Host country Canada Champions Russia (3rd title) | Teams 10 Runner-up Canada | |
 | ||
Dates December 26, 2002 –
January 5, 2003 Venue(s) Halifax Metro Centre and
Centre 200 (in 2 host cities) | ||
The 2003 IIHF World U20 Championship, commonly referred as the 2003 World Junior Hockey Championships (2003 WJHC), was the 27th edition of the World Junior Ice Hockey Championships. The tournament was held in Halifax and Sydney, Nova Scotia, Canada from December 26, 2002 to January 5, 2003. Russia won the gold medal for the second consecutive year with a 3–2 victory over Canada in the championship game, while Finland won the bronze medal with a 3–2 victory over the United States.
Contents
Playoff round (again) reverted to six teams qualifying, with group leaders getting a bye into the semifinals.
Group A
All times local (AST/UTC-4).
Group B
All times local (AST/UTC-4).
Relegation round
Results from any games played during the preliminary round were carried forward to the relegation round.
All times local (AST/UTC-4).
Germany and Belarus were relegated to Division I for the 2004 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships.
Goaltending leaders
Minimum 40% of team's ice time.
Division I
The following teams took part in the Division I tournament. Group A played in Almaty, Kazakhstan between December 27, 2002 and January 2, 2003. Group B played in Bled, Slovenia between December 16 and December 22, 2002.
Group A
Ukraine was promoted to the Top Division and Croatia was relegated to Division II for the 2004 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships.
Group B
Austria was promoted to the Top Division and Poland was relegated to Division II for the 2004 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships.
Division II
The following teams took part in the Division II tournament. Group A played in Miercurea-Ciuc, Romania between January 6 and January 12, 2003. Group B played in Novi Sad, Federal Republic of Yugoslavia between December 28, 2002 and January 3, 2003.
Group A
Estonia was promoted to Division I and Bulgaria was relegated to Division III for the 2004 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships.
Group B
Hungary was promoted to Division I and Mexico was relegated to Division III for the 2004 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships.
Division III
The following teams took part in the Division II tournament. This group played in Izmit, Turkey between January 21 and January 26, 2003.
South Korea and Belgium were promoted to Division II for the 2004 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships.