Schedule for IIHF World Junior Championship tournament released

COLORADO SPRINGS — The schedule for the 2026 IIHF World Junior Championship tournament was released on Thursday, June 26. This will be the 50th year of the annual tournament.

All-session and group play tickets are available

here

. Individual game tickets, if available, will be released at a later date.

Teams will be divided into two groups and each country will play the other four teams in its group during the preliminary round. The top four teams from each group will advance to the quarterfinals on Jan. 2, with the winners playing in the semifinals on Jan. 4. The two semifinals winners will face off for gold on Jan. 5, with the two losing teams competing for bronze earlier that day.

Group A, which will play its preliminary round games Xcel Energy Center in Saint Paul includes the U.S., Sweden, Slovakia, Switzerland and Germany.

Group B, which includes Canada, Czechia, Finland, Latvia and Denmark will play preliminary contests at 3M Arena at Mariucci on the campus of the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis.

The 2026 IIHF World Junior Championship marks the seventh time the United States has hosted the tournament (1982, 1989, 1996, 2005, 2011, 2018).

Most recently, Team USA captured bronze in Buffalo, N.Y., at the 2018 World Juniors, led by Bob Motzko as head coach. The U.S. also took home bronze at the 2011 tournament in Buffalo and Niagara, N.Y. The U.S. first hosted the World Juniors in Minneapolis and Saint Paul in 1982.

USA Hockey will host the World Junior Summer Showcase from July 25-Aug. 2 at Ridder Arena in Minneapolis. The event, which also includes Canada, Finland and Sweden, serves as an evaluation for athletes seeking to make their respective national teams for the 2026 IIHF World Junior Championship. There will be 11 international games will be played and tickets are now on sale by clicking

here

.

Noon — Sweden vs. Slovakia, Xcel Energy Center
2:30 p.m. — Denmark vs. Finland, 3M Arena at Mariucci
5 p.m. — Germany vs. USA, Xcel Energy Center
7:30 p.m. — Czechia vs. Canada, 3M Arena at Mariucci

1 p.m. — Slovakia vs. Germany, Xcel Energy Center
3:30 p.m. — Latvia vs. Canada, 3M Arena at Mariucci
5 p.m. — USA vs. Switzerland, Xcel Energy Center
7:30 p.m. — Denmark vs. Czechia, 3M Arena at Mariucci

1 p.m. — Sweden vs. Switzerland, Xcel Energy Center
3:30 p.m. — Finland vs. Latvia, 3M Arena at Mariucci

Noon — Germany vs. Sweden, Xcel Energy Center
2:30 p.m. — Finland vs. Czechia, 3M Arena at Mariucci
5 p.m. — Slovakia vs. USA, Xcel Energy Center
7:30 p.m. — Canada vs. Denmark, 3M Arena at Mariucci

1 p.m. — Switzerland vs. Germany, Xcel Energy Center
3:30 p.m. — Latvia vs. Denmark, 3M Arena at Mariucci

Noon — Switzerland vs. Slovakia, Xcel Energy Center
2:30 p.m. — Czechia vs. Latvia, 3M Arena at Mariucci
5 p.m. — USA vs. Sweden, Xcel Energy Center
7:30 p.m. — Canada vs. Finland, 3M Arena at Mariucci

11:30 a.m. — A pool fifth-place team vs. B pool fifth-place team, 3M Arena at Mariucci
1:30 p.m. — Quarterfinals Game 1, Xcel Energy Center
3:30 p.m. — Quarterfinals Game 2, 3M Arena at Mariucci
5 p.m. — Quarterfinals Game 3, Xcel Energy Center
7:30 p.m. — Quarterfinals Game 4, 3M Arena at Mariucci

3:30 p.m. — Semifinals Game 1, Xcel Energy Center
7:30 p.m. — Semifinals Game 2, Xcel Energy Center

3:30 p.m. — Bronze medal game, Xcel Energy Center
7:30 p.m. — Gold medal game, Xcel Energy Center