The IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship 2018 is the 42nd tournament of the IIHF World Youth Championship, which was held from December 26, 2017 to January 5, 2018 in the American city of Buffalo.
Olympic champion, three-time world champion, Stanley Cup winner Valery Kamensky and Honored Coach of Russia Vladimir Plyushchev summed up the results of the World Youth Hockey Championship in an interview with Gazeta.Ru.
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Ice Hockey World Youth Championship 2018 schedule. Latest events.
At the group stage, the teams will be divided into two groups, matches will be played at New Era Field, KeyBank Center and HarborCenter.
According to the results of the group stage matches, four teams from each group advance to the quarterfinal playoff games, and the teams that took the last places in the groups will play additional matches among themselves for the right to remain in the Top Division.
The Canadians surpassed the Russians in the number of shots on goal, but the goalkeeper of the Nizhny Novgorod club "Skif" Diana Fakhrutdinova conceded only twice, which earned her the title of the best player of the match.
The 42nd World Junior Ice Hockey Championship 2018 will be held in Buffalo (USA). The tournament will run from December 26, 2017 to January 5, 2018. St. Louis, Chicago, Pittsburgh and Tampa also claimed to host the MFM-2018.
The USA-Canada match (group stage) will take place outdoors at New Era Field, which can seat approximately 72,000 spectators.
Group A: USA, Canada, Denmark, Slovakia and Finland
Group B: Russia, Sweden, Czech Republic, Switzerland and Belarus.
Buffalo last hosted the World Youth Championship in 2011. Then the Russian team led by Valery Bragin won gold, beating the Canadians in the legendary final (5:3). This match is called the greatest comeback of youth and world hockey.
On December 26, the Russians will play with the Czech Republic, on the 28th - with Switzerland, on the 29th - with Belarus, and on the 31st - with Sweden.
The Swedish national team lived up to expectations, winning all four matches in the group (losing points only in the game with the Russians, where it came to shootouts) and reaching the final. The winner of the second group was the Canadians, who beat the Finns (4:2), Slovaks (6:0) and Danes (8:0). The Maple Leaves suffered their only defeat in the tournament in the group stage match against the US team (3:4 B), and even then this can partly be attributed to special weather conditions - the 2018 Youth World Championship went down in history as the first in which the game took place on open air.
Quarter Youth Ice Hockey World Championship 2018. Latest material on 01/08/2018
Canadians' top scorer was Jordan Kairu with 10 points (3 goals and 7 assists). Makar became the most productive defender of the tournament with 8 points (3 5). Canadians defender Conor Timmins by a wide margin became the best in the tournament in terms of utility (“plus 15” with one puck conceded in equal compositions), and the team's goalkeeper Carter Hart was the best in percentage of shots reflected (92.95%).
Before the start of the tournament, the main favorites were the teams of Finland (winner of the Junior World Championship among players born in 1998) and Sweden, which included the first number of the next NHL draft 17-year-old defender Rasmus Dahlin, one of the best scorers in the Swedish league Elias Pettersson and the team's top scorer at the last youth world championship, Alexander Nylander, who was released by the NHL club Buffalo.
The Swedish youth team for the 11th time became the owner of the silver medals of the youth world championships. The last time the Swedes came second in 2014, losing in the final to the team of Finland. For the sixth time in the history of the World Youth Championships, the teams of Canada and Sweden met in the final of the tournament, each invariably won by the North American team.
Ten national teams under the age of 21 will take part in the tournament. Nine teams have retained their place in the elite division since last year (results of the MFM 2017). Plus, the youth team of Belarus, which has risen from the First Hockey Division.
Team Canada won the Youth World Championship for the 17th time (an absolute record) and for the first time since 2015, the Swedes took their eleventh silver (with two victories - in 1981 and 2012), the Americans won the medals of the tournament for the third year in a row, and the Czech team, which lost the match for bronze, has been without a medal since 2005.
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According to the results of the group stage, the first four teams from each group advance to the quarter-finals of the playoffs. In turn, the teams that took the last places in their groups will play a series of games among themselves for the right to remain in the Premier Division.
The championship will be the 42nd youth tournament under the leadership of the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) and, as always, 10 national youth teams will take part in it. These are 9 teams that have retained their place in the Higher Division following the results of the MFM-2017 and the youth team of Belarus, which has risen from the First Division.
