2018 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships


The 2018 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships was the 42nd edition of the Ice Hockey World Junior Championship, and was hosted by the city of Buffalo, New York at the KeyBank Center and HarborCenter. It opened on December 26, 2017 and closed with the gold medal game on January 5, 2018. It was the sixth time that the United States has hosted the IHWJC, and the second time that Buffalo has done so, previously hosting in 2011.
A preliminary round game between Canada and the United States was played outdoors at New Era Field in nearby Orchard Park, New York on December 29, 2017. It was the second outdoor game held at any top-level IIHF world championship, the first being the opening game of the 2010 IIHF World Championship.

Top Division

Venues

Host selection

On July 28, 2015, USA Hockey named the five initial finalists for hosting the event:
Chicago and Tampa were eliminated on September 15. Buffalo was chosen as the host site on December 3, with a formal announcement on December 4.

Officials

The following officials were assigned by the International Ice Hockey Federation to officiate the 2018 World Junior Championships.
Referees
Linesmen

Format

The preliminary round was a two group of five teams each internal round-robin format, followed by a three-round playoff. In the round-robin, two points were allotted for a win, and one additional point for a regulation win. One point was allotted for an overtime or game winning shots loss.
The four highest-ranked teams from each group of the preliminary round advanced to quarterfinals while the last-placed team from each group played a best-of-three series, the loser relegated to Division IA for 2019. All other teams will retain their Top Division status.

Preliminary round

All times are local.

Group A

Group B

Relegation

Note: was relegated for the 2019 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships

Playoff round

Quarterfinals

Semifinals

Bronze medal game

Gold medal game

Statistics

Scoring leaders

PosPlayerCountryGPGAPts+/−PIM
1Casey Mittelstadt74711+82
2Martin Nečas73811−50
3Kieffer Bellows79110+24
4Jordan Kyrou73710+20
5Sam Steel7459+30
6Brady Tkachuk7369+62
7Filip Zadina7718-42
8Klim Kostin5538+72
9Cale Makar7358+50
10Maxim Sushko6268−14
GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; +/− = Plus-minus; PIM = Penalties In Minutes
Source: IIHF

Goaltending leaders

PosPlayerCountryTOIGAGAASv%SO
1Carter Hart365:00111.8192.951
2Roman Durný240:00112.7592.860
3Filip Gustavsson364:36111.8192.410
4Vladislav Sukhachyov262:30122.7490.400
5Philip Wüthrich207:22174.9288.740
TOI = Time On Ice ; GA = Goals Against; GAA = Goals Against Average; Sv% = Save Percentage; SO = Shutouts
Source: IIHF

Tournament awards

Most Valuable Player
Casey Mittelstadt
All-star team
IIHF best player awards

Division I

The Division IA tournament was held in Courchevel and Meribel, France from December 10-16, 2017. The Division IB tournament was held in Bled, Slovenia from December 9-15, 2017. As a result of the Division IA tournament, Kazakhstan was promoted to the Top Division, and Hungary was relegated to Division IB. As a result of the Division IB tournament, Norway was promoted to Division IA, and Lithuania was relegated to Division IIA.

Division IA

Division IB

Division II

The Division IIA tournament was held in Dumfries, Great Britain from December 10-16, 2017. The Division IIB tournament was held in Belgrade, Serbia from January 10-16, 2018. As a result of the Division IIA tournament, Japan was promoted to Division IB, and Netherlands was relegated to Division IIB.

Division IIA

Division II B

Division III

The Division III tournament was held in Sofia, Bulgaria from January 22–28, 2018. The Division III qualification tournament was held in Cape Town, South Africa from February 5–7, 2018.

Division III qualification