Belarus men's national junior ice hockey team
Introduction The '''Belarusian men's national under-20 ice hockey team''' is the national under-20 ice hockey team in Belarus. The team represented Belarus at the International Ice Hockey Federation's World Junior Hockey Championship. Prior to independence in 1991, Belarusian players played for the Soviet Union, which played in the World Juniors from its inception in 1974.Belarus has played in the top division eight times, first in 1999 and most recently in 2018, with their best finish being ninth overall in both 2001 and 2002.Due to the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, the International Ice Hockey Federation banned all Belarusian national and club teams from its events indefinitely, and Hockey Canada banned Belarus's “participation in events held in Canada that do not fall under the IIHF’s jurisdiction.”
History Belarus became an independent nation in 1991, and the team made their first appearance at the World Junior Hockey Championships in 1998, when Belarus won Pool B (now Division I). The U20 team played at the 1999 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships in Winnipeg, but the Belarusians never won a game. Belarus finished 10th and were relegated to Pool B for 2000.The team returned to the top level by defeating Germany in the final. The Belarusians avoided relegation by winning and tying a game against the Kazakhs.Belarus competed in the 2002 and 2003 World Junior Championships, until finally being relegated under the new IIHF format. Belarus returned to the top division in 2005, but were relegated again. Belarus has mainly been in the second-tier Division I level since then, though have been promoted to the top division on occasion, most recently in 2018.
World Junior Championship record  Year Rank1974–1992 ''As part of ''  1993  3rd in Minsk Group (Pool C)  1994  26th (Pool C)  1995  20th (Pool C1)  1996  22nd (Pool C)  1997 '''1st''', Promoted to Pool B  1998 '''1st''', Promoted to Top Division  1999  10th place (Relegated to Pool B)  2000 '''1st''', Promoted to Top Division  2001  9th place  2002  9th place  2003  10th place (Relegated to Division I)  2004 '''1st''', Promoted to Top Division  2005  10th place (Relegated to Division I)  2006 '''1st''', Promoted to Top Division  2007  13th place (Relegated to Division I)  2008  13th place (Division I)  2009  13th place (Division I)  2010  14th place (Division I)  2011  13th place (Division I)  2012  12th place (Division I)  2013  12th place (Division I)  2014  13th place (Division I)  2015 '''1st''', Promoted to Top Division  2016  10th place (Relegated to Division I)  2017 '''1st''', Promoted to Top Division  2018  10th place (Relegated to Division I)  2019  12th place (Division I)   2020  13th place (Division I)  2021 Cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic  2022 '''1st''', Promoted to Top Division (expelled)  2023  Expelled  2024  Expelled
References
External links * Belarus at IIHF.com