The 2026 IIHF World Junior Hockey Championship will be held from December 26, 2025 to January 5, 2026 in Saint Paul and Minneapolis, Minnesota.
Both the United States and Canada open preliminaries on Friday, December 26.
The United States’ games at the 2026 World Junior Hockey Championship will be broadcast on the NHL Network and can be streamed live at DirecTV Stream (Free Trial), fuboTV and other live TV services.
Here’s what you need to know:
What: 2026 IIHF World Junior Hockey Championship
When: December 26, 2025 to January 5, 2026
Who, when: The USA opens with Germany at 6:00 PM ET on Friday, December 26th
Where: Grand Casino Arena, Saint Paul, Minnepolis
TV: NHL Network
Tickets: From $32.75
Complete US schedule
Friday, December 26: USA vs. Germany, 6 p.m. ET
Saturday, December 27: USA vs. Switzerland, 6 p.m. ET
Monday, December 29: USA vs. Slovakia, 6 p.m. ET
Wednesday, December 31: USA vs. Sweden, 6 p.m. ET
>> Complete tournament schedule
Here are the players and teams you can follow from the Star Tribune via the Tribune News Service:
When the puck drops at the Grand Casino Arena and 3M Arena in Mariucci on Friday for the opening of pool play at the World Junior Championships, there will be no shortage of talent in hockey’s premier under-20 tournament.
Canada’s lineup looks like a future NHL All-Star team with double-digit first-round picks — not surprising for a hockey-mad country that has won the tournament 20 times.
The United States, the two-time defending gold medalists, will attempt their first treble, relying heavily on a handful of returnees who clinched the title with an overtime win over Finland in Ottawa last winter.
Sweden, who finished fourth last winter after winning bronze in 2024, will have a roster with skill and depth, while 2025 silver medalist Finland will bring his usual grit and may have the best goalkeeper of the tournament in Petteri Rimpinen.
Here’s a look at the top players to watch:
How about line #1? Michael Misa, the No. 2 pick in the 2025 NHL Entry Draft by San Jose, center Porter Martone, the No. 6 pick by Philadelphia, and Gavin McKenna, the projected No. 1 pick in 2026. That’s a high-powered trio that Canada could use as it looks to end its two-year medal drought.
Misha had 134 points in 65 games last season with Saginaw of the OHL, while McKenna, a Penn State freshman this year, had 129 points in 56 games with Medicine Hat of the WHL in 2024-25. Martone, a rookie at Michigan State, has 11 goals and nine assists in 16 games this season after a 98-point campaign with Brampton of the OHL last season.
2025 overall draft pick Matthew Schaefer is an Islanders rookie defenseman who will miss the tournament because he is in the NHL.
Canada’s possible second line features Montreal first-rounder Michael Hage with center Brady Martin, the No. 5 overall pick in Nashville in 2025, and Utah first-rounder Tije Iginla, whose father is former Calgary Flames star Jarome Iginla.
A pair of freshmen from North Dakota — guard Keaton Verhoeff and center Cole Reschny — are expected to play key roles for Canada. The D-corps is also deep, with projected 2026 first-rounders in Carson Carels and Ethan MacKenzie, who is committed to North Dakota.
While the Americans will be missing standouts like guard Zeev Buium and forwards Ryan Leonard and Gabe Perreault from last year’s gold medal-winning team, eight returners should help fill in the gaps. Boston University guard Cole Hutson led the tournament last year with 11 points on three goals and eight assists, while Boston College forward Teddy Stiga scored the golden goal in overtime vs. Finland. Returning ninth player Trevor Connelly is out of the tournament after picking up an injury in Sunday’s exhibition game against Germany.
Gophers sophomore forward Brodie Ziemer of Chaska has 19 points in 19 collegiate games this season after tallying seven points en route to gold last winter.
Max Plante (Minnesota Duluth) leads college hockey in scoring this season with 30 points, while forwards James Hagens (Boston College) and Cole Eiserman (Boston U.) are proven scorers at the international level. Hagens scored five goals in seven games in last year’s tournament.
The Swedes have their usual top talent, and this year they include right winger Ivar Stenberg, who is expected to go as high as No. 2 in the 2026 NHL draft. The 18-year-old Stenberg, dazzling with the puck on his stick, impressed with 24 points in 25 games in the top Swedish league.
Center Anton Frondell, the Chicago Blackhawks’ No. 3 pick in the 2025 draft, will be relied upon to create space to unleash his accurate shooting ability.
Among the tournament’s youngest players at 17, 6-foot-3, 209-pound Finnish center Oliver Suvanto is playing beyond his years and is expected to be a first-round NHL pick this summer.
In goal for Finland will be Rimpinen, a 2025 fifth-round pick by Los Angeles who was named the top goaltender at last winter’s World Junior Championships after posting a 5-2 record with a 2.34 goals-against average and a .933 save percentage.
The Czechs, who won silver in 2023 and bronze in the previous two tournaments, will be strong on the blue line with Adam Jiřiček and Radim Mrtka.
Jiříček, a selection from the first round of St. Louis in 2025, has 29 points in 25 games this season for Brantford of the OHL. Mrtka, the ninth overall pick by Buffalo last June, has shown points-per-game productivity at various levels.
Keep an eye on Alberts Smits, a Latvian defenseman who is a likely first-round pick in 2026; Slovakian defenseman Luka Radivojevic, a 2026 draft prospect out of Boston College whose father is former Wild player Branko Radivojevic; and German forward David Lewandowski, who has 32 points in 24 games this season for Saskatoon of the WHL.
Group A: The United States, Sweden, Slovakia, Germany and Switzerland will play preliminary rounds at the Grand Casino Arena in St. Paul.
Group B: Canada, Finland, Denmark, Czech Republic and Latvia will play preliminary round matches at the 3M Arena in Mariucci, Minneapolis.
Format: The top four teams from each pool advance to the quarter-finals on January 2.
Where to watch the 2026 IIHF World Junior Hockey Tournament live and on demand for free
Non-cable viewers can watch the games live and on demand for free when they sign up for a trial offer from DIRECTV or Fubo.
What are the differences between streaming services?
DIRECTV – Watch live TV from major broadcast and popular cable networks. Enjoy local and national live sports, breaking news and must-see shows as soon as they air. Included: unlimited DVR cloud storage so you can record as many shows as you want and stream them from anywhere. DTV starts as low as $19.99 per month after a 5-day free trial when you purchase their customizable genre packs.
DIRECTV
5-day free trial
Get up to $40 off your first month and enjoy local and national live sports, breaking news and must-see shows.
Fubo – Fubo offers one of the widest selections of channels among live TV streaming services. Over 220 channels, including all the sports and entertainment you love, plus sports extras for those specialty networks you rely on, and it all starts 5-day free trial and $30 off your first month of service.
Fubo
5-day free trial
Stream sports with Fubo and enjoy up to $30 off your first month.
Sling – One of the best deals in live TV for just $45.99 per month, offering customizable channel lineups for sports, news and entertainment. Now, Sling adds even more value with subscriptions that let you stream live TV without a subscription: just $4.99 a day, $9.99 a weekend, or $14.99 a week. These one-off payments are perfect if you just want to watch one show, live game or special event. No commitments, no automatic renewals, just affordable access when you need it.
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