WJC: Best World Junior Team that didn't win gold

[Pouchkine]

1988 Soviet Union

 

[JackSlater]

Really interesting question. For me it's an easy answer, though. The 1993 Sweden team that featured Forsbeg and Naslund. Their only loss was to Canada and they would massively outshoot Canada in that game. Their overall goal differential was an insane 53-15 that year.

I agree. It was a complete fluke that Canada won the 1993 tournament, as Sweden was clearly the best team there.

 

[Pouchkine]

Sweden 1993 for sure also. Soviet Union 1988 1990 1991.

 

[JackSlater]

Sweden 1993 for sure also. Soviet Union 1988 1990 1991.

Yes, the Bure era Soviet teams found amazingly surprising ways to lose.

 

[86Habs]

Really interesting question. For me it's an easy answer, though. The 1993 Sweden team that featured Forsbeg and Naslund. Their only loss was to Canada and they would massively outshoot Canada in that game. Their overall goal differential was an insane 53-15 that year.

This is probably the right answer. Anything less than Legace's historical goaltending performance would have yielded a Sweden victory over Canada and a gold medal.

Others worth noting are the 1990 Soviet Union team (Bure, Zubov, Kovalenko, Yuskevich and Kozlov) that tied Sweden on the final day allowing Canada to back into the gold. The 1988 and 1991 Soviet teams were also excellent, but 1990 sticks out to me as the one they really should have won against a comparatively weaker Canadian team from that era.

The 2004 Canadian team was really good as well.

 

[Pouchkine]

Soviets should have won 88 89 90 91 92 they really threw away 90 91 especially. That was when the World Junior was really special.

 

[CBJWerenski8]

2015 and 16 USA were very good teams that should have at least played for gold. 15 didn't even medal IIRC. Idk if they were best of all time, but they had stupid talent on those teams.

 

[Pouchkine]

You guys have no idea what real talent is all about. You talk about guys that will go on to be 60-65pts nhl guys and we talk about Bure Fedorov Mogilny Forsberg Naslund etc......That were the days when goalies with little brown pads had to make 50-55 big saves to steal games.

 

[tmlms13]

Soviets should have won 88 89 90 91 92 they really threw away 90 91 especially. That was when the World Junior was really special.

they won in 89, and didn't exist in 92.

 

[Pouchkine]

In 1992 is was a Soviet team yes, under the CIS name.

 

[Statsy]

You guys have no idea what real talent is all about. You talk about guys that will go on to be 60-65pts nhl guys and we talk about Bure Fedorov Mogilny Forsberg Naslund etc......That were the days when goalies with little brown pads had to make 50-55 big saves to steal games.

Yes, those were the days!

 

[Semantics]

For Canada, whichever year it was that Fleury choked away the tournament the way he subsequently choked away several potential cup victories for Pittsburgh.

 

[Halak Ness Monster]

How did they not win the gold medal...

Jake Allen. He tends to crap his pants in the big games.