A pair of undefeated teams lead the ‘08 and ‘09 World Rankings
The latest world rankings were released on Wednesday. Many teams have begun building their respective resumes for the ‘21-22 season, with only Canada and Sweden — and Finland at some age groups — yet to begin. A pair of No. 1s, though, have wasted little time stacking impressive performances in their respective age groups, in the early stages of September.
The 2008-born LA Jr. Kings have pulled ahead of the pack, with a 7-0-1 record. Four of those wins came over the weekend, including a dominant 6-2 victory over HoneyBaked; the 10th ranked team in the States. The Jr. Kings’ only hiccup was a 4-4 tie they skated to with the Windy City Storm on Saturday. The Chicago-based program is fourth in the country, and 11th in the world, with three wins of its own over ranked opponents.
The upcoming schedule will certainly present bigger challenges, with trips to Pittsburgh in October and Detroit in November. With a trio of forwards Sammie Ochoa, Tyus Sparks and Logan Stuart up front, the Jr. Kings should present difficult matchups for future opponents.
CSKA Moscow validated its preseason No. 1 in the 2009 age group with a 17-game win streak to open the season. Four victories have come against fellow Russian Top-10 teams, including not one, not two, but three dominant performances against No. 4-ranked Dynamo Moscow. In those games, CSKA out-scored Dynamo 29-5. They are averaging nearly 10 goals a game with 169 goals already this season.
Daniel Ermolov, Artem Karsuro and Nazar Privalov lead the way for CSKA. Expect the schedule to be a bit more challenging as the season wears on, but there’s no mistake in who the clear-cut No. 1 is at the end of September.
Check out the complete world rankings to see who the top teams are at the ‘05, ‘06, ‘07, ‘08, ‘09 and ‘10 age group HERE. Our world rankings are updated every two weeks, and you can submit your rankings to the committee! Or, follow us on Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, Twitter and Facebook for the latest news from the world of youth hockey.
