists. Alexander Ovechkin with 11 points and Evgeni Malkin with 10 were the top Russians. Drew Stafford, who played for the Winnipeg Jets from 2015 to 2017, was the best American scorer with nine points.

It’s safe to speculate that the 2005 tournament had the most talent in history. Also on Canada’s roster were future NHL stars Corey Perry, Brent Seabrook and Shea Weber, along with future Jets captain Andrew Ladd, Kenora’s Mike Richards, who was Canada’s captain, and defenseman Cam Barker from Fort Garry.

Al Montoya, who played for the Jets in 2011-12 and 2012-13, was the U.S. goalie with future Manitoba Moose Cory Schneider the backup. Phil Kessel, Ryan Callahan and Ryan Suter, who went on to lengthy careers in the NHL, also played for the U.S. David Krejci, who played 15 seasons for the Boston Bruins, and two-year Jet Michael Frolik were with the Czech Republic. Finnish goalie Tuukka Rask played for Boston from the 2007-08 season until 2021-22.

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Holiday greetings and all the best in 2025 to the readers of Memories of Sport. Any suggestions you have for future columns are welcomed.