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| 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.
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]
| Minneapolis–Saint Paul | ||
|---|---|---|
| Xcel Energy Center Capacity: 17,954 | 3M Arena at Mariucci Capacity: 10,257 | |
 |  | |
United States (1)
Sweden (4)
Canada (5)
Switzerland (8)
Germany (9)
China 
Croatia 
Great Britain 
Romania 
South Korea – relegated from Division I B
Netherlands – relegated from Division II A
Thailand – promoted from Division III B
Xcel Energy Center is a multipurpose arena in Saint Paul, Minnesota, United States. Completed in 2000 and often called "The X" by fans, it is named for its locally based corporate sponsor Xcel Energy. With an official capacity of 17,954, the arena has four spectator levels: one suite level and three for general seating. The building is home to the NHL's Minnesota Wild and the Minnesota Frost of the PWHL.
Williams Arena is an indoor arena located in Minneapolis, Minnesota. It is the home arena for the University of Minnesota's men's and women's basketball teams. It also housed the men's hockey team until 1993, when it moved into its own building, 3M Arena at Mariucci. The building is popularly known as The Barn, and its student section is known as "The Barnyard".
3M Arena at Mariucci is the home arena for the Minnesota Golden Gophers men's ice hockey team of the University of Minnesota. The arena is located on the Minneapolis campus and seats approximately 10,000 fans. The arena opened in 1993 and is named after John Mariucci, the longtime Gopher coach who is considered the "godfather of Minnesota hockey." Under the gate is a quote from Mariucci: "Through these gates walk the greatest fans in college hockey." The ice sheet was Olympic sized from 1993 to 2023, when construction began on reducing the rink floor size. The women's ice hockey team played at Mariucci from 1997 until 2002 when they moved to Ridder Arena, which is connected to Mariucci via a tunnel.
The 2005 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships was held between December 25, 2004, and January 4, 2005, at the Ralph Engelstad Arena in Grand Forks, North Dakota, and at the Ralph Engelstad Arena in Thief River Falls, Minnesota, United States. Canada won the gold medal. Jim Johannson oversaw administration of the event on behalf of USA Hockey.
Ridder Arena is an indoor ice rink at the University of Minnesota, and home to the Minnesota Golden Gophers women's ice hockey team. The arena is adjacent to the men's 3M Arena at Mariucci. It was completed in 2002, and includes the connected Baseline Tennis Center for the men's and women's tennis teams. It was the first facility in the United States built specifically for college women's ice hockey, and has hosted the NCAA Women's Frozen Four on four occasions. The arena is named for benefactors Robert Ridder and Kathleen Ridder.
Roy Wilkins Auditorium is a 5,000-seat multi-purpose arena in St. Paul, Minnesota. Designed by the renowned municipal architect Clarence W. Wigington, it was built in 1932 as an arena extension to the existing St. Paul Auditorium. When the old auditorium wing was demolished in 1982, Wigington's arena wing remained. It was renamed for Roy Wilkins in 1985. It is part of the RiverCentre complex, down the hall from the Xcel Energy Center, home of the National Hockey League's Minnesota Wild.
The IIHF World Junior Championship (WJC), sometimes referred to as World Juniors, is an annual event organized by the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) for national under-20 ice hockey teams from around the world. It is traditionally held in late December, ending in early January. The tournament usually attracts the top hockey players in this age category.
The 2011 NCAA Division I men's ice hockey tournament involved 16 schools in single-elimination play to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division I college ice hockey. The tournament began on March 25, 2011, and ended with the championship game on April 9, when the Minnesota–Duluth Bulldogs defeated the Michigan Wolverines 3–2.
The 2005 NCAA Division I men's ice hockey tournament involved 16 schools playing in single-elimination play to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division I college ice hockey. It began on March 25, 2005, and ended with the championship game on April 9. A total of 15 games were played.
Sports in Minnesota include professional teams in all major sports, Olympic Games contenders and medalists, especially in the Winter Olympics, collegiate teams in major and small-school conferences and associations and active amateur teams and individual sports. The State of Minnesota has a team in all five major professional leagues. Along with professional sports, there are numerous collegiate teams including the University of Minnesota Golden Gophers and St. Thomas Tommies in NCAA Division I, as well as many others across the Minnesota public and private colleges and universities.
The Minnesota Golden Gophers men's ice hockey team is the college ice hockey team at the Twin Cities campus of the University of Minnesota. They are members of the Big Ten Conference and compete in National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I ice hockey. The Golden Gophers are one of the most prominent and storied programs in college hockey, having made 41 NCAA Tournament appearances and 23 trips to the Frozen Four. They have won five NCAA national championships, in 1974, 1976, 1979, 2002 and 2003. The team also shared the 1929 National Intercollegiate Athletic Association championship with Yale, and captured the national Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) championship for amateur hockey in 1940.
The following is a list of men's champions of the Western Collegiate Hockey Association, including champions of the conference's playoff tournament, the WCHA Final Five.
The 2001 IIHF Women's World Championships was held April 2–8, 2001 in six cities in the state of Minnesota. Venues included the Ice Center in Plymouth, the Mariucci Arena in Minneapolis, the Recreation Centre in Rochester, the Herb Brooks National Hockey Center in St. Cloud, the Columbia Arena in Fridley, and the Schwan Super Rink, in Blaine. Team Canada won their seventh consecutive gold medal at the World Championships defeating the United States. Russia upset Finland 2–1 to capture their first medal in women's hockey.
The 2011 IIHF World U20 Championship, commonly referred to as the 2011 World Junior Hockey Championships, was the 35th edition of the Ice Hockey World Junior Championship and was hosted by the United States. The games were played in Western New York, at HSBC Arena in Buffalo and Niagara University's Dwyer Arena in Lewiston. Russia won the gold medal with a 5–3 victory over Canada in the championship game, after completing the biggest comeback in the WJHC history; being down 3–0 after two periods, the Russians scored five goals in the third period to capture their first WJHC gold medal since 2003. The host team, the United States, won the bronze medal with a 4–2 win over Sweden.
The St. Paul Vulcans are a defunct Junior A ice hockey franchise that was based in Bloomington, Minnesota. The franchise was a charter member of the United States Hockey League (USHL) that started play with the 1979–80 season. The franchise was renamed the Twin Cities Vulcans for the start of the 1995 season. In 2000, the team was renamed the Tri-City Storm and moved to Kearney, Nebraska.
The 2009 WCHA Men's Ice Hockey Tournament was an American college ice hockey tournament in 2009 played between March 13 and March 21, at five conference arenas and the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, Minnesota. Minnesota-Duluth won their third WCHA Men's Ice Hockey Tournament and the Broadmoor Trophy and received the Western Collegiate Hockey Association's automatic bid to the 2009 NCAA Division I Men's Ice Hockey Tournament.
The 2012–13 Boston College Eagles men's ice hockey team represented Boston College in the 2012–13 NCAA Division I men's ice hockey season. The team was coached by Jerry York, his nineteenth season behind the bench at Boston College. The Eagles play their home games at Kelley Rink on the campus of Boston College, competing in Hockey East.
The 2018 NCAA Division I men's ice hockey tournament was the national championship tournament for men's college ice hockey in the United States. The tournament involved 16 teams in single-elimination play to determine the national champion at the Division I level of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), the highest level of competition in college hockey. The tournament's Frozen Four – the semifinals and final – were hosted by the University of Minnesota at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, Minnesota from April 5–7, 2018.
The 2019 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships was the 43rd edition of the Ice Hockey World Junior Championship. It began on December 26, 2018, and ended with the gold medal game being played on January 5, 2019. This marked the 15th time that Canada hosted the WJC.
