Minneapolis-St. Paul to host 2026 world juniors

Minneapolis-St. Paul will host the 2026 International Ice Hockey Federation World Junior Hockey Championship, USA Hockey announced Friday.

The tournament consists of 10 nations that field the top men’s players under the age of 20 over a 29-game slate held over 10 days. USA Hockey said in its release that the tournament will be held from Dec. 26, 2025 through Jan. 5, 2026.

USA Hockey also said that the WJC will be held at the Xcel Center in St. Paul and Mariucci Arena in Minneapolis. The Xcel Center is the home of the NHL’s Minnesota Wild while Mariucci Arena is the home for the University of Minnesota men’s hockey team.

This will be the seventh time that the World Juniors will be held in the United States with the most recent coming in 2018, when the event was held in Buffalo, N.Y. As for Minneapolis-St. Paul, this will be the second time the Twin Cities hosts the WJC as it made history by being the first host site in the U.S. back in 1982.

“We’re excited to bring this 50th anniversary edition of the World Juniors to the state of hockey,” USA Hockey executive director Pat Kelleher said in a statement. “We know the teams and fans are in for a first-class experience at world-class venues. I’d also like to publicly thank the other finalists for the significant time they spent in putting together proposals. In the end, it was an extremely difficult decision.”

Canada, which has won a record 20 gold medals, will host next year’s tournament in its capital of Ottawa. The Canadian Tire Center, which is home to the NHL’s Ottawa Senators, along with TD Place Arena will serve as the venues for the tournament.

This year’s tournament is being held in Gothenburg, Sweden where the championship game Friday will feature USA vs. Sweden. The U.S. is seeking its sixth gold medal while Sweden is trying to win its third-ever gold medal.