World Junior Ice Hockey Championships to be reformatted in 2012
The International Ice Hockey Federation has announced that a new tournament structure will be put in place for the World Junior Championships in 2012.
According to the IIHF, the new format will feature 16 teams that will play in two groups of eight teams each. This will determine which teams will advance to the quarter-finals. Under
the current format, 12 countries compete during a qualifying round in order to determine the quarter-final standings.
A total of 64 games will be played under the new format, as opposed to 56 under the current one. The 2011 edition of the tournament will be the last time that the current format is used.
Many fans had expressed their dissatisfaction with the old format, as the setup often made it difficult to determine which teams would be playing, and where.
The 2011 World Junior Championship will be held in Buffalo, New York, and will run from 26 December 2010 until 5 January 2011. The 2010 version of the tournament was held in Saskatchewan,
Canada, and was won by the United States.
Switzerland was originally slated to host the tournament, but later withdrew, giving the tournament to Canada. The host Canadians took home a silver medal after losing to the United States
in the gold medal game. The Canadian squad featured forward Taylor Hall, who was drafted first overall by the Edmonton Oilers in the 2010 National Hockey League Entry Draft.
United States defenceman John Carlson scored the winning goal against the Canadians, and later went on to play a key role in the Washington Capitals’ playoff run last season. Carlson was
drafted 27th overall by the Capitals in 2008, and played 22 games for the team during the regular season.
The 2012 incarnation of the tournament will return to Canada. Denmark, Russia, and Ukraine are currently in the running to host the 2016 tournament, which is always seen as a valuable
scouting opportunity for National Hockey League clubs to see how top talent fares under pressure.
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