In Canada and in many countries across Europe, the IIHF World Junior Championship is treated as one of the biggest international sporting events every year.

With the Twin Cities of St. Paul and Minneapolis preparing to host the 2026 edition later this month, Bob Motzko, head coach of the U.S. National Junior Team, wants Americans to understand the significance of this tournament.

“Our fans have to trust us when we’re telling them this is — outside of the Olympics — the greatest hockey tournament in the world,” Motzko said. “They’re going to see the best players in the world this age, and they will not be disappointed with the talent that they see in the competition.”

Going back to 1975, the U.S. has hosted the tournament roughly once every seven years. Motzko already has experience coaching on home ice; he led Team USA to a bronze medal in 2018 in Buffalo, New York — the last time World Juniors took place in the U.S.

Since then, Motzko has advocated for his home state of Minnesota to be the next American host for the tournament.  

A native of St. Cloud, Motzko has coached the University of Minnesota men’s hockey team since 2018, so he’s a bit biased. But he brought up Minnesota’s recent track record for hosting big-time sporting events.

In the past decade, Minnesota has hosted the Super Bowl, the men’s and women’s Final Four, multiple men’s and women’s Frozen Fours, the Ryder Cup and the U.S. Olympic Team Trials in Gymnastics.

“Our state knows how to do it,” he said.

During World Juniors, Motzko will be away from the familiar 3M Arena at Mariucci in Minneapolis. The home of Golden Gophers men’s hockey will host Group B consisting of Canda, Czechia, Denmark, Finland and Latvia.

Team USA will play all its Group A games against Germany, Slovakia, Sweden and Switzerland in St. Paul at Grand Casino Arena, home of the Minnesota Wild. Grand Casino Arena will also host most of the knockout games, including everything after the quarterfinals.

The U.S. enters the tournament as two-time defending champions. Another win on home ice would make the U.S. the first team to three-peat since Canada won five in a row from 2005 to 2009.

The Americans kick off their title defense on Dec. 26 against Germany.

To prepare for the tournament, the U.S. has a training camp and a pair of exhibition games scheduled two hours north in Duluth, Minnesota. The Americans will face Germany on Sunday (Dec. 21) and Finland on Dec. 23.

A preliminary roster of 30 players traveled to Duluth on Monday; Motzko and his staff will cut down to the final 25-player roster on Dec. 24.

The U.S. coaching staff is using the training camp to evaluate the roster — coming up with line combinations, picking who’ll be on special teams and discussing who should make the final team — and implement their playing system, Motzko said.

Motzko praised the team’s camaraderie so far in Duluth. A big reason for that chemistry is having nine players return from last year’s gold medal- winning team, said forward James Hagens, one of those returning players.

“It’s great [to walk] back in the locker room and you’re able to see all your old buddies, a bunch of guys you still talk to till this day,” said Hagens, who tallied nine points during last year’s tournament.

The returning players have also improved in the past year, Motzko said.

Four of the nine returning players currently lead their respective teams in points — Hagens at Boston College, Cole Hutson at Boston University, Max Plante at Minnesota Duluth and Brodie Ziemer at Minnesota.

Plante in particular stands out. The Hermantown, Minnesota, native finished his freshman season at Duluth last year with 28 points in 23 games. In 20 games so far this season, Plante leads the country with 30 points. He also scored two goals against Motzko when the Bulldogs beat the Golden Gophers 4-1 on Oct. 25.

After tallying three points at World Juniors last year, Plante is eager to have a bigger role on home ice.  

“Hopefully this year I’ll get a little more special teams here on the World Junior team, and hopefully maybe help score more goals,” he said.

Among the 19 newcomers on the preliminary roster, Will Horcoff has made the biggest impression in college hockey this year. The Michigan sophomore leads the country with 19 goals in 20 games.

During this week’s training camp, the players are getting familiar with one another, Hagens said. As one of the team’s leaders, he wants everyone in the locker room to understand what it takes to win gold.

“It’s the toughest thing to do; it’s a hard tournament,” he said. “That’s something that [the returning players] have to be able to bring in for the guys that weren’t there last year — to be able to preach on the things that helped us get there.”

Story from Red Line Editorial, Inc.