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USA not A-OK, at least at the World Juniors in the 90s

The United States is arguably the world's dominant hockey power, winning gold at the 2025 World Championships and Olympic gold in 2026. The World Juniors has not been safe from this chapter of American exceptionalism, with the USA winning three golds (2021, 2024, 2025) in the last six years. The 1990s, however, are a different story. While an ascending hockey power throughout this time period, the results were not necessarily found at the World Juniors tournament. The modern

Jul 115 min read

How the mighty fell: Canada at the 1998 World Juniors

The break up of the Soviet Union in the early 1990s saw a major shift in the international hockey balance. Prior to 1990, the Soviet Union won eight world junior titles, with Canada the only other multiple tournament winning country with three. The 1990s became Canada's decade, claiming seven gold medals, including five in a row from 1993 to 1997. The other three finishes include a silver in 1999, sixth in 1992 and most infamously, eighth in the 1998 tournament, to break up a

Jun 255 min read

Just good enough: How Germany hung around the WJC in the 1990s

Prior to the 1991 World Junior Championship tournament, Germany had competed internationally in hockey as two separate nations: East Germany and West Germany. West Germany played in every single tournament from 1977 to 1990, finishing between sixth and eighth each year, with the exception of 1981, when the tournament was held in West Germany. They finished fifth that tourney, with Dieter Hegen leading the tournament in scoring with eight goals and nine points. In 1991 Germany

May 213 min read

The definition of 'mid': the 1990s Finnish experience at World Juniors

According to Urban Dictionary, the word 'mid' is "used to describe something that is not good but not bad in the middle, hence the name Mid." And yes, I realize that using Urban Dictionary to look up a slang term outs me as a geriatric millennial. That being said, the term accurately describes Finland's experience at the World Junior Championships in the 1990s: four 4th place finishes, four 5th place finishes and one 6th place finish. The team won 30 games during the decade,

Apr 265 min read

From the ashes: the first years of Russia at the World Juniors

Note: this post is a Part II, which means it should have come after Part I, Nyet, nyet Soviet . Well I screwed that up. If you want to read about the early history of Russia at the World Junior Championship, check out the link above. Enjoy! 656 - Alexander Kuzminsky A centre, Kuzminsky’s 1992 world juniors tournament was his only time representing Russia internationally, scoring two goals in six games. He was drafted 120th overall by Toronto in 1991, playing four seasons in

Mar 293 min read

The maturation of the Swiss junior hockey program - aka the end of the 1990s yo-yo

The 1990s represent the maturation of the Swiss junior hockey program. Although having participated since 1978, Switzerland had only once before 1991 played two consecutive tournaments in the top level of the IIHF under 20 tournament (1986 and 1987). The first half of the decade wasn’t much different than the previous 12 years, with Switzerland being relegated twice, and winning only two of 21 games in the 1991, 1992 and 1994 tournaments, being outscored 36 to 118 across thos

Mar 144 min read

Nyet, nyet Soviet: only dissolution could stop Soviet dominance of the World Juniors

The first official International Ice Hockey Federation under 20 hockey championship, aka the World Juniors, was held in 1977. Between that year and the final year of the Soviet Union’s existence in 1991, the country (or union of countries) won eight gold medals, three silver medals and two bronze medals. Outside of the 1987 tournament when the country was disqualified, alongside Canada, for the Punch Up in Piestany, the Soviet Union only failed to medal at one tournament, in

Jan 314 min read

Meet the Twins: The Rare Occurrence of NHL Players with the Same DNA

In the 1991-92 and 1992-93 Upper Deck high series, the company featured NHL brother combinations in a small insert set to the main set. Brothers playing in the NHL is a fairly common occurrence; twins playing in the NHL is another matter altogether. A quick Google search shows that one in every 250 pregnancies results in a natural occurrence of twins, with an increase in odds in instances where in vitro fertilization is used for conception. Keeping this in mind, it seems the

Dec 23, 20256 min read