Confirmed with Link: 2026 World Junior Championship coming to the Twin Cities

[TaLoN]

2026 World Junior Championship coming to the Twin Cities: Sources

The Athletic has confirmed that Minnesota will host the tournament in two years.

theathletic.com

Games in 2026 will be played at Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, which hosts Minnesota Wild home games, and 3M Arena at Mariucci, which hosts the University of Minnesota men’s hockey team’s games.

This is a big win for Minnesota Sports & Events, Visit St. Paul, the Wild and the University of Minnesota. Hockey lovers in Minnesota, and especially the Twin Cities, have long wished one of the sport’s most popular tournaments would come back to the State of Hockey.

The only time the Twin Cities hosted the tournament was in 1982 along with Rochester, Minn. Some games were played in Thief River Falls, Minn., when Grand Forks, N.D., was the primary host for the 2005 tournament.

There will be added pressure on this event for Minnesota, given the last world juniors to be held in the USA, Buffalo in 2018, was not a successful event in terms of attendance. Seattle is believed to be the other finalist for the 2026 tournament.

The United States will also host the men’s U18s in 2025. No host city has been named yet.

Click to read more...

 

[Wabit]

2026 World Junior Championship coming to the Twin Cities: Sources

The Athletic has confirmed that Minnesota will host the tournament in two years.

theathletic.com

Part of the problem BUF had is there were games at the Harbor Center and there is less than 2k seating there.

 

[DigitalBoldy]

That's pretty cool! I will try to be there!

 

[Obvious Fabertism]

Cannot wait!!!

 

[Jbcraig1883]

This just might be the thing to get me to visit home for the first time in a few years!

 

[Minnesota]

Exciting stuff.

Do we have any eligible prospects that might make those teams?

 

[BagHead]

Exciting stuff.

Do we have any eligible prospects that might make those teams?

About the 2024 tournament I found this:

If a player’s 20th birthday takes place in the year the tournament ends (Jan. 1-Dec 31, 2024), then they are eligible, even if they turn 20 while the tournament is still underway.

Meaning that the oldest possible players eligible for the 2026 tournament are currently 18 years old, and they were still 17 a couple of weeks ago. These players would not have been 18 years old by September 15th, 2023 (NHL draft age rule) so none of them are currently drafted yet.

I was kind of working out the math as I was typing that, so as long as I didn't muck it up, the first players who will be eligible for the Twin Cities WJC will be drafted this summer. Hopefully we'll draft a great player and get to watch him perform here during the tournament. That'd be a rare treat!

 

[keppel146]

I’ll be there as long as tix aren’t super expensive.

 

[Minnesota]

About the 2024 tournament I found this:

Meaning that the oldest possible players eligible for the 2026 tournament are currently 18 years old, and they were still 17 a couple of weeks ago. These players would not have been 18 years old by September 15th, 2023 (NHL draft age rule) so none of them are currently drafted yet.

I was kind of working out the math as I was typing that, so as long as I didn't muck it up, the first players who will be eligible for the Twin Cities WJC will be drafted this summer. Hopefully we'll draft a great player and get to watch him perform here during the tournament. That'd be a rare treat!

Appreciate you doing the math! My brain is currently fried, lol.

 

[57special]

I’ll be there as long as tix aren’t super expensive.

They will probably be pretty expensive. i'm thinking the same as a regular NHL game, at least.

 

[63firebird]

Really? All games or just the high ranking teams?

 

[57special]

Really? All games or just the high ranking teams?

It's hard to say, as there is no precedent here. In general, those cities/venues holding these games are looking at them as business propositions, and charge whatever they can get. In the past, the Canadian big cities have held the line with high prices, to the detriment of attendance.

I have no idea if the Twin cities/State of MN are going to partially subsidize this event by keeping ticket prices low, reasoning that the ancillary revenue streams (hotels, restaurants, entertainment)will more than pick up the slack in terms of overall dollars earned.

A USA/Can game will not be cheap, though.

 

[f7ben]

I’ll go for sure , I drove to Pittsburgh for the World Cup prelim game that was held there. This would be a cool one to add to my list

 

[57special]

I'll go, unless I am on some Caribbean island.

 

[Bonin21]

Appreciate you doing the math! My brain is currently fried, lol.

Quite a roundabout way of doing the math...

2026 WJC
2006 birth dates are oldest
2006 birth dates are draft eligible this year