North Raleigh Today

Sebastian Aho reflects on his experiences at the IIHF World Junior Championship, highlighting the memorable moments from both his appearances. At just 17 years old, Aho first participated in the 2015 tournament in Montreal and Toronto, where Finland finished seventh. However, it was the 2016 championship on home ice in Helsinki that left a lasting impression as he helped lead Finland to a gold medal victory over Russia.

"It was unreal, both times (I went)," Aho recalled. "First time, we didn't do as good as a team, but it was in Montreal and Toronto and the atmosphere and everything was unreal..." He continued by emphasizing the significance of winning in Finland: "(Winning in Finland was) insane. Just the atmosphere, the feeling, playing for your home country - we had such a good team and such good friends from that team, and to top it off with the win, that creates a special bond for sure. It was unbelievable."

Aho's line with Patrik Laine and Jesse Puljujärvi during the 2016 tournament is considered one of the best in World Juniors history. Both Laine and Puljujärvi were high picks in the NHL Draft later that year. Reflecting on this experience, Aho said: "We were stacked. We had a good team, those two guys on my wings played really well... Not to mention we had guys like (Roope) Hintz, (Mikko) Rantanen and (Kasperi) Kapanen on the other line."

The World Junior Championship is an annual event featuring U20 national hockey teams competing against each other. The upcoming tournament will begin on December 26th in Ottawa, Ontario.

Among those participating are three prospects from Carolina Hurricanes: Bradly Nadeau, Felix Unger Sorum, and Oskar Vuollet. In total, 13 members of the Hurricanes roster have previously played in this tournament.

Jackson Blake shared his own memories of capturing a bronze medal with Team USA in 2023: "That was a tournament I dreamt of playing in... But what I remember most was just meeting all (my teammates)... It's something I'll remember forever."

Rod Brind'Amour also recounted his experience representing Canada at the 1989 event: "That was just fun to be somewhere I'd never been... It's great; you get to play with some - I don't want to say 'top' guys but you kind of do."

As young players prepare for this year's competition starting on Boxing Day—such as Nadeau who commented about facing teammate Felix Unger Sörum—Aho offered advice based on his past success: "Just enjoy it... It's kind of once-in-a-lifetime... The hockey is good; it's fast-paced; it's skilled; it's fun..."

Blake added insights into overcoming initial intimidation when playing alongside top prospects like Connor Bedard: "For me at start it was little intimidating... But draft status goes out window... Just play your game..."

The upcoming IIHF World Junior Championship runs from December 26th through January 5th next year.