The lack of experience definitely affected the result of the Russian team in Buffalo. The 1998 players missed their junior world championship due to the "meldonium scandal" and had not played at a serious international level before. All this, coupled with the lack of really bright players for this age, led to the fact that the Russian team became the worst in the tournament in terms of playing the majority (one realized attempt out of twenty).
This is the 42nd World Youth Championship and, as always, ten youth teams will take part in it. Nine national teams that retained their place in the Higher Division following the results of the 2017 Youth World Championship and the Belarusian team that rose from the First Division.
Hockey World Youth Championship. Latest events.
The first period of the quarter-final passed with an overwhelming advantage of the US team (score on throws 19-6), but gradually the Russians leveled the game and at the beginning of the third period the score on the scoreboard was equal - 2:2. The Americans took the lead again in the 53rd minute, and in the last minute of the third period they hit an empty net - 4:2.
For Bragin, the tournament was the sixth as the head coach of the Russian youth team. The previous World Championships in Montreal and Toronto was the first in which Bragin did not lead the Russian team to the final - the team won bronze medals. Earlier, Russian hockey players led by Bragin won three silver medals (Calgary / Edmonton 2012, Toronto / Montreal 2015 and Helsinki 2016), and in 2011 in the same Buffalo they became world champions.
Following the results of the tournament in Buffalo, the elite division is left by the Belarusian team, which lost the series for survival to the Danish team with a score of 0-2. Next year, the team of Kazakhstan will perform at the World Youth Championship, for the third time in its history it has made its way to the elite.
December 29 game between the teams of the USA and Canada at home arena The Buffalo Bills of the National Football League set a new attendance record for the tournament - 44,592 spectators watched the meeting. At the same time, the New Year's NHL game gathered a smaller audience: 41,821 spectators attended the game in New York.
Russian hockey players started the tournament unsuccessfully, losing in a bright match to the Czech team with a score of 4:5. Then the team won with a score of 5:2 over the Swiss and Belarusians, and in the decisive match at the group stage, the Russian team in shootouts lost to the Swedes - 3:4. As a result, the Russian team took third place in the group, letting the Swedes and the Czechs go ahead, and got the Americans, the current world champions, as rivals in the quarterfinals.
MOSCOW, January 6 - RIA Novosti, Semyon Galkevich. The Canadian team defeated the Swedish team in the finals of the World Youth Ice Hockey Championship (players under 20), held in Buffalo, USA. The hosts of the tournament won bronze medals, and the Russian team, having lost to the Americans in the quarterfinals (2:4), for the first time since 2010 and for the first time under head coach Valeria Bragin, was left without tournament medals.
“Of course, (Russian) hockey players lack experience, international experience, experience of playing in the KHL,” Vitaly Prokhorov, the former head coach of the Russian junior national team, told the R-Sport agency before the tournament. - Let's remember that in Bragin's teams, the result was always made by people who played in the KHL on an ongoing basis. Now there are no such people. Why not is a separate discussion.
“Russia has a strong team from year to year, always claiming prizes. Over the past eight years, our country has won the most medals. For example, the same Canada for the same period of time remained outside the pedestal three times. There is confidence that next year we will perform better when the players born in 1999-2000 grow up, including those who competed at the MFM this year,” said Vladislav Tretyak, President of the FHR, summing up the tournament.
Group stage: teams were divided into two groups. Tournament games will be played at the New Era Field, the Key Bank Center and the small Harbor Center.
Youth World Championship Russia and USA. All that is known now.
Canadians for the 17th time in history became the winners of the youth world championship. The last time the Canadian team won was in 2015, when they defeated the Russian team in the final of the 2015 tournament with a score of 5:4.
It is significant that of the six players selected for the symbolic team of the tournament, only one represents the Canadian team (defender Keil Makar), there are no Canadians among the best players in their roles. This convocation of the Canadian team was initially considered one of the most "non-star" in recent years, which nevertheless did not prevent the team from reaching the gold.
Russia USA Youth World Championship: when is it played?. Detailed data.
The Youth Ice Hockey World Championship 2018 starts in the last days of December 2017. As part of the 42nd draw of the tournament, the players will again, as in the previous season, cross sticks on the ice arenas of North America. If Canada was the host country a year ago, the upcoming championship will be hosted by the United States. And this means that the current champions of the tournament - the US team - will have incredible motivation! Therefore, the Russian team will have to sweat a lot to win the gold of the hockey championship. Let's hope that the wards of Valery Bragin will justify the most optimistic hopes of the fans!
Where and when will the Youth Ice Hockey World Cup 2018 take place
4 US cities fought for the right to host ice teams: Buffalo, St. Louis, Tampa and Pittsburgh. As a result, the organizers of the competition chose the first contender. So the upcoming draw of the competition will take place in the city of Buffalo. Meetings of hockey teams will be held from December 26, 2016 to January 5, 2017. Interestingly, the 42nd season will be organized exactly at the same time as the 41st.
The teams of the youth hockey championship of the planet will be provided with 3 sports facilities: New Era Field, Cybank Center and Harbor Center. The largest of them is the New Era Field. This is a real mega-arena, designed for 71,870 seats. True, the sports complex will take only one match. But on the other hand, it will be very unusual, because it will be held in the open air! It is assumed that the participants of this unique match will be Canadians with Americans. The main venue for hockey meetings will be Cybank Center and Harbor Center. The first arena holds about 19,000 seats, and the second - a little less than 2,000.
Participants of the world hockey championship among youth teams
In total, 10 teams will come to American Buffalo:
- Canada;
- Denmark;
- Slovakia;
- Finland;
- Russia;
- Sweden;
- Czech Republic;
- Switzerland;
- Belarus.
In fact, these are all the same teams that participated in the last draw. The newcomer of the tournament is Belarus. The Slavic brothers replaced the Latvians who were eliminated at the end of the 2017 World Cup.
2018 Ice Hockey World Youth Championship schedule
The competition can be divided into 4 stages: group stage, quarter-final, semi-final and final.
10 teams participating in the tournament, divided into two quintets, will fight among themselves for the right to reach the ¼ finals.
Eight best teams will compete for 4 tickets to the ½ playoffs.
According to the results of this stage of the 2018 Youth Ice Hockey World Championship, two of the four teams will reach the final of the competition.
Tournament climax. Two lucky winners will contest the crown of the 42nd draw. On the same day, the match for third place will take place.
In addition, the format of the competition provides for a repechage round. During it, two teams will meet that showed the worst results in the group stage. The consolation round, consisting of a two-match series, will be held on January 2 and 3.
The schedule is very arbitrary. The final dates will be announced a little later.
Russian team at the World Cup
The domestic team is the traditional favorite of the competition. However, our last victory in the tournament dates back only to 2011. Since then, the Russians have regularly taken silver and bronze of the championship, but the main trophy slipped out of their hands every time. Let's hope that the current composition of the Russian youth team at the 2018 World Hockey Championship will be able to put an end to this sad series. And the campaign for the trophy will begin from the group stage. Our opponents in Quintet A will be the following teams:
- Sweden;
- Czech Republic;
- Switzerland;
- Belarus.
The composition of the group is very strong. And it is from the games of the Russians in the quintet that the fate of the national team in the playoffs depends. It is desirable for our guys to take the highest possible place, because in group B the Canadians play with the Americans. Therefore, I would not want to run into the North Americans already in the ¼ finals.
Afterword
Only Providence knows what the final standings of the 2018 Youth Ice Hockey World Championship will look like. The Americans are quite capable of doing a double - after all, this is their home championship. Canadians, Czechs, Swedes and a number of other teams are capable of resisting the ambitious plans of the US team. Among them is the Russian team!
When the entire sporting life comes to a standstill during the Christmas and New Year holidays, one of the most uncompromising spectacles, the World Youth Championship, catches the eyes of the fans. Today it starts in Finland.
