Trey Augustine last played for the U.S. at the 2024 Men's World Championship.
photo: Matt Zambonin/IIHF
The World Junior Championship is coming to Canada for the 16th time, and the second time to Ottawa, so here are a few things you need to know to prepare for the first games on Boxing Day.
The last time the Juniors came to Ottawa was 2009, when fans set a record by passing through the turnstiles 453,282 times in 31 games, an average of 14,622 a game (also a record).
In 15 previous hostings, Canada has won seven gold medals, five silver, and two bronze. The only time they failed to win a medal was in 2019 (6th).
This year begins a string of three World Juniors in a row in North America. Next year will be hosted by USA Hockey, at St. Paul and Minneapolis, Minnesota, and the year after will be back under the auspices of Hockey Canada, in Alberta (location(s) TBD).
Kazakhstan earned promotion last year and will be playing at the World Juniors for the ninth time, and the first since 2020. Only five countries have played in every U20—Canada, Czechia/Czechoslovakia, Finland, Sweden, United States.
Canada is tops in several all-time categories. They lead the medal haul, having won 35 in the previous 48 events (20G, 10S, 5B), and no country has scored more goals than Canada’s total of 1,637 in 314 games. And, their 231 victories is also tops, followed by Sweden (198), Finland (176), and the United States (175).
Two Slovaks will also break—or, tie—a record. Both Dalibor Dvorsky and Maxim Strbak will be playing in their FIFTH World Juniors! But there’s a catch. Their first U20 was the ill-fated event of December 2021 that was cancelled because of a covid-19 outbreak. They both played two games of that tournament, then played in 2022, 2023, and 2024, and should tie the official record of four tournaments in their first game in Ottawa. However, because the team never advanced past the quarter-finals in this span, they won’t approach the record for most games played (26, Bjorn Christen, SUI). They both sit at 16 games played.
Czechia’s Eduard Sale will also try to make his way into the record books. He will be playing in his third straight U20, and he has already won a silver medal in 2023 and bronze last year. Another medal in Ottawa would tie him for most in a career. Indeed, some 28 players have won three medals at the World Juniors, but at the top of the heap stands Canada’s Jason Botterill, the only player to have won three gold.
Two Americans also have a pretty special resume that they hope to add to in the next two weeks. Gabe Perreault and Zeev Buium won gold at the U18 in 2023 and gold at last year’s World Juniors. Only seven times has a team won U18 one year and U20 the next, so the list of back-to-back gold medallists is small. To win three combined gold medals at the junior level (U20 + U18) is also a small and exclusive list (last achieved by Canadian Connor Bedard and achieved by only five Americans—goalie Jack Campbell, and skaters Seth Jones, Jacob Trouba, Jason Zucker, and Rocco Grimaldi).
In the crease, the goalie to watch is another American Trey Augustine, who could add his name to the record book on several counts. Still only 19, he will be playing in his sixth tournament and record-tying third World Juniors for the Americans. He has a gold medal from last year and a bronze from 2023, so a medal in Ottawa would tie the record of three medals for a goalie at the U20. And if that third medal were to be gold, he would join an exclusive group of five other goalies with two career golds.
The last time the Juniors came to Ottawa was 2009, when fans set a record by passing through the turnstiles 453,282 times in 31 games, an average of 14,622 a game (also a record).
In 15 previous hostings, Canada has won seven gold medals, five silver, and two bronze. The only time they failed to win a medal was in 2019 (6th).
This year begins a string of three World Juniors in a row in North America. Next year will be hosted by USA Hockey, at St. Paul and Minneapolis, Minnesota, and the year after will be back under the auspices of Hockey Canada, in Alberta (location(s) TBD).
Kazakhstan earned promotion last year and will be playing at the World Juniors for the ninth time, and the first since 2020. Only five countries have played in every U20—Canada, Czechia/Czechoslovakia, Finland, Sweden, United States.
Canada is tops in several all-time categories. They lead the medal haul, having won 35 in the previous 48 events (20G, 10S, 5B), and no country has scored more goals than Canada’s total of 1,637 in 314 games. And, their 231 victories is also tops, followed by Sweden (198), Finland (176), and the United States (175).
Two Slovaks will also break—or, tie—a record. Both Dalibor Dvorsky and Maxim Strbak will be playing in their FIFTH World Juniors! But there’s a catch. Their first U20 was the ill-fated event of December 2021 that was cancelled because of a covid-19 outbreak. They both played two games of that tournament, then played in 2022, 2023, and 2024, and should tie the official record of four tournaments in their first game in Ottawa. However, because the team never advanced past the quarter-finals in this span, they won’t approach the record for most games played (26, Bjorn Christen, SUI). They both sit at 16 games played.
Czechia’s Eduard Sale will also try to make his way into the record books. He will be playing in his third straight U20, and he has already won a silver medal in 2023 and bronze last year. Another medal in Ottawa would tie him for most in a career. Indeed, some 28 players have won three medals at the World Juniors, but at the top of the heap stands Canada’s Jason Botterill, the only player to have won three gold.
Two Americans also have a pretty special resume that they hope to add to in the next two weeks. Gabe Perreault and Zeev Buium won gold at the U18 in 2023 and gold at last year’s World Juniors. Only seven times has a team won U18 one year and U20 the next, so the list of back-to-back gold medallists is small. To win three combined gold medals at the junior level (U20 + U18) is also a small and exclusive list (last achieved by Canadian Connor Bedard and achieved by only five Americans—goalie Jack Campbell, and skaters Seth Jones, Jacob Trouba, Jason Zucker, and Rocco Grimaldi).
In the crease, the goalie to watch is another American Trey Augustine, who could add his name to the record book on several counts. Still only 19, he will be playing in his sixth tournament and record-tying third World Juniors for the Americans. He has a gold medal from last year and a bronze from 2023, so a medal in Ottawa would tie the record of three medals for a goalie at the U20. And if that third medal were to be gold, he would join an exclusive group of five other goalies with two career golds.