As things currently stand, it sounds like the NHL and NHL Players Association have a plan in place for the NHL season to begin soon. If all goes to plan, the proposal will be voted on by the end of this week, and the NHL will be back starting January 13th, 2021. The NHL plans to play either a 52 or 56 game season, which would end in early May. There are about a billion other details that need to get figured out, but that’s not what we’re here to talk about. No, we are here to talk about quite possibly the best annual international sporting event, the World Junior Hockey Championships.
You may be asking yourself, “What the fuck are the World Junior Hockey Championships, and why should I care?”. Both are valid questions for most Americans to be asking themselves. However, if this were Canada, those questions would be scoffed and laughed at. The World Juniors, as they’re most commonly known, is one of the most anticipated annual events for Canadian sports fans. While in the United States, it’s not even shown on most televisions.
In the US, it is broadcast exclusively on NHL Network. I would guess less than 50% of Americans have NHL Network, and I would say only about 10% of the people that do have it are even aware of it. When you add on the hockey fans who don’t pay for NHL Network, the total number of viewers in the US is horrendously low. It really doesn’t help that the NHL refuses to push ads for it on any platforms outside of their own. Because of this, I feel a responsibility to educate the small audience I have about this annual spectacle.
2021 World Juniors
This year the tournament was set to be held in both Red Deer and Edmonton, Alberta. But due to the rising Covid cases in Alberta, Red Deer was taken out of the picture to limit travel. All games for this tournament will now be played at Rodgers Place in Edmonton. The tournament will take place from December 25th until January 5th, and the participants will be the best U20 players from 10 different countries.
Those 10 teams are separated into two groups of five for round-robin group play. Each country plays everyone in their group one time, and the top four teams head into the elimination rounds. The seeding is decided with the same point system as the NHL, meaning that a win earns a team three points, and a loss in overtime or shoot-out earns a team one point. In the elimination round, the top team from group A plays the fourth-place team from Group B, the second-place team from group A plays the third-place team from group B, and vice-versa. The two teams that don’t survive the group stages then play in a best of three series to see which team is relegated to the second division.
Competing Countries
The groups this year are (along with their odds from Bovada for the gamblers):
Group A: Canada(-130), Finland(+725), Switzerland(+5000), Slovakia(+5500), Germany(+7500)
Group B: USA(+375), Russia(+500), Sweden(+650), Czech Republic(+2000), Austria (+10000)
The gambling odds go from somewhat competitive to absolutely ludicrous quickly. The reason for that being, over that last decade and a half, there are only five teams consistently competing for medals.
The Big Five (Medals Won: Gold, Silver, Bronze, Total)
Canada (18, 9, 5, 32)
Russia/Soviet Union (12, 13, 11, 36)*
Finland (5, 4, 6, 15)
USA (4, 2, 6, 12)
Sweden (2, 11, 6, 19)
*The majority of Russia’s medals were won during the Soviet Union era (20 of 36 total medals and 8 of 12 Gold Medals).
It’s a borderline guarantee that one of these five teams will win Gold every year, and most years, some combination of them will make up all of the medals. That’s why the odds on the other five teams are so astronomically high. Let’s be honest though, we all know where the sharp money is going this year…
TEAM USA
While the United States’ success in the World Juniors is not entirely new, they lack the storied histories that the Canadians, Russians, and even the Swedes have. With that said, before last year’s competition, the US had been on an incredible run of results. They had medaled in each of the previous four tournaments and had taken home Gold in 2017.
That 2017 team was what got me truly hooked on the World Juniors. They were not projected to be a strong contender for Gold, and many thought they would have been lucky to receive a medal at all. The Canadiens were the HEAVY favorite. This was bolstered by the fact that the tournament was held in Toronto and Montreal. The Gold medal game was played in the cathedral that is the Bell Center in Montreal. Against the odds, the US made it to the Semis against a heavily favored Russian team. An incredibly cagey and tight game was ended in a shoot-out by Troy Terry (a story destined to repeat itself).
The USA v Canada Gold medal game is, to this day, one of the best hockey games I’ve ever watched. That includes Olympics, NHL, World Cups, and any other hockey I’ve ever seen. The building would erupt after every Team Canada goal and go silent after each one the US potted. After 60 minutes, the game was still knotted up, and the game headed into overtime. My plans for the night were doomed from the start of the game, but they really took a hit when OT started. The Canadiens came out flying in OT and looked destined to find a goal before a shoot-out would be required. Tyler Parsons, the USAs starting goalie, had other plans. Parsons’ stood on his all game, but especially during OT. The US forced a shoot-out that came down to Parsons and Terry. Terry skated down with the shoot-out tied, much like he did during the Russia game; unlike the Russia game, his goal was not the deciding factor. After Terry scored to take the lead, the pressure was back on Parsons, as it had been all game. And as he had done all game, Parsons made the stop. The Canadien players and fans collectively dropped to their asses. As the US skaters came flying over the bench, spewing their gear in the air as they piled on Parsons.
Ditching my plans for the game that faithful night in 2017 was one of the better decisions I made in my early 20s. Not only did I save myself probably close to $100 on food and drinks, but I also gained a whole new perspective on what the World Juniors could be. I always knew what it meant to Canadiens, but from that point forward, it meant the same amount to me. That’s why I’m writing this because I want other American hockey fans to experience the joy that is mortgaging your happiness on a bunch of teenage kids. So if you have NHL Network be sure to check it out, and if no,t do what I do and find the illegal stream. But by any means necessary, be sure to tune into the 2021 World Juniors.
If you like what you just read and wanna give me a little confidence boost follow me on Twitter: @msovi27
The Snow Report 