FINLAND, WORLD YOUTH CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH CALENDAR, December 26, 2015 - January 5, 2016
GROUP STAGE
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15.00. Czech Republic - RUSSIA* |
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17.00. Switzerland - Sweden |
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19.00. Finland - Belarus |
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21.00. USA - Canada |
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17.00. Belarus - Slovakia |
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21.00. Denmark - Switzerland |
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15.00. Slovakia - Czech Republic |
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17.00. Sweden - USA |
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19.00. RUSSIA - Finland |
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21.00. Canada - Denmark |
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17.00. Belarus - RUSSIA |
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21.00. Switzerland - Canada |
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15.00. Czech Republic - Belarus |
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17.00. Sweden - Denmark |
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19.00. Slovakia - Finland |
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21.00. USA - Switzerland |
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15.00. RUSSIA - Slovakia |
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17.00. Denmark - USA |
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19.00. Finland - Czech Republic |
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21.00. Canada - Sweden |
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PLAY OFF** |
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15.00. Quarterfinal |
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17.00. Quarterfinal |
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19.00. Quarterfinal |
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21.00. Quarterfinal |
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17.00. semi-final |
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21.00. semi-final |
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17.00. For 3rd place |
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21.30. The final |
* - Moscow time
** - Matches for the right to remain in the elite between the teams that took fifth place in the group will be held at 13.00 on 2, 3 and 5 (if required) of January
COMBINATIONS OF THE YOUTH TEAM OF RUSSIA AT THE LAST TRAINING BEFORE MFM-2016 IN FINLAND
Goalkeepers: Georgiev, Samsonov, Tretyak.
"Reds": Boikov - Provorov, Lazarev - Kamenev - Svechnikov.
"White": Rykov - Voronkov, Polunin - Kraskovsky - Korshkov.
"Blue": Sergeev - Sharipzyanov, Kuzmenko - Svetlakov - Whims.
"Black": Mikulovich - Zhuldikov, Lauta - Fazleev - Dergachev.
FAVORITES OF MFM-2016 ON HOCKEY IN FINLAND: TALENTED FINNS, EXPERIENCED SWEDS AND SMOOTH CANADANS
FINLAND TEAM
Average age: 1 8.48 years old. Average height: 187.09 cm. Average weight: 85.83 kg
Stars: z.Yuolevi ("London", OHL), N. Aho, N. Pulyujärvi (both - "Kärpyat"), N. Rantanen ("San Antonio", AHL), N. Laine ("Tappara"), N. Kapanen ("Toronto", AHL)
Losses: No
League squad: Liiga (Finland) - 13, OHL (Ontario Junior League) - 4, AHL - 2, Mestis (Finland, second division) - 2, Finnish Junior League - 2
Grade "SE": goalkeepers - 7, defenders - 6, forwards - 8
Chances for a medal: medium
Medals at the last five MFMs: gold (2014)
Switzerland (3:4), USA (2:3)
Head coach: Jukka Jalonen
Finns traditionally bet on talent. It is difficult for them to assemble a strong line-up for at least half of the team from the same age, so there were nine hockey players born in 1997 and 1998 in the team at once. Three of them - defenseman Juolevi and forwards Laine and Pulujärvi - are serious candidates for top picks in the 2016 NHL Entry Draft, all the way to the top five. Here lies the main problem of the Finns - can 17-year-old hockey players, even if they are super talented, achieve results at the MFM? In decisive matches, experience often plays too important a role. A year ago, in a similar situation, the Finnish team failed the tournament, scoring only eight goals in five games. True, many attributed this failure to the work of the ex-coach of “Cupid” Hannu Yortiki – he was replaced at the helm of the team by another of our old acquaintances – Jukka Jalonen.
TEAM USA
Average age: 18.59 years old. Average height: 183.82 cm. Average weight: 84.36 kg
Stars: Z. Verensky (University of Michigan, NCAA), N. Matthews ("Zurich"), N. Tkachak, Dvorak (both - "London, OHL), N. Debrinkat (Erie, OHL), n. Milano ("Lake Erie", AHL)
Losses: z.Khanifin ("Carolina"), n.Larkin ("Detroit"), n.Ikel ("Buffalo")
League squad: NCAA - 11, OHL - 6, WHL (Western Junior League) - 2, AHL - 1, NLA (Switzerland) - 1, USHL (American Youth League) - 1
Grade "SE": goalkeepers - 7, defenders - 7, forwards - 9
Chances for a medal: high
gold (2013), bronze (2011)
Friendly matches before MFM: Finland (3:2)
Head coach: Tom Wilson
It's scary to imagine what would have happened if a trio of American NHL players had reached Helsinki - then the Stars and Stripes would have had one of the best teams in their history at their disposal. Without Larkin and Co., the situation is similar to the Finnish one: the main striking force, the first link Debrinkat - Matthews - Tkachak consists of hockey players who have just turned 18. True, at least some skepticism about the Zurich forward is hardly appropriate - if he is without puts problems on the shoulder blades of opponents from the adult Swiss league, older rivals at the MFM should not become a serious obstacle for him. It is curious that the American team is very short: six players at once do not even reach 180 cm. But there is no doubt about the speed qualities of the team - it is not a fact that there will be an opponent in the tournament who can play at the same high pace.
