2015 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships Explained

Tourney Name:IIHF World U20 Championship
Year:2015
Size:x240px
Country:Canada
Dates:December 26, 2014 – January 5, 2015
Num Teams:10
Venues:Air Canada Centre
Bell Centre
Cities:2
Type:ihj
Winners:CAN
Count:16
Second:RUS
Third:SVK
Fourth:SWE
Games:30
Goals:176
Attendance:366370
Website:2015 World Juniors
Scoring Leader: Sam Reinhart
Points:11
Mvp: Denis Godla
Prevseason:2014
Nextseason:2016

The 2015 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships was the 39th edition of Ice Hockey World Junior Championship, played from December 26, 2014 to January 5, 2015. It was co-hosted by Toronto, Ontario, and Montreal, Quebec, Canada,[1] [2] [3] and organized by Hockey Canada, Hockey Quebec, the Ontario Hockey Federation, the Montreal Canadiens, Maple Leafs Sports and Entertainment and Evenko.[4] Games were split between Air Canada Centre in Toronto and Bell Centre in Montreal, with Montreal hosting Group A matches and two quarter finals, and Toronto hosting Group B, along with the relegation games, two quarter finals, along with the semi-finals, bronze medal, and gold medal games.[5] [6]

After failing to medal at the previous two editions of the tournament, Canada beat Russia in the final to win the gold medal, marking Canada's first medal at the World Juniors since 2012, and Canada's first gold since 2009. Slovakia defeated Sweden in the bronze medal game to win their second-ever medal. Germany finished tenth overall and was relegated to Division I-A for the 2016 tournament. Slovak goaltender Denis Godla was named the tournament's most valuable player, while Sam Reinhart of Canada was the scoring leader with 11 points.

Player eligibility

A player is eligible to play in the 2015 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships if:[7]

If a player who has never played in IIHF-organized competition wishes to switch national eligibility, he must have played in competitions for two consecutive years in the new country without playing in another country, as well as show his move to the new country's national association with an international transfer card. In case the player has previously played in IIHF-organized competition but wishes to switch national eligibility, he must have played in competitions for four consecutive years in the new country without playing in another country, he must show his move to the new country's national association with an international transfer card, as well as be a citizen of the new country. A player may only switch national eligibility once.[8]

Top Division

Match officials

The IIHF selected 12 referees and 10 linesmen to officiate during the tournament:[9]

Referees

Linesmen

Format

The four best ranked teams from each group of the preliminary round advance to the quarterfinals, while the last placed teams from each group played a relegation round in a best of three format to determine the relegated team.[10]

Rosters

See main article: 2015 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships rosters.

Preliminary round

All times are local. (Eastern Standard TimeUTC-5)

Group B

Relegation round

Note: was relegated to the 2016 Division I A

Playoff round

Final

Statistics

Scoring leaders

width=30Poswidth=150PlayerCountrywidth=20GPwidth=20Gwidth=20A !width=30Ptswidth=30+/−width=30PIM
1 7 5 6 11 +13 6
2 7 4 7 11 +4 0
3 7 3 8 11 +8 0
4 7 5 5 10 +10 4
5 7 3 7 10 –2 0
6 7 5 4 9 +8 0
7 7 4 5 9 –1 0
7 7 4 5 9 –1 2
9 6 4 4 8 0 2
10 7 4 4 8 +11 16
GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; +/− = Plus–minus; PIM = Penalties in minutes
Source: IIHF.com

Goaltending leaders

(minimum 40% team's total ice time)

width=30Poswidth=150PlayerCountrywidth=20TOIwidth=20GAwidth=20GAAwidth=20Sv%width=20SO
1 300:00 6 1.20 93.94 2
2 242:13 8 1.98 93.80 1
3 241:42 7 1.74 93.75 1
4 391:35 18 2.76 92.56 1
5 183:12 7 2.29 92.31 1
TOI = Time On Ice (minutes:seconds); GA = Goals against; GAA = Goals against average; Sv% = Save percentage; SO = Shutouts
Source: IIHF.com

Tournament awards

Reference: http://www.worldjunior2015.com/en/news/godly-godla/Most Valuable Player

All-star team

IIHF best player awards

Final standings

width=30Rankwidth=160Team
4th
5th
6th
7th
8th
9th
10th
Relegated to the 2016 Division I A
Note that due to the lack of playoff games for determining the spots 5–8, these spots were determined by the preliminary round records for each team.

Division I

See main article: 2015 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships – Division I.

Division I A

The Division I A tournament was played in Asiago, Italy, from 14 to 20 December 2014.[11]

Division I B

The Division I B tournament was played in Dunaújváros, Hungary, from 14 to 20 December 2014.[12]

Division II

See main article: 2015 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships – Division II.

Division II A

The Division II A tournament was played in Tallinn, Estonia, from 7 to 13 December 2014.[13]

Division II B

The Division II B tournament was played in Jaca, Spain, from 13 to 19 December 2014.[14]

Division III

See main article: 2015 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships – Division III. The Division III tournament was played in Dunedin, New Zealand, from 20 to 25 January 2015.[15]

On December 27, 2014 organizers announced that the Bulgarian Ice Hockey Federation withdrew their U20 team from the tournament.[16]

External links

Notes and References

  1. http://www.worldjunior2015.com 2015 World Junior Ice Hockey Championship official website
  2. https://stats.iihf.com/Hydra/417/ 2015 Top Division statistics
  3. Web site: Canada to host more tourneys . May 9, 2010 . January 5, 2011 . International Ice Hockey Federation . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20121018123039/http://www.iihf.com/channels/iihf-world-championship-oc09/home/news/news-singleview-world-championship-2009/article/canada-to-host-more-tourneys.html . October 18, 2012 .
  4. http://www.iihf.com/home-of-hockey/news/news-singleview/recap/8011.html?tx_ttnews%5BbackPid%5D=10&cHash=5d06d23b71 "Heading to hockey’s meccas"
  5. http://www.ctvnews.ca/sports/montreal-and-toronto-to-host-2015-2017-world-junior-championships-1.1333912 "Montreal and Toronto to host 2015, 2017 world junior championships"
  6. The Gazette (Montreal), "World Junior Championship is coming to town", Brenda Branswell, June 20, 2013
  7. Web site: IIHF statutes and bylaws . . 2014-01-01.
  8. Web site: IIHF Eligibility . . 2014-01-01.
  9. Web site: Officials Known. IIHF.com. 5 December 2014.
  10. Web site: New format for U18, U20 Worlds. 2012-05-29. IIHF.com. 2011-05-29.
  11. http://webarchive.iihf.com/competition/451/statistics.html 2015 Division I A statistics
  12. http://webarchive.iihf.com/competition/453/statistics.html 2015 Division I B statistics
  13. http://webarchive.iihf.com/competition/454/statistics.html 2015 Division II A statistics
  14. http://webarchive.iihf.com/competition/456/statistics.html 2015 Division II B statistics
  15. http://webarchive.iihf.com/competition/457/statistics.html 2015 Division III statistics
  16. http://u20.dunedinicehockey.co.nz/about/news/bulgaria-withdraws-from-the-u-20-ice-hockey-world-championship/ Bulgaria withdraws