2026 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships

Ice hockey tournament in Minneapolis

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2026 IIHF World Junior Championship

Tournament details
Host country|  United States
City| Minneapolis–Saint Paul
Venue(s)| Xcel Energy Center and
3M Arena at Mariucci
Dates| December 26, 2025 –
January 5, 2026
Teams| 10

<- 2025

2027 ->

The 2026 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships (2026 WJC) will be the 50th Ice Hockey World Junior Championship. It will begin on December 26, 2025, and will end with the gold medal game being played on January 5, 2026.

## Background

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The tournament will be returning to the Minneapolis–Saint Paul region after last being hosted there in 1982.[1] This will mark the seventh time that the United States will host the WJC and first time since 2018.[1] The tournament games will be played at the Xcel Energy Center, home of the Minnesota Wild and the Minnesota Frost, and 3M Arena at Mariucci, located at the University of Minnesota.[2]

## Venues

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Minneapolis–Saint Paul |

Minneapolis–Saint Paul

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Xcel Energy Center
Capacity: 17,954  | 3M Arena at Mariucci
Capacity: 10,257

## Top Division

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### Seeding

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Group A
(Xcel Energy Center)

* United States (1)
* Sweden (4)
* Canada (5)
* Switzerland (8)
* Germany (9)

Group B
(3M Arena at Mariucci)

* Finland (2)
* Czechia (3)
* Slovakia (6)
* Latvia (7)
* Denmark (11-Promoted)

## Division I

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Main article: § Division I

### Group A

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* Austria
* France
* Kazakhstan – relegated from Top Division
* Norway
* Slovenia
* Ukraine \- promoted from Division I B

### Group B

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* Japan
* Estonia
* Hungary – relegated from Division I A
* Italy
* Lithuania – promoted from Division II A

## Division II

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Main article: § Division II

### Group A

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* China
* Croatia
* Great Britain
* Romania

### Group B

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* Netherlands – relegated from Division II A

## Division III

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Main article: § Division III

### Group A

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* Thailand – promoted from Division III B

### Group B

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* Kyrgyzstan
* Luxembourg
* South Africa

## References

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1. ^ a b "USA Hockey Selects Twin Cities of Saint Paul and Minneapolis to Host 2026 IIHF World Junior Hockey Championship". USA Hockey. January 5, 2024. Retrieved September 28, 2024.
2. ^ "Minneapolis-St. Paul to host 2026 World Junior Hockey Championship". ESPN.com. January 5, 2024. Retrieved September 28, 2024.

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IIHF World Junior Championships

Current champions (2025):  United States

2025 Championship teams|

* Canada
* Czechia
* Finland
* Germany
* Kazakhstan
* Latvia
* Slovakia
* Sweden
* Switzerland
* United States

Championships|

* Soviet Union 1974 (unofficial)
* Canada 1975 (unofficial)
* Finland 1976 (unofficial)
* Czechoslovakia 1977
* Canada 1978
* Sweden 1979
* Finland 1980
* West Germany 1981
* United States/Canada 1982
* Soviet Union 1983
* Sweden 1984
* Finland 1985
* Canada 1986
* Czechoslovakia 1987
* Soviet Union 1988
* United States 1989
* Finland 1990
* Canada 1991
* Germany 1992
* Sweden 1993
* Czech Republic 1994
* Canada 1995
* United States 1996
* Switzerland 1997
* Finland 1998
* Canada 1999
* Sweden 2000
* Russia 2001
* Czech Republic 2002
* Canada 2003
* Finland 2004
* United States 2005
* Canada 2006
* Sweden 2007
* Czech Republic 2008
* Canada 2009
* Canada 2010
* United States 2011
* Canada 2012
* Russia 2013
* Sweden 2014
* Canada 2015
* Finland 2016
* Canada 2017
* United States 2018
* Canada 2019
* Czech Republic 2020
* Canada 2021
* Canada 2022
* Canada 2023
* Sweden 2024
* Canada 2025
* United States 2026
* Canada 2027

Rosters|

* 1974
* 1975
* 1976
* 1977
* 1978
* 1979
* 1980
* 1981
* 1982
* 1983
* 1984
* 1985
* 1986
* 1987
* 1988
* 1989
* 1990
* 1991
* 1992
* 1993
* 1994
* 1995
* 1996
* 1997
* 1998
* 1999
* 2000
* 2001
* 2002
* 2003
* 2004
* 2005
* 2006
* 2007
* 2008
* 2009
* 2010
* 2011
* 2012
* 2013
* 2014
* 2015
* 2016
* 2017
* 2018
* 2019
* 2020
* 2021
* 2022
* 2023
* 2024
* 2025

Division I|

* 2001
* 2002
* 2003
* 2004
* 2005
* 2006
* 2007
* 2008
* 2009
* 2010
* 2011
* 2012
* 2013
* 2014
* 2015
* 2016
* 2017
* 2018
* 2019
* 2020
* ~~2021~~
* 2022
* 2023
* 2024
* 2025

Division II|

* 2001
* 2002
* 2003
* 2004
* 2005
* 2006
* 2007
* 2008
* 2009
* 2010
* 2011
* 2012
* 2013
* 2014
* 2015
* 2016
* 2017
* 2018
* 2019
* 2020
* ~~2021~~
* 2022
* 2023
* 2024
* 2025

Division III|

* 2001
* 2002
* 2003
* 2004
* 2005
* 2006
* 2007
* 2008
* ~~2009~~
* 2010
* 2011
* 2012
* 2013
* 2014
* 2015
* 2016
* 2017
* 2018
* 2019
* 2020
* ~~2021~~
* 2022
* 2023
* 2024
* 2025

* Medalists
* Finals
* Directorate award winners
* Media All-Star Teams
* Players for Canada
* Punch-up in Piestany
* Team Canada New Year's Eve Game

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