ITH World Junior Championships:
four stories you may have missed

Brady Stark
Team Member

his year’s World Junior Hockey

Championship was a spectacle to behold.
The best young hockey players in the world
invaded Toronto and Montreal to showcase
their skills and represent their countries in
one of the grandest stages in sports. There
were some big high points for Canadian
hockey fans, such as the tournament being
held in Canada, or Canada winning gold: The
thing that made the 2015 International Ice
Hockey Federation (IIFH) U20 World Junior
Championships truly remarkable, however,
were the many stories that it produced for
the hockey fan to gorge on during its two-
week run time.

Let’s take a look at the stories that made
us either bang our heads against a wall
or filled our hearts with pride and joy.

1) Denmark’s First Win

The Danes have been featured in the World
Junior Championships eight times. That’s a
minimum of 32 games played, yet they had
never won a single contest. All that changed
on December 30 when they suited up to play
the Swiss in the last round robin game.

Denmark was never quite good enough to
be a real challenge to other teams, but in
the 2015 tournament they had two secret
weapons. Oliver Bjorkstrand, the best young
player that Denmark has produced in some
time, got the Danes on the map after falling
behind 2-0 midway through the first period.

In the second period, Denmark unleashed
their second weapon. The power play for
Denmark was a variable that a lot of the
teams in the tournament got stuck on, as 6

of their 9 goals came on the PP. The power
play again struck at the heart of the Swiss
late in the third period shootout. It was again
Bjorkstrand who sealed the deal for Denmark
as they celebrated their first ever win in style.

2) US ousted in the Quarter-Finals

Team USA steamrolled through most of their
opponents in the round robin play, with only
one loss (to Canada) on New Year’s Eve. The
Russians swarmed the US defenders with
their relentless speed and puck handling
skills as they jumped out to a 2-0 lead and
never looked back. The US did everything
they could to advance to the next round of
the tournament, but unfortunately ran into
a goaltender that was on top of his game.
Igor Shestyorkin saved 39 of 41 American
shots, to secure the win for his country.

3) Montreal disappoints

Ina surprising turn of events, the ITHF
announced before the gold medal game
that Montreal was not selling out most

of their games. This story is particularly
shocking considering that a smaller town
in Malmo, Sweden, last year was sold out
for every game. Montreal has been home to
some amazing events and some electrifying
crowds, but their reputation took a huge
step back with its lack of support for the
young players in the tournament.

In an interview with TSN, Rene Fazel,

the president of the IIHF, explained how
disappointed he was in the city of Montreal.
During the interview, he was asked if the
IIHF was considering taking away the 2017
World Juniors from Montreal even though
they are slated to cohost it with Toronto.
Fazel explained that even though the IIHF
was not happy, the mayor of Montreal,
Denis Coderre, apologized for the poor
attendance and explained an action plan
that would help boost the numbers in
2017. It was one of the only blemishes on
the tournament held in Canada, but one
that cannot be swept under the rug.

4) Soltes and the Slovakians capture Bronze

Slovakia seems to really like playing in
Canada. 16 years after capturing the bronze

medal, when the tournament was held in
Winnipeg, Manitoba, the Slovakians beat
team Sweden to bring home the bronze
medal. It was clear to all those who were
watching the game that the Slovaks wanted
to win much more than Sweden. Team
Slovakia jumped to an early 1-0 lead courtesy
of a rocket shot from current Prince George
Cougar, David Soltes, the only player to
represent the Cougars in this tournament.
Shortly after, the Slovakians struck again
as Sweden didn’t know what hit them.

Sweden would get a goal midway through
the first frame as a sensational passing play
culminated in an easy shot for Toronto
Maple Leafs first round pick, William
Nylander. The odd part about Sweden’s

Sports 5

first goal was the fact that Nylander
never even celebrated after scoring.

In the third period every fan in the
stadium got to see a piece of World Junior
history as the Slovakians scored two
more times off Shalicky and Koys, while
Denis Godla continued his superhero

play in net, turning away all attempts

the Swedes had at a comeback.

Much like Winnipeg in 1999, team
Slovakia won as the crowd roared loud
and proud for the underdog. Soltes and
company would come back home with
a bronze medal around their necks and
a confidence that will hopefully take
Cougars to the playoff promise land.

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