James Hagens and Cole Eiserman are two of eight first-round NHL draft picks hoping to bring the United States a third straight championship for the first time at the IIHF World Junior Championship.

They’ll get that chance when the 2026 WJC is held in Saint Paul and Minneapolis, Minnesota, from Dec. 26-Jan. 5.

The U.S. won the 2024 WJC, 6-2 against host Sweden in the gold-medal game, and the 2025 WJC with a 4-3 overtime win against Finland. The Americans have won seven tournament titles and three in the past five years. No country has won three in a row since Canada’s run of five straight from 2005-09.

“I think anytime you step on the ice, you always want to prove something,” Hagens said. “You want to be able to show your best and when you have your country’s logo on your sweater and you’re playing for something big, it means a lot. You have to make sure you’re wearing it with a lot of pride, a lot of honor.

“You have to be able to show the staff, show your country, show the people that believe in you, that you’re meant to be there.”

Hagens, a sophomore forward at Boston College, was selected No. 7 by the Boston Bruins in the 2025 NHL Draft. He leads the Eagles with 10 goals and 18 points in 16 games. Eiserman, a sophomore forward at Boston University, was selected No. 20 by the New York Islanders in the 2024 NHL Draft. He leads the Terriers with eight goals and is third with 12 points in 18 games.

The United States will be hosting the event for the seventh time. It has never won a WJC gold medal on home ice.

“I remember two years ago [U.S. general manager John Vanbiesbrouck] was talking about how they never won in Sweden, and they ended up winning in Sweden,” Eiserman said. “So now we have a chance to win in the States. Hopefully history repeats itself with that and we can win on home soil, which would be pretty cool, especially in Minnesota.”

Other first-round selections on the United States roster include forwards Trevor Connelly (Vegas Golden Knights, No. 19, 2024), Will Horcoff (Pittsburgh Penguins, No. 24, 2025), and Ryker Lee (Nashville Predators, No. 26, 2025), and defensemen Henry Brzustewicz (Los Angeles Kings, No. 31, 2025), E.J. Emery (New York Ranges, No. 30, 2024) and Logan Hensler (Ottawa Senators, No. 23, 2025).

The U.S. will play in Group A at the 2026 WJC, along with Sweden, Slovakia, Switzerland and Germany with preliminary-round games at Grand Casino Arena in St. Paul. Group B consists of Finland, Czechia, Canada, Latvia and Denmark with preliminary-round games at 3M Arena at Mariucci in Minneapolis.

The United States opens the WJC against Germany on Dec. 26 (6 p.m. ET). Canada also opens on Dec. 26 against Czechia (8:30 p.m. ET). All games will be broadcast live on NHL Network in the United States and TSN in Canada.

Here’s a look at each Group A team, in predicted order of finish: