Host country Czechoslovakia Venue(s) 2 (in 2 host cities) | Teams 8 Runner-up Canada | |
Dates December 22, 1976 –
January 2, 1977 Champions Soviet Union (1st title) | ||
The 1977 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships (1977 WJHC) were held between December 22, 1976, and January 2, 1977, in Banská Bystrica and Zvolen, Czechoslovakia. The Soviet team won the tournament with a perfect 7–0 record. This was the fourth edition of the IIHF World U20 Championship, but the first to be included in official IIHF records. Canada was represented by the 1976 Memorial Cup champions St. Catharines Fincups with eight additions from other OHA teams, but the other seven nations were represented by teams of their top under-20 players. The tournament was expanded to eight teams, with West Germany and Poland making their debut.
Final standings
The tournament was a round-robin format, with each team playing each of the other seven teams once each.
While not relegated, Poland did have the opportunity to play a challenge against Switzerland for inclusion in the 1978 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships, but declined.