The 1986 tournament was a round-robin format, with the top three teams winning gold, silver and bronze medals respectively.
The 1986 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships (1986 WJHC) was the tenth edition of the World Junior Ice Hockey Championships and was held from December 26, 1985, until January 4, 1986. It was held mainly in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. The Soviet Union won the gold medal, its seventh championship, Canada silver and the United States bronze. The bronze medal was the first for the Americans in tournament history.