TEAM CANADA
Average age: 18.61 years old. Average height: 185.61 cm. Average weight: 87 kg
Stars: z.Sanheim ("Calgary", WHL), Z. Hicketts ("Victoria", WHL), N. Marner ("London", OHL), n. Stroum ("Erie", OHL), n. Point ("Moose Joe", WHL), N. Virtanen ("Vancouver")
Losses: W. Ekblad ("Florida"), N. McDavid ("Edmonton"), N. Fabbri ("St. Louis"), N. McCann ("Vancouver"), N. Bennett ("Calgary")
League squad: OHL - 9, WHL - 7, QMJHL - 5, NHL - 1, NCAA - 1
Grade "SE": goalkeepers - 6, defenders - 8, forwards - 9
Chances for a medal: high
Medals at the last five MFMs: gold (2015), silver (2011), bronze (2010)
Friendly matches before MFM: Belarus (7:1), Czech Republic (1:0), Sweden (7:6)
Head coach: Dave Lowry
The Canadian line-up is so even that it is almost impossible to single out the team leader in advance, because it can be almost anyone. The only NHL player Virtanen, leading center Strome, techies Barzal, Point and Marner, power forward Krause, the youngest player on the Gauthier team, who scored 29 goals in 30 games this season - you can’t predict who will “shoot” in advance. And perhaps no one. The Canadians regained the title of world champions after five years of waiting, but last year's squad was head and shoulders stronger than their competitors. Whether the Maple Leaves will be able to confirm their status as a favorite with an average (for themselves) selection of hockey players is a big question. Yes, and the top goalkeeper for the youth team in Canada has been waiting for more than a year, but he does not appear - and even a slightly strange ban on the draft of foreign goalkeepers in the junior leagues did not correct the situation.
SWEDEN TEAM
Average age: 18.61 years old. Average height: 186.91 cm. Average weight: 86.52 kg
Stars: h. Forsling ("Linkoping"), N. V. Nylander ("Toronto, AHL), N. A. Nyulander ("Missouga, OHL), n. Lindblom ("Bryunes"), n. Kempe ("Ontario", AHL), n. Holmström ("Shellefteo")
Losses: z.Aho ("Shellefteo")
League squad: SHL (Sweden) - 14, Allsvenskan (Sweden, second division) - 3, AHL - 2, NCAA - 2, OHL - 1, QMJHL - 1
Grade "SE": goalkeepers - 7, defenders - 8, forwards - 8
Chances for a medal: medium
Results at the last five MFMs: gold (2012), silver (2013, 2014)
Friendly matches before MFM : Denmark (5:0), Slovakia (6:3), Canada (3:7)
Head coach: Richard Grönborg.
A year ago, 11 people played against our team in the semi-finals, who will come to this tournament as well. At that time, Bragin’s team managed to crush the very young team with aggression and a high pace of play, but now Tre Krunur has practically no weak points: Kempe and the elder Nylander are breaking the AHL, his younger brother is successfully conquering the Ontario Junior League, and most of their partners are in good standing in home championship clubs. There is enough experience now, and skill was in abundance even a year ago - it was not possible to realize all the skills on the ice. True, typical Swedish problems do not disappear anywhere - they do not have matches with North American teams on an ongoing basis if there is no decent advantage in the level of hockey players ( Pavel KLIMOVITSKY)
The 43rd Ice Hockey World Youth Championship will be held in Canada from December 26, 2018 to January 5, 2019. Tournament matches will be held in Vancouver and Victoria. The top ten teams in the world will compete for victory in the world championship.
Venue and schedule of MFM-19
The final decision on the venue of the World Youth Championship was made on December 1, 2016. In addition to Vancouver and Victoria, several cities of Canada took part for the right to host the tournament: Windsor, London, Winnipeg, Sasktown, Edmonton, Calgary and Ottawa. World Youth Championship games will take place at two arenas - Rogers Arena in Vancouver and Save-on-Foods Memorial Center in Victoria. The main arena of the championship has a capacity of 18,910 spectators and will host Group A matches, two quarter-final matches, semi-finals, as well as a match for third place and a final. Group B matches will be played at the Victoria Arena, as well as two quarter-final matches.
