Twin Cities to host 2026 World Junior Hockey Championship
ST. PAUL, Minn. — Minnesota has been selected to host the 2026 International Ice Hockey Federation World Junior Hockey Championship. Minnesota Sports and Events announced the event Friday morning, saying the Twin Cities will host the 50th anniversary of the tournament.
"It's really an honor to be selected," said Wendy Blackshaw, president and CEO of Minnesota Sports and Events, who along with the Minnesota Wild, University of Minnesota and Xcel Energy Center partnered to bring the event to Minnesota. "We're excited about welcoming the world to the Twin Cities and to showcase the players in the event, many who will go on to star in the NHL. Our goal is very simple and that's to stage the best World Juniors ever held in the United States."
According to the event website, it's a 10-nation tournament with some of the best men's players in the world who are under 20 years old. Twenty-nine games will take place over 10 days. The event starts on Dec. 26, 2025.
Competition venues will include the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul and the 3M Arena at Mariucci on the University of Minnesota campus in Minneapolis.
At Tom Reid's in St. Paul, hockey fan Teri Eidem and her friends were watching the U.S. take on Sweden in the Junior World Championship.
"Definitely had to wear USA, and I got an old hockey cow bell," Eidem said. "It's fun to watch and keep up on it."
It's a midday getaway for hardcore hockey fans.
"It's a great springboard for guys who were drafted to get their name out there and establish line presence for their time in the NHL," fan Matt Sherf said.
While fans watched this year's championship at Tom Reid's, in a couple of years they will be able to watch in person just a couple blocks away, at Xcel Energy Center.
"You are going to have people flying in here from all over the world," hockey analyst Lou Nanne said. "This is going to give Minnesota great visibility throughout the world at a time when we really need it."
Nanne said Minnesota beat out Las Vegas and Seattle to get the 2026 World Junior Tournament, and he believes it could bring as much as $100 million in revenue to the Twin Cities.
"You have to imagine that every great player that plays in the NHL, plays in this tournament," Nanne said.
The first time he saw Wild All-Star Kirill Kaprizov play was at the World Juniors.
"It was something when you look at it and you just envision him playing for the Wild years later, which he was able to go and do," Nanne said.
The last time Minnesota was the host was 1982, and Nanne believes this announcement is overdue and well-deserved.
"There are more kids playing hockey in the state of Minnesota, more kids, than anywhere else in the country," Nanne said.
This year's tournament is taking place in Sweden. The United States is set to take on Sweden in the gold medal game later Friday.
MNSE is the regional sports commission for Minneapolis, St. Paul and Bloomington. In 2022, MNSE was responsible for the NHL Winter Classic, MLS All-Star Game and NCA Women's Basketball Final Four.
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Last year, MNSE hosted the Big Ten Women's Basketball Tournament.
Here's a list of future events that were previously confirmed for Minnesota:
- 2024: TIAA Big Ten Women's and Men's Basketball Tournaments
- 2024: NCAA Men's Ice Hockey Frozen Four
- 2024: U.S. Olympic Team Trials – Gymnastics
- 2025: NCAA Women's Ice Hockey Frozen Four
- 2026: Special Olympics USA Games