The 45th annual hockey world juniors began on December 25, 2020, and ended on January 5, 2021. Games were held in Edmonton Canada at the Rogers Place Ice Arena.

The WJC also known as the IIHF World Juniors Hockey Championship is an annual hockey tournament that features the best international under-20 year old players. Many NHL picks or prospects participate and have already been picked or are going to be picked and drafted. The main tournament involves the top-ten ranked countries but there are a number or lower division teams who play in separate games for promotion.

The teams are separated into two groups, A and B. They play a round-robin preliminary round that proceeds an elimination three-round playoff. Every team plays one prelim game against each of the four other teams in their group. The prelim round uses a 3-2-1-0 point structure. 3 points for a win, 2 points for an overtime win, 1 point for an overtime loss, and 0 for a regulation loss.

2021 Group A:

Canada   Finland    Germany   Slovakia   Switzerland

2021 Group B:

Austria   Czech Republic  Russia   Sweden  United States of America

The Championships for the Gold, Silver, and Bronze medals were held on Tuesday, January 5. The Gold championship included the USA and Canada teams. With an upset victory team USA brought home the gold with a 2-0 win against Canada. Canada was given the silver. The bronze championship featured Finland and Russia with the Fins winning a 4-1 game.

To beat Canada, the U.S needed to come out strong and keep the pressure on which is exactly what they gave. The Americans were able to pull off a one goal lead just before the first period concluded. The Canadians had yet to be down points this year which may have affected their confidence level. Canada was not at their best and neither was the U.S but the Americans seemed to do a great job of limiting Canada’s attacks and putting sticks in bodies in lanes in the defensive zone.

Goaltender Spencer Knight, a great prospect for goaltending was the Americans difference maker especially in the final round. Knight had an amazing (knight) stopping all of the Canadians shots leading to a shut out. This was never thought of, having a shut out night against the well favored Canadians. He provided the safety net and the ability for him and his teammates to come home on top.

USA Juniors Star Players Include:

Trevor Zegras, C (Anaheim Ducks)

Cole Caufeild, RW (Montreal Canadiens)

Spencer Knight, G (Florida Panthers)

From South Bend, Indiana, Landon Slaggert, Notre Dame Freshman forward also competed in the 2021 World Juniors and aided in the success of the USA team.

Congrats to the United States World Junior Team.