The group stage matches will take place from December 26 to December 31, the quarter-finals on January 2, the semi-finals on January 4, and the match for third place and the final will take place on January 5.
Regulations and format of MFM-2019
Compared to last year's tournament, there were no major changes in the regulations. The top ten teams in the world are divided into two groups of five teams. At the group stage of the competition, all teams play each other in one match within the group. Based on the results of the round-robin tournament, a tournament table is formed, according to which the four best teams of each group get into the playoffs, and the teams that take fifth place play a repechage round among themselves, as a result of which the losing team is relegated to the lower division. If two teams have the same number of points, the team that won the head-to-head match will take the higher position. If more than two national teams scored the same number of points, the difference between abandoned and missed indicators is compared.
The quarter-final pairs of the World Youth Championship are formed as follows:
- 1st place in group "A" - 4th place in group "B";
- 2nd place in group "A" - 3rd place in group "B";
- 3rd place in group "A" - 2nd place in group "B";
- 4th place in group "A" - 1st place in group "B".
The teams that win in the quarterfinals go to the next round of the tournament, the losers go home. The winners of the semi-final matches play the final match for the gold medals, while the losers play for the bronze medals.
In case of a draw in the matches at the group stage of the competition, an additional period of five minutes is assigned or until the first goal is scored. If the five-minute period did not reveal the winner, a series of post-match shootouts is assigned. In the quarter-finals and semi-finals, in case of a draw, the duration of overtime increases to ten minutes, and the teams play in a 4 on 4 format. Only in the final match, in case of a draw, overtime is assigned, the length of which is 20 minutes, and the teams play in a 5 on 5 format.
Participants of MFM-2019
10 teams will take part in the 2019 Youth World Championship: Canada, Russia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Switzerland, USA, Sweden, Finland, Slovakia and Kazakhstan. The first participant of the MFM-2019 as a host country was the Canadian team. Another 8 national teams won the right to play in the world championship following the results of last year's tournament. The Kazakhstan national team became the winner of last year's World Championship among youth teams in the second division, so in the elite division it replaced the Belarusian national team, which had been eliminated a year earlier.
Ice Hockey World Championship Winners
In the entire history of the youth world championships, 42 championship trophies have been played. The most titled team is the national team of Canada, which has 17 gold medals. Four championship titles less for the Russian team. All other teams are seriously inferior. The full list of world champions among youth teams is presented below:
- Canada - 17;
- Russia + CIS + USSR - 13;
- Finland and USA - 4;
- Sweden and Czech Republic - 2.
Favorites and outsiders of the MFM-2019 groups in Canada
Group "A": Canada, Russia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Switzerland.
The main favorite of group "A" is the team of Canada. Under any circumstances, the Maple Leaves team is the main contender for victory in the group, especially when it comes to the home tournament. Russians, Czechs and Swiss will compete for the second line of the standings. The absolute outsider of the group is the Danish team.
Group "B": USA, Sweden, Finland, Slovakia, Kazakhstan.
In group "B" the struggle for the first line will be more serious. Three teams will fight for the victory in the group at once: the Americans, the Swedes and the Finns. Probably, the Slovaks will be able to take the penultimate line in the round-robin tournament. The main outsider of the group is the national team of Kazakhstan, which made it to the elite division for the first time in nine years.
Who will win the World Youth Ice Hockey Championship?
The main favorite of the entire tournament is the current trophy holder - Team Canada, which is also the host country of the World Youth Championship. The main competitors of the Canadians are their North American neighbors - the US team. Among the European teams, first of all, the teams from Sweden and Russia, which traditionally participate in the distribution of places on the podium, attract attention.
The chances of the Russian team at the MFM-2019 hockey
Last year, the Russian youth team for the first time in the last eight world championships was left without medals, finishing fifth in the tournament. For the first time in his six tournaments, Valery Bragin was also left without medals as a head coach. For two years in a row, such a strong hockey power has no right not to get into the top three, so there is every reason to believe that this time the Russians will be able to get at least to the semi-finals. Fortunately, in group "A" you can easily take a place not lower than the second, which allows you to avoid meeting with the two best teams in group "B", and there, perhaps, it will be possible to repeat the success of 2011.