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2026 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The 2026 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships (2026 WJC) will be the 50th Ice Hockey World Junior Championship. The top division will begin on December 26, 2025, and will end with the gold medal game being played on January 5, 2026.[1]

Top Division

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2026 IIHF World Junior Championship
Tournament details
Host country United States
CityMinneapolis–Saint Paul
Venue(s)Xcel Energy Center and
3M Arena at Mariucci
DatesDecember 26, 2025 –
January 5, 2026
Teams10
← 2025
2027 →

Background

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The tournament will be returning to Minnesota after last being hosted there in 1982. This will mark the seventh time that the United States will host the WJC and first time since 2018.[2][3]

Venues

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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.[4][5][6]

Saint Paul
Minneapolis
Xcel Energy Center
Capacity: 17,954 		3M Arena at Mariucci
Capacity: 10,257

Seeding

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Group A
(Xcel Energy Center)
Group B
(3M Arena at Mariucci)
  1. ^ a b The organizer swapped Slovakia and Canada in the group alignments.[7]

Division I

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Main article: § Division I

Group A

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The Division I, Group A tournament will take place in Bled, Slovenia between December 7–13, 2025.

Group B

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The Division I, Group B tournament will take place in Milan, Italy between December 8–14, 2025.

Division II

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Main article: § Division II

Group A

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The Division II, Group A tournament will take place in Bucharest, Romania between January 4–10, 2026.

Group B

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The Division II, Group B tournament will take place in Belgrade, Serbia between January 18–24, 2026.

Division III

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Main article: § Division III

Group A

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The Division III, Group A tournament will take place in Sofia, Bulgaria between January 19–25, 2026.

Group B

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The Division III, Group B tournament will take place in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan between January 18–24, 2026.

References

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  1. ^ "IIHF - Tournaments". IIHF International Ice Hockey Federation. Retrieved 4 June 2025.
  2. ^ "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.
  3. ^ "IIHF - Host State Information". IIHF International Ice Hockey Federation. Retrieved 2025-01-26.
  4. ^ "Minneapolis-St. Paul to host 2026 World Junior Hockey Championship". ESPN.com. January 5, 2024. Retrieved September 28, 2024.
  5. ^ "IIHF - Xcel Energy Center". IIHF International Ice Hockey Federation. Retrieved 2025-01-26.
  6. ^ "IIHF - 3M Arena at Mariucci". IIHF International Ice Hockey Federation. Retrieved 2025-01-26.
  7. ^ "Groups Set For 2026 IIHF World Junior Hockey Championship". usahockey.com. 7 March 2025.
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