World Junior Hockey Championship: what Ottawa needs to know

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If ever there was any doubt about Ottawa’s love affair for hockey, here comes the World Junior Championship to take over the city from now until Jan. 5.

The last time the 10-country showcase was here in 2009 — featuring the world’s best players under the age of 20 — the city shattered all-time records with a total attendance of more than 453,000.

That tournament brought in $18.4 million in economic activity to Ottawa and $2.1 million in tax revenues to the city, according to a Canadian Sport Tourism Association study.

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So, what to do for an encore performance?

Jerome Miousse, director of public affairs for Ottawa Tourism, believes the city can raise the bar even higher.

“It’s just about as big as it gets for Ottawa,” said Miousse. “The last time the tournament was in Canada, in Halifax and Moncton (in 2022-23), they split the benefit of $50 million in economic benefits. But this will be all in our own city. It’s great, because the holiday season is typically kind of a slower season.”

What’s the economic impact on the city?

In order to win the approval of the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) and Hockey Canada to host the event again, the Ottawa bid — a joint effort between the Ottawa Senators and the Ottawa Sports and Entertainment Group (OSEG) — included expectations of an economic impact of more than $50 million, along with 15,000 hotel rooms being booked and more than 20,000 visitors coming to the city.

“It’s a major, major event,” said OSEG president and CEO Mark Goudie. “There could be a financial windfall of as much as $100 million. There are really strong hotel numbers.”

When the Senators and OSEG — which oversees the Redblacks, PWHL’s Ottawa Charge and the OHL’s Ottawa 67’s — bid for the 2009 tournament, it was a novelty. The IIHF and Hockey Canada had previously operated all other world junior championships out of two co-hosting cities, believing that model would be more successful.

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In many ways, Goudie says, Ottawa altered the bidding mandate, because of the success of the 2009 event.

“One city is better for us,” said Senators president Cyril Leeder, who also has the experience of being around for the 2009 showcase. “There’s more of a vibe in the city than say if it was in Ottawa and in Kingston. Elgin Street and the Byward Market will be busier.”

Selling the city through hockey

While the fans are primarily here for the hockey, Ottawa Tourism will also be doing everything possible to sell the rest of the city in the downtime between games.

“It’s much more than hotel rooms,” Miousse said. “Many people come in and stay with family and friends, but they contribute to the economy while they are here. You can see the branding all over the city, including at bus stops. We’re definitely trying to market Ottawa as a destination for the international market.”

It’s estimated that the tournament will be watched by 120 million on TV.

Leeder also points out there have been some spinoff benefits for smaller towns around Ottawa, including Belleville, Brockville, Kingston and Arnprior, where pre-tournament games were played before Christmas.

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As the breadth and impact of the tournament have grown over the years, Hockey Canada and the IIHF have effectively become the master organizers of the event, with the help of local support and volunteers.

What countries are here and where and when will the games be played?

Red and white and maple leaf sweaters will be everywhere in the city as Canada looks to bounce back after a disappointing performance a year ago in Czechia.

In the preliminary round, Canada will face Finland (Dec. 26), Latvia (Dec. 27), Germany (Dec.29) and the United States (Dec. 31), with all those games being played at Canadian Tire Centre in a round-robin format.

The good news is that the games at the 19,000-seat CTC were almost completely sold out weeks before the tournament was due to start. With the World Juniors taking over the arena, the Senators have been booted out of the building. They’re currently in the midst of a stretch of nine consecutive road games.

“That’s more than two weeks being out of the building,” said Leeder. “That’s the downside for the organization, but it’s the price you pay if you want to host the event.”

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The other five-team pool will feature Sweden, Czechia, Switzerland, Slovakia and Kazakhstan. Their games will be played at TD Place, typically home to the PWHL’s Ottawa Charge and the OHL’s Ottawa 67’s. The 67’s aren’t back in the arena until Jan. 8 and the Charge return on Jan. 11.

“It’s for the greater good of hockey in Ottawa,” said Goudie. “They understand how important the tournament is to Ottawa and to Canada.”

Tickets are still available, at least for non-Canada games, with prices starting around $50.

The top four teams from each pool advance to the playoffs. The quarterfinals will be played in both rinks. The semifinals are scheduled for CTC on Jan. 4. The final will be played at the big rink on Jan. 5.

Where’s the non-game action happening?

The Aberdeen Pavilion, just outside the doors of TD Place, will be home to the free fan fest every day from 2 p.m. to 10 p.m., beginning Dec. 26. It’s only steps away from the Ottawa Christmas Market.

The pavilion includes two rinks. One is synthetic and visitors can wear their skates to give it a try. The other is a ball hockey set-up. Clinics will be set up at various times throughout the 10 days.

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The Stanley Cup will also make an appearance and the Hockey Hall of Fame will also be represented.

All the games will be shown on big screens. Bands and/or DJ’s will perform between the games. There will be food, a beer garden and merchandise stalls.

New Year’s Eve will be a highlight. The Pavilion will open late following the broadcasting of the Canada-U.S. clash from CTC. At midnight, a fireworks show will take place on The Great Lawn, bringing in the New Year.

“It’s like a three-ring circus,” said Goudie. “There are the world junior games, the Fan Fest and the Christmas market. We’re expecting as many as 500,000 people during the event.”

Should that not be enough hockey and hockey-themed activity, the Bell Capital Cup will also be playing out at 26 other arenas throughout the region during the holidays. That international tournament for youth teams between the ages of 9 and 13 (and once a Guinness World Record holder as the world’s largest hockey tournament) is back above 300 teams for the first time since the pandemic.

For those looking to kill idle time downtown, the Bank of Canada Museum is joining in the hockey fun. From Dec. 26-30, the museum, at the corner of Bank and Wellington streets, is allowing visitors to take selfies with the life-sized iconic $5 bill that featured Canadian children playing hockey on outdoor rinks. That scene was inspired by the Roch Carrier classic children’s story, “The Hockey Sweater.” The back of the bill also features a quote from the book: “The winters of my childhood were long, long seasons. We lived in three places — the school, the church and the skating rink — but our real life was the skating rink.”

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It won’t even cost $5. Admission is free at the Bank of Canada Museum.

Speaking of free, OC Transpo is offering free transit for everyone who has tickets to world junior games.

What’s the history of the tournament?

Canada has always ruled the junior hockey world, right? Well, not exactly. Let’s take you back to the relatively humble beginnings of the championships back in 1974, in the heat of the international Cold War and with the 1972 Summit Series still fresh in the minds of Canadians.

At first, Canada sent the annual Memorial Cup championship team (winners of the Canadian Hockey League title) or rag-tag all-star squads. The Soviet Union won the first seven tournaments. Canada became more serious about the competition in the early 1980’s, creating national team selection camps and winning its first title in 1982.

The turning point for widespread Canadian attention came after the “Punch Up in Piestany” in 1987 when both Canada and the Soviet Union were ejected from the tournament after referees lost control of a bench-clearing brawl. Ultimately, armed soldiers escorted Canadian players out of Czechoslovakia.

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The entire exercise served to build up Canadian pride, as well as build up media attention for the event.

After TSN adopted the tournament as a Christmas staple in the 1990’s, the event became a Canadian TV ratings bonanza during the holidays. Canada hosts the event every second year, capitalizing on its popularity here.

During the life of the championship, Canada has struck gold 20 times, silver 10 times and bronze five times. Twice — from 1993-97 and 2005-09 — the maple leaf squad has won five consecutive titles.

Teams from the Soviet Union, Russia and CIS — the Commonwealth of Independent States — have captured 13 goals, 13 silvers and 11 bronze. Russia, however, is currently on the sidelines, banned from competing since 2021 following the country’s invasion of Ukraine.

The United States (six), Finland (five), Sweden (two) and Czechia (two) have also won the title.

What happened last year?

The U.S. arrives in Ottawa as the defending champions, having knocked off Sweden in the championship game last January. Canada finished out of the medals, suffering a shocking loss to Czechia in the quarterfinals.

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Remembering the 2009 classic tournament in Ottawa

The 2009 tournament is generally considered one of the most thrilling in the history of the event as Canada won for the fifth straight year.

It wasn’t easy.

Russia was five seconds away from knocking off Canada in the semifinals before Jordan Eberle tied the game. Eberle and John Tavares followed that up by scoring in the shootout, giving Canada a 6-5 victory and a trip to the final. Canada then knocked off Sweden 5-1 in the championship game.

It was the best of both worlds for Ottawa fans; featuring both a Canadian victory and a showcase for Swedish defenceman Erik Karlsson. Karlsson was named as best defenceman in the tournament and then went on to win the Norris Trophy as top NHL defenceman twice while playing for the Ottawa Senators.

Haven’t I seen Canada’s head coach around Ottawa before?

Indeed, Canadian head coach Dave Cameron is back for yet another kick at the top. Rest assured, he knows his way to the rinks here.

Cameron has served as head coach of the Ottawa 67’s since the start of the 2020-21 season. Back in 2014-15 and 2015-16, he was also head coach of the Ottawa Senators, most notable for being behind the bench during the unlikely success story of goaltender Andrew (The Hamburglar) Hammond.

Cameron previously won gold as head coach of the 2022 Canadian world junior team and silver as head coach in 2011. He was also an assistant coach on the 2009 Canadian team that won it all in Ottawa.

kwarren@postmedia.com

X: Citizenkwarren

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