What to know about the world juniors, a Christmastime tradition in Canada

Canada's Dylan Cozens (22) and Russia's Shakir Mukhamadullin (17) battle at the side of the net as Canada scores on Yaroslav Askarov (1) during first period IIHF World Junior Hockey Championship action in Edmonton on Monday, January 4, 2021. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jason Franson

TORONTO — Scott Moore can still picture the gold-medal game during the 1991 world junior championships in which Canada defeated the Soviet Union.

“A guy named John Slaney from Newfoundland scored the winning goal. I can see the play in my head,” Moore said of the 3-2 victory for Team Canada. “It was a sold-out Saskatchewan Place arena, and the place just went crazy.”

At the time, Moore, the veteran Canadian television executive and former head of CBC Sports and Rogers Sportsnet, was a producer for Canadian sports network TSN, which had begun broadcasting the tournament that winter.

“The ratings were great for that first tournament on the network, so they kept increasing the profile and the promotion for the network over the next 20, 30 years now,” Moore said. “And it’s just become this incredible Canadian tradition.”

Diplomatic dispute

But recently, the tournament that takes place over the holiday season has been thrust into the centre of an ongoing legal and diplomatic dispute after Canada and several European nations pushed back on a court ruling ordering Russia’s reinstatement into the international event.

Earlier this week, the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) ordered Russia’s immediate reinstatement to International Ice Hockey Federation championships.

The IIHF has barred Russia and Belarus from international tournaments since February 2022, following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and Belarusian support for it.

Following the CAS decision, Prime Minister Mark Carney said on Tuesday that Russian players would not be permitted to compete in the event, which is set to be hosted in Edmonton and Red Deer, Alta.

Hockey federations from Finland, Sweden, Czechia and Latvia have expressed that their national teams would refuse to face Russia in international championships.

The IIHF has opposed the reinstatement as well, citing security, logistical and competitive concerns.

A Christmastime tradition

The annual hockey tournament pits the world’s best men’s national under-20 hockey teams against each other and can be a launch pad for future NHL stars.

“The tournament has historically been a great coming-out party for players who either had just been drafted or were draft-eligible,” Moore said, adding some players have become “household names well before their NHL careers” after playing in the event.

Tournament alumni include Wayne Gretzky, Mario Lemieux, Sidney Crosby, Alexander Ovechkin, Connor McDavid, Auston Matthews and Gavin McKenna.

The 11-day event takes place over the Christmas season, typically beginning on Boxing Day and culminating with a gold-medal game in early January.

In the past, games involving Team Canada have attracted millions of television viewers, according to data from TSN.

Moore said he thinks Canadians are drawn to the tournament because, first and foremost, it involves hockey.

“Second, it’s hockey involving the red Maple Leaf, which always gets Canadians going,” he said. “Yes, it is a busy time, but it’s not actually a really busy time on the sports calendar.”

Canada-Russia rivalry

Since the tournament began in 1977, Canada has won the championship 20 times, more than any other nation. Russia is second, earning 13 gold medals including from when it competed as the Soviet Union and the Commonwealth of Independent States.

In 1991, the tournament came down to a Canada-Soviet Union final. Moore said at the time it was a “major hockey rivalry.”

“It was probably more intense than the Canada-U.S. one is now,” he said.

Canada and Russia have met in the championship game 15 times, and the Canadians own a 9-6 edge.

Attention has now shifted to Canada’s relationship with Russia off the ice, with the federal government saying it will use its immigration powers to prevent Russian and Belarusian athletes and officials from entering Canada to compete under their national symbols.

Gretzky said at an event on Friday that he backed Canada’s decision to bar Russia from the upcoming championship and praised Carney for making his position clear.

High-profile sexual assault trial and fallout

The hockey tournament has also been linked to another significant off-ice matter in recent years. A high-profile 2025 sexual assault trial held in London, Ont., involved five former members of Canada’s 2018 world junior hockey team.

A judge acquitted all the players, but the trial and its aftermath garnered national attention and led to renewed questions and conversations about consent and a toxic hockey culture, which has been widely covered by TSN reporter Rick Westhead.

Four of the five players acquitted remain suspended from Hockey Canada-sanctioned programs following a recommendation from an independent appeal board.

Hockey Canada, which has received criticism for spending millions on sexual abuse settlements since 1989, including drawing from children’s registration fees, introduced a slate of reforms in 2022, including mandatory training for athletes and staff on sexual violence and consent.

The organization held a 2023 summit in Calgary to address toxic masculinity in the sport, and another in Ottawa in 2024 to analyze unhealthy outcomes in hockey.

Looking ahead to this year’s tournament

This year’s world junior championship is scheduled to open on Dec. 26.

Ten teams are scheduled to compete, including Sweden, Canada, Czechia, Switzerland, the United States, Germany, Latvia, Slovakia, Norway and Finland.

Sweden topped Czechia for the gold medal in last year’s tournament, while Canada defeated Finland to finish with the bronze medal. The Canadians haven’t stood on top of the podium since 2023, but the team will have the crowd with them this year as the host nation.

— With files from Joshua Clipperton in Toronto.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 6, 2026.

Kaitlyn McGrath, The Canadian Press