Duluth to be named preliminary site for 2026 World Juniors – Duluth News Tribune

DULUTH — Duluth and Amsoil Arena will host pre-tournament games before the 2026 IIHF World Junior Championship in Minneapolis and St. Paul, according to News Tribune sources.

The games will take place in December while both the

Minnesota Duluth men’s and women’s hockey

programs are on a holiday break.

Ice time at Amsoil Arena is currently on hold

from Dec. 14-25.

Full details will be announced by USA Hockey this summer, but two to three teams are likely to call Duluth home for about 10 days in December before the start of the World Juniors on Dec. 26 in the Twin Cities, at Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul and at Mariucci Arena in Minneapolis.

Other venues in Duluth, like Heritage Center, could also be utilized.

(File / Duluth News Tribune)

The teams will practice and play pre-tournament games in Duluth. The 2026 World Juniors will include the United States, Canada, Sweden, Finland, Czechia, Slovakia, Switzerland, Germany, Latvia and Denmark.

The United States is the defending gold medalist. UMD freshmen wing Max Plante of Hermantown and defenseman Adam Kleber

won gold with Team USA in 2025

and are eligible to wear the red, white and blue again as sophomores in 2026.

Rochester,

Mankato

and

Bemidji

also have been announced as pre-tournament host cities.