The best gold medal-winning world juniors team for each country
The recipe for winning the World Junior Championship can vary. Sometimes it takes a full team effort, whereas other times, one potent line can carry a team all the way to a title. In other cases, all it takes is a red-hot goalie and timely scoring.
Regardless of how these teams got it done, these squads represent each country's best gold medal-winning world junior team since the tournament began in 1977.
Canada: 2005
Record (W-OTW-OTL-L): 6-0-0-0
GF-GA: 41-7
| Player (position) | G | A | P |
|---|---|---|---|
| Patrice Bergeron (F) | 5 | 8 | 13 |
| Ryan Getzlaf (F) | 3 | 9 | 12 |
| Jeff Carter (F) | 7 | 3 | 10 |
| Sidney Crosby (F) | 6 | 3 | 9 |
| Andrew Ladd (F) | 3 | 4 | 7 |
| Corey Perry (F) | 2 | 5 | 7 |
| Nigel Dawes (F) | 2 | 4 | 6 |
| Dion Phaneuf (D) | 1 | 5 | 6 |
| Mike Richards (F) | 1 | 4 | 5 |
| Colin Fraser (F) | 1 | 4 | 5 |
| Clarke MacArthur (F) | 4 | 0 | 4 |
| Anthony Stewart (F) | 3 | 1 | 4 |
| Danny Syvret (D) | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| Brent Seabrook (D) | 0 | 3 | 3 |
| Braydon Coburn (D) | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| Shawn Belle (D) | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Cam Barker (D) | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Stephen Dixon (F) | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Shea Weber (D) | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Jeremy Colliton (F) | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Goalie | GP | GAA | SV% |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jeff Glass | 5 | 1.40 | .922 |
| Rejean Beauchemin | 1 | 0.00 | 1.000 |
Canada's 2005 team was the perfect storm. The 2003 draft was one of the best ever, and the NHL lockout allowed several players who would have otherwise been in the NHL to participate in this tournament. Bergeron, for example, already had 71 NHL games under his belt.
The depth up front was insane, but the blue line was arguably just as good. This was a young, wild, and reckless Dion Phaneuf (remember the Double Dion?), not the Phaneuf we're accustomed to today.
No offense to Jeff Glass, but a Shooter Tutor probably could have played in goal behind this team.
Canada ran roughshod over the competition, dismantling a Russian team featuring Alex Ovechkin and Evgeni Malkin in the final by a score of 6-1.
Czech Republic: 2001
Record (W-L-T): 7-0-0
GF-GA: 27-8
| Player (position) | G | A | P |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pavel Brendl (F) | 4 | 6 | 10 |
| Vaclav Nedorost (F) | 4 | 5 | 9 |
| Zdenek Blatny (F) | 5 | 2 | 7 |
| Rostislav Klesla (D) | 3 | 4 | 7 |
| Michal Sivek (F) | 2 | 2 | 4 |
| Martin Erat (F) | 2 | 1 | 3 |
| Radim Vrbata (F) | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| Libor Ustrnul (D) | 0 | 3 | 3 |
| Lukas Havel (F) | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| Patrik Moskal (F) | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| Tomas Plekanec (F) | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| Marek Tomica (F) | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| Jan Choteborsky (D) | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| Ivan Rachunek (F) | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Ladislav Vlcek (F) | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Jakub Cutta (D) | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Jakub Grof (D) | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| David Nosek (D) | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| David Pojkar (D) | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Jan Vytisk (D) | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Goalie | GP | GAA | SV% |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tomas Duba | 7 | 1.14 | .947 |
Brendl and Duba peaked at the right time for this Czech team. Brendl would never live up to the hype of being a fourth overall pick, and Duba never even played an NHL game.
This was the second of back-to-back titles for the Czechs - their only two in tournament history.
Finland: 2016
Record (W-OTW-OTL-L): 5-1-0-1
GF-GA: 35-22
| Player (position) | G | A | P |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jesse Puljujarvi (F) | 5 | 12 | 17 |
| Sebastian Aho (F) | 5 | 9 | 14 |
| Patrik Laine (F) | 7 | 6 | 13 |
| Olli Juolevi (D) | 0 | 9 | 9 |
| Aleksi Saarela (F) | 4 | 3 | 7 |
| Kasperi Kapanen (F) | 2 | 3 | 5 |
| Mikko Rantanen (F) | 2 | 3 | 5 |
| Roope Hintz (F) | 3 | 1 | 4 |
| Antti Kalapudas (F) | 3 | 1 | 4 |
| Vili Saarijarvi (D) | 0 | 4 | 4 |
| Julius Nattinen (F) | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| Sami Niku (D) | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| Kasper Bjorkqvist (F) | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| Miska Siikonen (F) | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| Sebastian Repo (F) | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Joni Tuulola (D) | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Niko Mikkola (D) | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Miro Keskitalo (D) | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Juho Lammikko (F) | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Eetu Sopanen (D) | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Goalie | GP | GAA | SV% |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kaapo Kahkonen | 4 | 2.52 | .909 |
| Veini Vehvilainen | 4 | 3.80 | .838 |
Uncharacteristically, the Finns weren't backstopped by an elite netminder, but boy oh boy, could they ever fill the net.
