Hlinka Gretzky Cup
The Ivan Hlinka Memorial Tournament (also known as the U-18 Junior World Cup and formerly known as the Pacific Cup and the Nations Cup) is an annual event held each August for national under-18 ice hockey teams from around the world. Unlike its primary counterpart, the IIHF World U18 Championships, the U-18 Junior World Cup is not an official International Ice Hockey Federation tournament. Some consider it a more accurate measure of national team talent levels in the U-18 age bracket however, as Canadian Hockey League (CHL) players are able to participate without interrupting their respective teams' games during the regular-season. But most countries usually don't send their best players to it as they use this short off-season tournament (which until 2010 didn't have play-off round) to see new talent before the WJC U18. Its namesake, Ivan Hlinka, was one of the first superstars in Czechoslovak hockey - both domestically and internationally. Having been hosted in Slovakia and the Czech Republic since 1997, the U-18 Junior World Cup took on its current name after Hlinka's death in 2004.
Results
Medal leaders
| Country | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Medals |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 Canada
|
15 | 2 | 1 | 18 |
 Russia /  Soviet Union
|
3 | 4 | 5 | 12 |
 United States
|
1 | 7 | 2 | 10 |
 Sweden
|
1 | 0 | 4 | 5 |
 Czech Republic
|
0 | 6 | 3 | 9 |
 Finland
|
0 | 1 | 2 | 3 |
 Slovakia
|
0 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
 Japan
|
0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |