The 1997 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships were held in Geneva and Morges, Switzerland. The tournament was won by Canada, who won their record fifth-straight gold medal with a 2–0 victory over the United States in the gold-medal match. Mike York of the United States was the top scorer in the tournament, with five goals and five assists for ten points.
The tournament all-star team selected upon the conclusion of the tournament included forwards Mike York (United States), Sergei Samsonov (Russia) and Christian Dube (Canada); defencemen Mark Streit (Switzerland) and Chris Phillips (Canada); and goaltender Brian Boucher (United States).
Notable future National Hockey League (NHL) stars that played in this year's tournament included Joe Thornton (Canada), Daniel Brière (Canada) and Marián Hossa (Slovakia).
Round robin
Group A
Group B
Relegation round
was relegated for the 1998 World Junior Championships.
Medal Rounds
Quarterfinals
Semifinals
5th-place game
Bronze-medal game
Gold-medal game
Final standings
was relegated for the 1998 World Juniors
Scoring leaders
Goaltending leaders
(minimum 40% team's total ice time)
Tournament awards
Pool B
This tournament was played in Kyiv Ukraine, from December 27 to January 5.
Standings
was promoted to Pool A, and was relegated to Pool C, for 1998.
Pool C
Played in Gheorgheni and Miercurea Ciuc, Romania from December 30 to January 3.
Preliminary round
Group A
Group B
Placement Games
7th place: 5 - 3
5th place: 3 - 1
3rd place: 5 - 4
1st Place: 8 - 2
was promoted to Pool B, and was relegated to Pool D for 1998.
Pool D
Played in Sofia Bulgaria from December 30 to January 3.
Preliminary round
Group A
Group B
Placement Games
7th place: 5 - 3
5th place: 7 - 3
3rd place: 4 - 1
1st Place: 8 - 4
was promoted to Pool C for 1998.