The line of Aho, Laine, and Puljujarvi carried the Finns to the title. Kapanen and Rantanen give this squad five players currently playing in the NHL, while Juolevi and others shouldn't be too far behind.
Russia (Soviet Union): 1989
Record (W-L-T): 6-1-0
GF-GA: 51-14
| Player (position) | G | A | P |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pavel Bure (F) | 8 | 6 | 14 |
| Alexander Mogilny (F) | 7 | 5 | 12 |
| Sergei Fedorov (F) | 4 | 8 | 12 |
| Andrei Sidorov (F) | 5 | 5 | 10 |
| Roman Oksiuta (F) | 6 | 3 | 9 |
| Dmitri Khristich (F) | 6 | 2 | 8 |
| Viktor Gordiouk (F) | 3 | 4 | 7 |
| Sergei Gomolyako (F) | 4 | 2 | 6 |
| Stanislav Panfilenkov (F) | 2 | 3 | 5 |
| Sergei Zubov (D) | 0 | 5 | 5 |
| Igor Malykhin (D) | 0 | 5 | 5 |
| Igor Ivanov (D) | 3 | 1 | 4 |
| Sergei Sorokin (D) | 1 | 3 | 4 |
| Alexander Yudin (D) | 1 | 3 | 4 |
| Dmitri Yushkevich (D) | 0 | 3 | 3 |
| Vladimir Tsyplakov (F) | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Alexander Godynyuk (D) | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Boris Bykovsky (F) | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Goalie | GP | GAA |
|---|---|---|
| Alexei Ivashkin | 7 | 2.47 |
| Maxim Mikhailovsky | 2 | 0.00 |
How could any team of teenagers possibly defend a line made up of Hall of Famers Bure, Mogilny, and Fedorov? Zubov could also find himself in the Hall one day, while Khristich and Yushkevich went on to have nice NHL careers.
Sweden: 2012
Record (W-OTW-OTL-L): 2-4-0-0
GF-GA: 29-13
| Player (position) | G | A | P |
|---|---|---|---|
| Max Friberg (F) | 9 | 2 | 11 |
| Sebastian Collberg (F) | 4 | 3 | 7 |
| Erik Thorell (F) | 3 | 3 | 6 |
| Ludvig Rensfeldt (F) | 1 | 5 | 6 |
| Johan Larsson (F) | 0 | 6 | 6 |
| Joakim Nordstrom (F) | 4 | 1 | 5 |
| Mika Zibanejad (F) | 4 | 1 | 5 |
| Rickard Rakell (F) | 2 | 3 | 5 |
| Johan Sundstrom (F) | 1 | 4 | 5 |
| Patrik Nemeth (D) | 0 | 5 | 5 |
| Jonas Brodin (D) | 0 | 4 | 4 |
| John Klingberg (D) | 0 | 3 | 3 |
| Mattias Backman (D) | 0 | 3 | 3 |
| Oscar Klefbom (D) | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| William Karlsson (F) | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| Filip Forsberg (F) | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Victor Rask (F) | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Petter Granberg (D) | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Fredrik Claesson (D) | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Jeremy Boyce Rotevall (F) | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Goalie | GP | GAA | SV% |
|---|---|---|---|
| Johan Gustafsson | 5 | 2.20 | .880 |
| Anton Forsberg | 2 | 0.99 | .933 |
This Sweden squad proved that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. Their top four scorers have gone on to play a combined six NHL games, but many players who didn't necessarily carry this team have gone on to successful NHL careers thus far.
In typical Swedish fashion, the blue line was the strength, and a major reason why the team was able to win four of its games in overtime or a shootout.
United States: 2017
Record (W-OTW-OTL-L): 5-2-0-0
GF-GA: 27-15
| Player (position) | G | A | P |
|---|---|---|---|
| Clayton Keller (F) | 3 | 8 | 11 |
| Colin White (F) | 7 | 1 | 8 |
| Jordan Greenway (F) | 3 | 5 | 8 |
| Troy Terry (F) | 4 | 3 | 7 |
| Charlie McAvoy (D) | 2 | 4 | 6 |
| Jeremy Bracco (F) | 3 | 2 | 5 |
| Tage Thompson (F) | 1 | 4 | 5 |
| Luke Kunin (F) | 2 | 2 | 4 |
| Adam Fox (D) | 0 | 4 | 4 |
| Kieffer Bellows (F) | 2 | 1 | 3 |
| Casey Fitzgerald (D) | 0 | 3 | 3 |
| Tanner Laczynski (F) | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| Joseph Cecconi (D) | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| Joey Anderson (F) | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| Jack Roslovic (F) | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| Caleb Jones (D) | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| Patrick Harper (F) | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Jack Ahcan (D) | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Erik Foley (F) | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Ryan Lindgren (D) | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Goalie | GP | GAA | SV% |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tyler Parsons | 5 | 2.18 | .917 |
| Joseph Woll | 2 | 1.50 | .935 |
Choosing the United States' best team was the toughest task here. Though their 2004 and 2013 squads were stocked with some of today's best NHL players, neither team was as dominant as last year's.
Keller and McAvoy are already making their mark in the NHL, and while it may take a few years, more and more players from this roster will become household names.
(Photos courtesy: Getty Images)