With the 2014 World Junior Ice Hockey Championship (World Juniors) starting tomorrow in Malmö Sweden, I’d like to discuss Canada‘s performance at the tournament.

Canada has had a tradition of being very successful at the tournament, with an overall record of 187 wins, 48 losses, and 22 ties.  Team Canada has won 15 Gold Medals, 10 Silver Medals, and 6 Bronze Medals good for 28 total medals and second best overall.

As far a success, only the teams representing the Soviet Union (14 medals) and Russia (17 medals) , if combined, have had more success than Team Canada with a combined 13 Gold Medals, 10 Silver Medals, and 8 Bronze Medals.  This means that Canada has the most Gold Medals with their 15.  No other team comes close to the success of these two teams.

Team Canada has won the Gold Medal in five consecutive years on two different occasions, from 1993 to 1997 and again from 2005 to 2009.  When you factor in the 1990-1992 tournaments, Team Canada won the Gold Medal every year from 1990-1997 with the exception of a 6th place finish in 1992.

In a 10 year period from 1988-1997, Team Canada won 8 Gold Medals, with a 4th place finish in 1989, and the 6th place finish in 1992.  Also since the 1998 tournament, Team Canada had won a medal in each year except the 2013 competition (last year’s competition) winning 5 Gold Medals, 6 Silver Medals, and 3 Bronze Medals.

In 1987, Team Canada was on its way to a Gold Medal until the infamous Punch-up in Piestany with the team from the Soviet Union.  This led to both teams being disqualified from the tournament and almost led to players from both countries being banned from the following year’s tournament.

Team Canada has gone undefeated in several tournaments:

The team has gone 7-0-0 in 1995, and 6-0-0 in 1996, 2005, 2006, 2007, and 2009.  The team went 6-0-1 in 1982, 1988, and 1994.  The team was 5-0-2 in 1985, and 1997.

Team Canada has a tradition of success at the World Juniors.  So let’s cheer on our team as we open up the 2014 tournament.