2026 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships

2026 IIHF World Junior Championship
Tournament details
Host country United States
CityMinneapolis–Saint Paul
Venue(s)Grand Casino Arena and
3M Arena at Mariucci
DatesDecember 26, 2025 –
January 5, 2026
Teams10
Official website
www.iihf.com

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
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

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

All times are local, CST (UTC−6).

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
12:00pm		Sweden v SlovakiaGrand Casino Arena, Saint Paul
December 26, 2025
5:00pm		Germany v United StatesGrand Casino Arena, Saint Paul
December 27, 2025
1:00pm		Slovakia v GermanyGrand Casino Arena, Saint Paul
December 27, 2025
5:00pm		United States v  SwitzerlandGrand Casino Arena, Saint Paul
December 28, 2025
1:00pm		Sweden v  SwitzerlandGrand Casino Arena, Saint Paul
December 29, 2025
12:00pm		Germany v SwedenGrand Casino Arena, Saint Paul
December 29, 2025
5:00pm		Slovakia v United StatesGrand Casino Arena, Saint Paul
December 30, 2025
1:00pm		Switzerland v GermanyGrand Casino Arena, Saint Paul
December 31, 2025
12:00pm		Switzerland v SlovakiaGrand Casino Arena, Saint Paul
December 31, 2025
5:00pm		United States v SwedenGrand 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
2:30pm		Denmark v Finland3M Arena at Mariucci, Minneapolis
December 26, 2025
7:30pm		Czechia v Canada3M Arena at Mariucci, Minneapolis
December 27, 2025
3:30pm		Latvia v Canada3M Arena at Mariucci, Minneapolis
December 27, 2025
7:30pm		Denmark v Czechia3M Arena at Mariucci, Minneapolis
December 28, 2025
3:30pm		Finland v Latvia3M Arena at Mariucci, Minneapolis
December 29, 2025
2:30pm		Finland v Czechia3M Arena at Mariucci, Minneapolis
December 29, 2025
7:30pm		Canada v Denmark3M Arena at Mariucci, Minneapolis
December 30, 2025
3:30pm		Latvia v Denmark3M Arena at Mariucci, Minneapolis
December 31, 2025
2:30pm		Czechia v Latvia3M Arena at Mariucci, Minneapolis
December 31, 2025
7:30pm		Canada v Finland3M Arena at Mariucci, Minneapolis

Relegation round

January 2, 2026
11:30am		A5vB53M 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
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

 
QuarterfinalsSemifinalsFinal
 
          
 
 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
1:00pm		vGrand Casino Arena, Saint Paul
January 2, 2026
3:30pm		v3M Arena at Mariucci, Minneapolis
January 2, 2026
5:00pm		vGrand Casino Arena, Saint Paul
January 2, 2026
7:30pm		v3M Arena at Mariucci, Minneapolis


Semifinals

January 4, 2026
3:30pm		vGrand Casino Arena, Saint Paul
January 4, 2026
7:30pm		vGrand Casino Arena, Saint Paul

Bronze medal game

January 5, 2026
3:30pm		vGrand Casino Arena, Saint Paul

Gold medal game

January 5, 2026
7:30pm		vGrand Casino Arena, Saint Paul

Division I

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

Group A

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

Pos Team Pld W OTW OTL L GF GA GD Pts Promotion or relegation
1  Norway 5 4 1 0 0 37 11 +26 14 Promotion to the 2027 Top Division
2  Kazakhstan 5 2 1 1 1 27 26 +1 9[a]
3  Austria 5 3 0 0 2 25 18 +7 9[a]
4  Slovenia (H) 5 1 1 1 2 17 26 −9 6[b]
5  Ukraine 5 1 1 1 2 12 19 −7 6[b]
6  France 5 0 0 1 4 16 34 −18 1 Relegation to the 2027 Division I B
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
Notes:
  1. ^ a b Head-to-head points: Kazakhstan 3, Austria 0
  2. ^ a b Head-to-head points: Slovenia 3, Ukraine 0

Group B

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

Pos Team Pld W OTW OTL L GF GA GD Pts Promotion or relegation
1  Hungary 5 3 1 0 1 18 9 +9 11 Promotion to the 2027 Division I A
2  Estonia 5 2 1 1 1 18 14 +4 9[a]
3  Lithuania 5 3 0 0 2 10 11 −1 9[a]
4  Poland 5 2 0 2 1 13 13 0 8
5  Japan 5 1 1 0 3 12 16 −4 5
6  Italy (H) 5 1 0 0 4 11 19 −8 3 Relegation to the 2027 Division II A
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
Notes:
  1. ^ a b Head-to-head points: Estonia 3, Lithuania 0

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.

Group B

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

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.

Group B

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

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.
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