from Peter Roumeliotis of Sports Illustrated,

Certain sporting spectacles carry with them their own cultures and traditions, and go so far as to become synonymous with their own dates on the calendar.

One of these is the IIHF’s World Junior Hockey Championship, the annual late-December tournament that brings the best under-20 years old hockey players from around the globe together to represent their home country and battle against the best the world has to offer. From Boxing Day until the first week of January, 10 countries select their top under-20 prospects to compete in different host cities around the globe. Canada hosts the 2017 edition, with games being held in Montreal and Toronto for the second time in three years.

Year after year, the tournament features highly-touted prospects who have their eyes on making the jump to elite-level status, with a shot at a high-end draft pick or a spot on an NHL roster. Among the World Juniors alumni are current generation players like Sidney Crosby, Carey Price, John Tavares, Connor McDavid (Canada), Johnny Gaudreau (United States), Erik Karlsson (Sweden) and Patrik Laine (Finland), all of whom had memorable performances for their countries.

For many of these players, the tournament, which started unofficially in 1974 before gaining official status in 1977, has served as a launch pad for professional hockey careers.

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