2026 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships

2026 IIHF World Junior Championship

Tournament details
Host country	United States
City	Minneapolis–Saint Paul
Venue(s)	Grand Casino Arena and 3M Arena at Mariucci
Dates	December 26, 2025 – January 5, 2026
Teams	10
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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

Background

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

The tournament games will be played at the Grand Casino Arena, 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–Saint Paul		Minneapolis
Grand Casino Arena Capacity: 17,954			3M Arena at Mariucci Capacity: 10,257

Summary of qualified teams

Ten teams will take part in the competition. Denmark will return for the first time since 2019, replacing Kazakhstan who were immediately relegated back to Division I A after finishing last in 2025.

Team	Qualification method	Appearance(s)				Previous best performance
		Total	First	Last	Streak
United States	First in 2025	50th	1977	2025	50	Champions (2004, 2010, 2013, 2017, 2021, 2024, 2025)
Finland	Second in 2025				50	Champions (1987, 1998, 2014, 2016, 2019)
Czechia	Third in 2025				50	Champions (2000, 2001)
Sweden	Fourth in 2025				50	Champions (1981, 2012)
Canada	Fifth in 2025				50	Champions (Twenty times) [a]
Slovakia	Sixth in 2025	31st	1996		31	Third place (1999, 2015)
Latvia	Seventh in 2025	10th	2006		5	Seventh place (2022, 2025)
Switzerland	Eighth in 2025	39th	1978		17	Third place (1998)
Germany	Ninth in 2025	32nd	1977		7	Fifth place (1981)
Denmark	Champions of Division I A	8th	2008	2019	1	Fifth place (2017)

1. Canada have won in 1982, 1985, 1988, 1990, 1991, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2015, 2018, 2020, 2022 and 2023.

Seeding

Group A (Grand Casino Arena)   United States (1)   Sweden (4)   Slovakia (6) [a]    Switzerland (8)   Germany (9)

Group B (3M Arena at Mariucci)   Finland (2)   Czechia (3)   Canada (5) [a]   Latvia (7)   Denmark (11-Promoted)

1. The organizer swapped Slovakia and Canada in the group alignments. ^[7]

Division I

Main article: § Division I

Group A

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

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

Group B

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

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

Division II

Main article: § Division II

Group A

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

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

Group B

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

•   Australia
•   Iceland
•   Israel
•   Netherlands – relegated from Division II A
•   New Zealand – promoted from Division III A
•   Serbia

Division III

Main article: § Division III

Group A

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

•   Belgium – relegated from Division II B
•   Bosnia and Herzegovina
•   Bulgaria
•   Chinese Taipei
•   Thailand – promoted from Division III B
•   Turkey

Group B

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

•   Hong Kong – new participants
•   Iran – new participants
•   Kyrgyzstan
•   Luxembourg
•   Mexico – relegated from Division III A
•   South Africa

References

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 - Grand Casino Arena". 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.