World U20 Championship 2013 Odds

World U20 Championship

The International Ice Hockey Federation World U20 Championship (colloquially known as the World Junior Hockey Championship, usually abbreviated WJHC) is an annual event organized by the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) for national under-20 ice hockey teams from around the world.

The main tournament features the top ten ranked hockey nations in the world, comprising the "Top Division", from which a world champion is crowned. There are also three lower pools — divisions I, II and III — that each play separate tournaments playing for the right to be promoted to a higher pool, or face relegation to a lower pool.

Sweden, Finland and Canada have participated in all 34 IIHF World Junior Hockey Championships as well as the 3 unofficial World Junior Hockey Championships although Canada and Soviet Union nearly were relegated to Pool B (now Division I) as punishment for the Punch-up in Piestany in 1988. USSR/CIS/Russia, Czechoslovakia/Czech-Republic, and the United States have mainly participated at the top level. When Czechoslovakia peacefully split in 1993, the Czech Republic remained in Pool A but Slovakia (Slovak Republic) was placed in Pool C (now Division II). In 1995, Slovakia became a main participant of the World Junior Hockey Championships and won bronze in 1999. Starting with the 1996 tournament, competition was increased from an 8 round robin to the current 10 team format. Since then, Switzerland has been a main participant. West Germany competed frequently from 1977 and since the reunification in 1990 the united Germany has continued that trend. Before the format change in 1996, Austria, Japan, Norway, Poland and Switzerland made brief appearances. After regaining their independence in the early 1990s, Latvia has made several appearances, along with Belarus, Kazakhstan and Ukraine. These teams had to start from the bottom division in the early 1990s. France and Denmark have so far made one appearance each at the World Junior Hockey Championships.

More information about World U20 Championship can be found on Wikipedia.

World U20 Championship 2013

The World U20 Championship 2013 will be hosted in Ufa, Russia. The World U20 Championship 2013 begins on December 26, 2012, and will end with the gold medal game being played on January 5, 2013.

Who wins the World U20 Championship 2013?