While it’s no secret that the World Junior Championships will be held in Buffalo in 2011, what may be a lesser known fact is how the honor inextricably links it as an official American hockey town.

The World Junior Championships are a rather recent addition to the major international hockey bracket, as the very first of these was held in 1977.

And since its inception, only four US cities have played host to it.

Canada, not surprisingly, has housed the event the most of any country – including the 2010 WJC in Saskatchewan that saw the United States win Gold – with a total of nine times.

Finland and Sweden are next, having each hosted this tournament five times. Russia and the Czech Republic have each hosted three times, Germany and Slovakia have each hosted twice and Switzerland has had the event once.

The tournament hasn’t been held on American soil since 2005 when Grand Forks, ND and Thief River Falls, MN was in the spotlight. When play opens on January 26, 2011, Buffalo will join it, along with Boston (1996), Anchorage (1989), and Minneapolis - St. Paul (1985) as the only US cities to have done so.

All four cities to have previously accommodated the 10-nation tournament are undoubtedly hot beds of hockey and Buffalo will soon cement itself in that company.

Team USA is also looking to make history. The United States has earned a total of six medals in the event's history, claiming gold in 2004 and 2010, silver in 1997 and bronze in 1986, 1992 and 2007.

However, the squad has yet to capture a medal on home turf.

Could 2011 be the year that the United States make the leap and defend their championship? American hockey fans certainly hope so and the city of Buffalo awaits the results.