The 1997 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships were held in Geneva and Morges, Switzerland.

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).

Poland was relegated for the 1998 World Juniors (minimum 40% team's total ice time) This tournament was played in Kyiv Ukraine, from December 27 to January 5.