Certain sporting spectacles carry with them their own cultures and traditions, and go so far as to become synonymous with their own dates on the calendar.
One of these is the IIHF’s World Junior Hockey Championship, the annual late-December tournament that brings the best under-20 years old hockey players from around the globe together to represent their home country and battle against the best the world has to offer. From Boxing Day until the first week of January, 10 countries select their top under-20 prospects to compete in different host cities around the globe. Canada hosts the 2017 edition, with games being held in Montreal and Toronto for the second time in three years.