2026 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships

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

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

The tournament will be returning to the Minneapolis–Saint Paul region 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. 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.

Venues

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

Top Division

Seeding

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

Main article: § Division I

Group A

• Austria
• France
• Kazakhstan – relegated from Top Division
• Norway
• Slovenia
• Ukraine – promoted from Division I B

Group B

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

Division II

Main article: § Division II

Group A

• China
• Croatia
• Great Britain
• Romania
• South Korea – relegated from Division I B

Group B

• Netherlands – relegated from Division II A

Division III

Main article: § Division III

Group A

• Thailand – promoted from Division III B

Group B

• Kyrgyzstan
• Luxembourg
• South Africa