An original vintage 1982 Seiko advertisement for the 1982 World Ice Hockey Championship, "Amazing People from All Over the World are Coming.  It's So Exciting."  
 
Dimensions: Approx. 8 inches wide by 11.75 inches high
 
The 1982 Ice Hockey World Championships was held in Finland from 15-29 April.  Played in Helsinki and Tampere with eight teams playing a single round-robin, these were followed by the top four teams playing each other once more.  The Soviet Union (remember them?) became World Champions for the 18th time, and also won their 21st European Championship.
 
The tournament is notable since Canada, reinforced by Wayne Gretzky after the Edmonton Oilers were shockingly knocked out of the Stanley Cup playoffs by Los Angeles, would have won the silver medal if the Soviet team had beaten Czechoslovakia in the final game.  
 
However, the teams played to a scoreless tie, knocking the Canadians down to the bronze, which led to speculation the Soviets and Czechs had played to a draw on purpose. Gretzky scores more points than any other player in the tournament – at 14 – in his only appearance at the World Championships, but the Soviet Union's Viktor Shalimov was selected as "Best Forward."
 
Other notable events during the World Championship included the Czech loss to West Germany for the first time in forty-five years. The Italians (with a squad boasting seventeen Italian Canadians), beat the Americans and became the first promoted team to survive relegation since the tournament expanded to eight teams in 1959.  
 
The Championship was a disaster for the Americans – just two years after winning gold at the 1980 Winter Olympics, they lost every game but one, a tie with West Germany on the final day.