Ice Hockey World Junior Championships
Current season, competition or edition: 2017 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships
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| Sport | Ice hockey |
|---|---|
| Inaugural season | 1974 (unofficial) 1977 (official) |
| No. of teams | 10 |
| Most recent champion(s) |
 United States
|
| Most titles |
 Canada (16 titles) |
| Official website | IIHF.com |
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.
The United States are the defending champion of the tournament, after having beaten Canada to win the 2017 edition.
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 41 overall gold medals awarded (through 2017). 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.
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