World Junior Hockey Championships Coming To Minnesota

USA Hockey has selected Minneapolis and St. Paul as the hosts of the 2026 International Ice Hockey Federation World Junior Hockey Championship.

The tournament features ten international teams comprised of players under 20 years old, with 29 games taking place over the course of ten days. The host venues selected were St. Paul's Xcel Energy Center and Mariucci Arena in Minneapolis.

Canada hosted the tournament in 2021, 2022 and 2023. The 2024 tournament will be held in Sweden before returning to Canada in 2025. The last time the tournament was in the United States was the 2018 edition in Buffalo, New York.

Minneapolis and St. Paul were the first United States hosts of the tournament back in 1982.

“We’re excited to bring this 50^th anniversary edition of the World Juniors to the state of hockey,” said Pat Kelleher, executive director of USA Hockey in a press release. “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 finalist cities for the significant time they spent in putting together proposals. In the end, it was an extremely difficult decision.”

The 2026 tournament will be the 50th in the event's history.

“Minnesota is thrilled to host the 2026 World Junior Hockey Championship - another major sporting event that brings excitement and an economic boost to the state,” said Tim Walz, Governor of the state of Minnesota in a press release. “We look forward to welcoming teams and fans from across the globe and showing everyone what it means to be the State of Hockey.”