2003 IIHF World U18 Championships

The 2003 IIHF World U18 Championships were held in Yaroslavl, Russia. The championships began on April 8, 2003, and finished on April 18, 2003. Games were played at Arena 2000 and Avtodizel Arena in Yaroslavl. Canada defeated Slovakia 3–0 in the final to claim the gold medal, while Russia defeated the United States 6–3 to capture the bronze medal.

2003 IIHF World U18 Championship

Tournament details
Host country	Russia
Venue(s)	2 (in 1 host city)
Dates	April 8–18, 2003
Teams	10
Final positions
Champions	Canada (1st title)
Tournament statistics
Games played	31
Goals scored	225 (7.26 per game)
Attendance	90,150 (2,908 per game)
Scoring leader(s)	Kanstantsin Zakharov (16 points)
← 2002 2004 →

Championship results

Preliminary round

Group A

Team	Pld	W	L	D	GF	GA	GD	Pts
United States	4	3	0	1	11	7	+4	7
Slovakia	4	3	1	0	18	9	+9	6
Sweden	4	1	2	1	15	13	+2	3
Finland	4	1	2	1	14	15	−1	3
Belarus	4	0	3	1	14	28	−14	1

Source: IIHF

Group B

Team	Pld	W	L	D	GF	GA	GD	Pts
Russia	4	4	0	0	27	8	+19	8
Canada	4	2	1	1	19	10	+9	5
Czech Republic	4	2	1	1	14	11	+3	5
Switzerland	4	1	3	0	17	23	−6	2
Kazakhstan	4	0	4	0	6	31	−25	0

Source: IIHF

Relegation round

Team	Pld	W	L	D	GF	GA	GD	Pts
Finland	3	2	0	1	15	12	+3	5
Belarus	3	2	1	0	19	17	+2	4
Switzerland	3	1	1	1	18	9	+9	3
Kazakhstan	3	0	3	0	12	26	−14	0

Source: IIHF

Note: Matches   Switzerland 13-2  Kazakhstan and  Finland 8–6  Belarus from the preliminary round (on April 13, 2003 and April 14, 2003 respectively) are included as well since these results carry forward

Final round

Quarter finals

Semi finals

Final

B1

Russia

1

A2

Slovakia

2

QF1

Slovakia

2

B3

Czech Republic

1

SF1

Slovakia

0

SF2

Canada

3

A1

United States

1

B2

Canada

8

QF2

Canada

2

A3

Sweden

1

 Russia beat  United States for the Bronze medal 6–3.
 Sweden beat  Czech Republic for 5th place 3–2 in Overtime.

Final standings

Rk.	Team
	Canada
	Slovakia
	Russia
4	United States
5	Sweden
6	Czech Republic
7	Finland
8	Belarus
9	Switzerland
10	Kazakhstan

  Switzerland and  Kazakhstan are relegated to Division I for the 2004 IIHF World U18 Championships.

Division I

Main article: 2003 IIHF World U18 Championship Division I

Division I consisted of two separate tournaments. The Group A tournament was held between 23 and 29 March 2003 in Ventspils, Latvia and the Group B tournament was held between 22 and 28 March 2003 in Briançon, France. Denmark and Norway won the Group A and Group B tournaments respectively and gained promotion to the Championship Division for the 2004 IIHF World U18 Championships. While Great Britain finished last in Group A and Ukraine last in Group B and were both relegated to Division II for 2004.^[1][2]

Final standings

Group A  Denmark — promoted to the Championship Division for 2004  Germany  Slovenia  Latvia  Japan  Great Britain — relegated to Division II for 2004

Group B  Norway — promoted to the Championship Division for 2004  Poland  Italy  France  Austria  Ukraine — relegated to Division II for 2004

Division II

Main article: 2003 IIHF World U18 Championship Division II

Division II consisted of two separate tournaments. The Group A tournament was held between 17 and 23 March 2003 in Tallinn, Estonia and the Group B tournament was held between 5 and 11 March 2003 in Belgrade, Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. South Korea and Romania won the Group A and Group B tournaments respectively and gained promotion to Division I for the 2004 IIHF World U18 Championships. While Bulgaria finished last in Group A and South Africa last in Group B and were both relegated to Division III for 2004.^[3][4]

Final standings

Group A  South Korea — promoted to Division I for 2004  Estonia  Croatia  Belgium  Spain  Bulgaria — relegated to Division III for 2004

Group B  Romania — promoted to Division I for 2004  Hungary  Netherlands  Yugoslavia  Lithuania  South Africa — relegated to Division III for 2004

Division III

Main article: 2003 IIHF World U18 Championship Division III

Division III consisted of two separate tournaments. The Group A tournament was held between 5 and 8 March 2003 in Mexico City, Mexico and the Group B tournament was held between 6 and 9 February 2003 in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina. Australia and Iceland won the Group A and Group B tournaments respectively and gained promotion to Division II for the 2004 IIHF World U18 Championships.^[5][6]

Final standings

Group A  Australia — promoted to Division II for 2004  Mexico  China  New Zealand

Group B  Iceland — promoted to Division II for 2004  Turkey  Bosnia and Herzegovina  Israel