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
Official website
www.iihf.com
←  2025 2027  →

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 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) [a]				Previous best performance [b]
		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) [c]
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. In top division. Results in tiers below are excluded.
2. Bold text indicates they hosted that edition.
3. 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 .

Preliminary round

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]

Tie-breaking criteria
The ranking of teams in the group stage is determined as follows: points; head-to-head points; head-to-head goal difference; head-to-head number of goals scored; result against closest best-ranked team outside tied teams; result against second-best-ranked team outside tied teams; seeding before tournament.

Group A

Pos	Team	Pld	W	OTW	OTL	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	United States (H)	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	Quarterfinals
2	Sweden	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
3	Slovakia	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
4	Switzerland	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
5	Germany	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	Relegation round

Source: IIHF
Rules for classification: Tiebreakers
(H) Host

December 26, 2025 12:00

Sweden

v

Slovakia

Grand Casino Arena, Saint Paul

December 26, 2025 17:00

Germany

v

United States

Grand Casino Arena, Saint Paul

---

December 27, 2025 13:00

Slovakia

v

Germany

Grand Casino Arena, Saint Paul

December 27, 2025 17:00

United States

v

Switzerland

Grand Casino Arena, Saint Paul

---

December 28, 2025 13:00

Sweden

v

Switzerland

Grand Casino Arena, Saint Paul

---

December 29, 2025 12:00

Germany

v

Sweden

Grand Casino Arena, Saint Paul

December 29, 2025 17:00

Slovakia

v

United States

Grand Casino Arena, Saint Paul

---

December 30, 2025 13:00

Switzerland

v

Germany

Grand Casino Arena, Saint Paul

---

December 31, 2025 12:00

Switzerland

v

Slovakia

Grand Casino Arena, Saint Paul

December 31, 2025 17:00

United States

v

Sweden

Grand Casino Arena, Saint Paul

Group B

Pos	Team	Pld	W	OTW	OTL	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Finland	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	Quarterfinals
2	Czechia	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
3	Canada	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
4	Latvia	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
5	Denmark	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	Relegation round

Source: IIHF
Rules for classification: Tiebreakers

December 26, 2025 14:30

Denmark

v

Finland

3M Arena at Mariucci, Minneapolis

December 26, 2025 19:30

Czechia

v

Canada

3M Arena at Mariucci, Minneapolis

---

December 27, 2025 15:30

Latvia

v

Canada

3M Arena at Mariucci, Minneapolis

December 27, 2025 19:30

Denmark

v

Czechia

3M Arena at Mariucci, Minneapolis

---

December 28, 2025 15:30

Finland

v

Latvia

3M Arena at Mariucci, Minneapolis

---

December 29, 2025 14:30

Finland

v

Czechia

3M Arena at Mariucci, Minneapolis

December 29, 2025 19:30

Canada

v

Denmark

3M Arena at Mariucci, Minneapolis

---

December 30, 2025 15:30

Latvia

v

Denmark

3M Arena at Mariucci, Minneapolis

---

December 31, 2025 14:30

Czechia

v

Latvia

3M Arena at Mariucci, Minneapolis

December 31, 2025 19:30

Canada

v

Finland

3M Arena at Mariucci, Minneapolis

Relegation round

January 2, 2026 11:30

A5

v

B5

3M Arena at Mariucci, Minneapolis

Playoff round

Quarterfinal winners will be reseeded for the semifinals in accordance with the following ranking:

1. Placement in group
2. Points in preliminary round
3. Goal differential in preliminary round
4. Number of goals scored in preliminary round
5. Seeding coming into the tournament (final placement at the 2025 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships)

Rank	Team	Group	Pos	Pts	GD	GF	Seed
1			1
2			1
3			2
4			2
5			3
6			3
7			4
8			4

Bracket

	Quarterfinals				Semifinals				Final
	January 2 – TBD
	1A
					January 4 – Grand Casino Arena
	4B
	January 2 – TBD
	2B
									January 5 – Grand Casino Arena
	3A
	January 2 – TBD
	1B
					January 4 – Grand Casino Arena
	4A
	January 2 – TBD
									Third place
	2A
									January 5 – Grand Casino Arena
	3B

Quarterfinals

January 2, 2026 13:00

v

Grand Casino Arena, Saint Paul

January 2, 2026 15:30

v

3M Arena at Mariucci, Minneapolis

January 2, 2026 17:00

v

Grand Casino Arena, Saint Paul

January 2, 2026 19:30

v

3M Arena at Mariucci, Minneapolis

Semifinals

January 4, 2026 15:30

v

Grand Casino Arena, Saint Paul

January 4, 2026 19:30

v

Grand Casino Arena, Saint Paul

Bronze medal game

January 5, 2026 15:30

v

Grand Casino Arena, Saint Paul

Gold medal game

January 5, 2026 19:30

v

Grand Casino Arena, Saint Paul

Division I

Main article: 2026 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships – Division I

Group A

The Division I, Group A tournament is being played in Bled, Slovenia between December 7–13, 2025.

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	OTW	OTL	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Promotion or relegation
1	Norway	1	1	0	0	0	8	2	+6	3	Promotion to the 2027 Top Division
2	Austria	1	1	0	0	0	5	2	+3	3
3	Ukraine	1	0	1	0	0	2	1	+1	2
4	Kazakhstan	1	0	0	1	0	1	2	−1	1
5	Slovenia (H)	1	0	0	0	1	2	5	−3	0
6	France	1	0	0	0	1	2	8	−6	0	Relegation to the 2027 Division I B

Updated to match(es) played on 7 December 2025. Source: IIHF
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) head-to-head points; 3) head-to-head goal difference; 4) head-to-head number of goals scored; 5) result against closest best-ranked team outside tied teams; 6) result against second-best-ranked team outside tied teams; 7) seeding before tournament.
(H) Host

Group B

The Division I, Group B tournament is being played in Milan, Italy between December 8–14, 2025.

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	OTW	OTL	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Promotion or relegation
1	Hungary	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	Promotion to the 2027 Division I A
2	Japan	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
3	Italy (H)	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
4	Estonia	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
5	Poland	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
6	Lithuania	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	Relegation to the 2027 Division II A

First match(es) will be played: 8 December 2025. Source: IIHF
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) head-to-head points; 3) head-to-head goal difference; 4) head-to-head number of goals scored; 5) result against closest best-ranked team outside tied teams; 6) result against second-best-ranked team outside tied teams; 7) seeding before tournament.
(H) Host

Division II

Main article: 2026 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships – 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: 2026 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships – 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 June 4, 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 January 26, 2025.
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 January 26, 2025.
6. "IIHF - 3M Arena at Mariucci". IIHF International Ice Hockey Federation. Retrieved January 26, 2025.
7. "Groups Set For 2026 IIHF World Junior Hockey Championship". usahockey.com. March 7, 2025.