Canadian Gold: Remembering the 1988 World Junior Championship

In the lead-up to the 2021 World Junior Championship, we're taking a look back at each of the 18 Canadian teams to capture the gold medal, culminating Dec. 25 with the start of the latest edition of the tournament.

Moscow was the setting of the 1988 world juniors as Canada claimed its third gold medal at the event with an undefeated seven-game run.

Canada's triumph came one year after it was disqualified from the tournament thanks to the infamous "Punch-up in Piestany" in 1987. Players from Canada and the Soviet Union went toe to toe in the biggest brawl in tournament history, a melee that got so out of hand that officials eventually turned off the arena lights in a feeble attempt to end the madness.

The roster

*Denotes returning player
All ages are as of the start of the tournament

The tournament

Canada opened the festivities on Boxing Day with a 4-2 win over a Sweden squad that was still a few years away from icing some of the most dominant players in tournament history. The Canadians followed that up with another 4-2 victory over Czechoslovakia, then tied Finland 4-4 for the only blemish on their record.

On New Year's Eve, Canada dispatched a U.S. team featuring future NHL stars Jeremy Roenick, John LeClair, and Mike Modano. Then came a clash with the Soviets, which Canada narrowly won 3-2. After beating their archrivals, the Canadians cruised to an 8-1 victory over West Germany and a 9-1 win against Poland to finish 6-0-1 and clinch the gold medal. (The tournament featured only a round robin until 1996.)

The stars

Canada iced a roster stacked with talent, but its future stars - notably Sakic, Linden, and Recchi - put up pedestrian numbers at the juniors before embarking on their NHL careers. Instead, it was the defenseman Hawgood who led the team in scoring, collecting nine points in seven contests. A 10th-round selection of the Boston Bruins in 1986, Hawgood went on to play 474 NHL contests.

Canada's second-most productive player was Brown, who tied Fleury for the team lead with six goals. Brown eventually enjoyed a lengthy NHL career that included a 115-point campaign with the Pittsburgh Penguins in 1989.

Hawgood, Fleury, and Waite made the tournament All-Star team as top players at their positions.

The key moment

Canada's win over the Soviet Union ultimately sealed its gold-medal triumph. The Soviets' roster featured two of the tournament's top five scorers in Alexander Mogilny and Sergei Fedorov, but they were unable to deliver a victory on home ice.

The Soviets settled for silver despite finishing with a better goal differential than Canada and the same number of wins. Their head-to-head loss was the difference.

The fallout

Canada's junior squad missed the podium with a fourth-place finish in 1989 but won gold again in 1990.

Hawgood and Sakic each received Calder Trophy votes in 1989, while Fleury, Recchi, Linden, Graves, and Desjardins were on the cusp of starting their NHL careers.

Selected eighth overall by the Chicago Blackhawks in 1987, Waite struggled to establish himself in the NHL. He went on to become a successful goalie coach, however, and won a Stanley Cup in 2015 with the club that drafted him.