Shannon Coulter
The 2025 IIHF World Junior Championship officially wrapped up on Sunday after 11 days of competition in the nation’s capital.
Fans at home watching on TSN see the action on the ice, but the action behind the scenes is crucial to help welcome the world to what is one of the most-watched tournaments on the international hockey calendar.
What exactly goes into – and comes out of – hosting the World Juniors? Let’s look at the numbers:
7: Communities in the Ottawa area that hosted pre-tournament games – Arnprior, Belleville, Brockville, Cornwall, Hawkesbury, Kingston and Ottawa.
10: Indigenous artists whose work was on display for Player of the Game awards, volunteer belt bags and a special commemorative jersey.
23: Officials assigned to work the 2025 IIHF World Junior Championship, representing nine countries – Finland (4), United States (4), Canada (3), Sweden (3), Czechia (2), Denmark (2), Latvia (2), Slovakia (2) and Switzerland (1).
26: People from 14 different countries who took the Oath of Citizenship to become Canadian citizens ahead of Canada’s pre-tournament game against Czechia.
27: Partners who supported Hockey Canada and the 2025 IIHF World Junior Championship.
28: Shooters in the bronze medal game shootout between Czechia and Sweden, the longest in International Ice Hockey Federation history. Goaltenders Michael Hrabal and Marcus Gidlof combined for 23 saves before Eduard Sale scored the winner for the Czechs in the 14th round.
76: Unique puck stacks, created by team services volunteers, ahead of practices.
116: Minor hockey players who participated in the event as flag bearers and Esso Player of the Game presenters in pre- and post-game ceremonies.
121: Accredited media members from 11 different countries, plus 36 accredited photographers.
193: Goals scored in the tournament. The highest single-game total was 16, when Czechia topped Kazakhstan 14-2, while the lowest total was three, done three times (Switzerland vs. Slovakia – 2-1; Canada vs. Germany – 3-0; and Finland vs. Latvia – 3-0).
322: Volunteers who gave their time during the tournament through the TELUS volunteer program.
400: Water jugs consumed throughout the tournament by teams, volunteers and staff.
1,094: Social media posts sent across all Hockey Canada platforms (X, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, TikTok) from Dec. 19 (when pre-tournament play started) through Jan. 5. The posts earned 45,217,677 impressions and 2,000,899 engagements.
1,964: Minutes of hockey played during the tournament. Seven games went beyond 60 minutes, including the Finland-Sweden semifinal and both medal games. It’s the third time in the last four years that the gold medal game has required overtime.
4,000+: Single-game tickets donated to local community and Indigenous groups, including 150 kids each from the Algonquins of Pikwakanagan First Nation, Kitigan Zibi Anishinabeg First Nation and Mohawks of Akwesasne who attended a game. As well, 150 newcomers experienced their first hockey game during the tournament.
6,177: Attendance for the relegation-round game between Germany and Kazakhstan in Ottawa on Jan. 2, making it one of the highest-attended relegation games in World Juniors history.
15,000: Meals saved through the Tablée des Chefs food recovery program, as a part of the event’s sustainability initiatives. This effort by the two main venues and two hotels prevented more than 6,842 pounds (three tons) of food from going to waste.
16,700+: Event packages sold between both venues. In total, 13,200 event packages were sold for Canadian Tire Centre and 3,532 packages were sold for TD Place.
80,000+: Attendance for Fan Fest, which was hosted at the historic Aberdeen Pavilion from Dec. 26 to Jan. 5. The free event featured close to 50 different community activations, including live watch parties for World Juniors games, free skates, fireworks on New Year’s Eve, a Stanley Cup visit and a meet and greet with the PWHL’s Ottawa Charge. It also included live performances from 10 live bands and DJs.
296,895: Official attendance for all 29 games at the Canadian Tire Centre and TD Place, the eighth-highest total in World Juniors history. The number grows to more than 325,000 when Canada’s three pre-tournament games in Ottawa are included.
3,208,095: Amount, in dollars, generated from Hockey Canada 50/50 ticket sales across all 10 provinces and the Northwest Territories.