Nine months after the gold medal was awarded, the 2012 IIHF World Junior Championship continues to receive accolades.

Jim Peplinski, who served as co-chair of the World Junior host committee and led the tournament’s Calgary contingent, was honoured with the Event Champion of the Year Award at Sport Calgary’s Mayor’s Sport Breakfast on Oct. 17.

The award, presented in partnership by Sport Calgary and the Calgary Sport Tourism Authority, recognizes outstanding leadership and an exceptional contribution to the attraction and delivery of a world-class sport event.

“The 2012 IIHF World Junior Championship was a resounding success,” Sport Calgary said in a release. “It set new records, and is the new standard by which all future World Juniors will be measured. It raised the bar because the Province of Alberta was united. It succeeded because of the time, effort, unwavering commitment and exceptional leadership made by local champions. And no one made more of a contribution to the success of the 2012 IIHF World Junior Championship than Jim Peplinski.”

The 2012 World Juniors, held between Dec. and Jan., produced a $22 million legacy for grassroots hockey in Canada, including $9 million for Hockey Canada programs, $6.6 million to the Canadian Hockey League and $2.9 million to Hockey Canada’s 13 branches.

The tournament also had an economic impact of $86.2 million on the province of Alberta, including more than $14 million in visitor expenditures in Calgary and Edmonton.

A former captain of the NHL’s Calgary Flames, Peplinski helped the Flames to the franchise’s only Stanley Cup championship in 1989, and represented Canada at the 1988 Olympic Winter Games in Calgary.