The pinnacle of Junior hockey in the world returns on December 26 with the 2026 IIHF World Junior Championship—nestling deeply into the United States' hockey nucleus that are Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota.

After Team USA secured their second WJC in a row last year, all eyes are on the red, white, and blue to see if they can pull off a three-peat just weeks before the 2026 Winter Olympics kick off in Italy.

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Ten teams qualified for the 2026 WJC and were split into two groups of five. They will play each team in their group and based on the standings of the Group Stage, the top four will advance to the quarterfinals. The two teams in fifth will play in a relegation game.

Games will be played between two locations: Grand Casino Arena, home of the the Minnesota Wild and Minnesota Frost, and the University of Minnesota's 3M Arena at Mariucci.

The 2026 World Juniors hockey tournament kicks off on December 26 in Minnesota. Here's the full schedule and how to follow the action live on FloHockey.

2026 World Junior Championship Schedule

View the full schedule below for the Group Stage and Knockout rounds of the 2026 IIHF World Junior Championship in Minnesota.

Friday, December 26

• 1:00 p.m. ET - Sweden vs Slovakia
• 2:30 p.m. ET - Denmark vs Finland
• 6:00 p.m. ET - Germany vs USA
• 8:30 p.m. ET - Czechia vs Canada

Saturday, December 27

• 2:00 p.m. ET - Slovakia vs Germany
• 4:30 p.m. ET - Latvia vs Canada
• 6:00 p.m. ET - USA vs Switzerland
• 8:30 p.m. ET - Denmark vs Czechia

Sunday, December 28

• 2:00 p.m. ET - Sweden vs Switzerland
• 4:30 p.m. ET - Finland vs Latvia

Monday, December 29

• 1:00 p.m. ET - Germany vs Sweden
• 3:30 p.m. ET - Finland vs Czechia
• 6:00 p.m. ET - Slovakia vs USA
• 8:30 p.m. ET - Canada vs Denmark

Tuesday, December 30

• 2:00 p.m. ET - Switzerland vs Germany
• 4:30 p.m. ET - Latvia vs Denmark

Wednesday, December 31

• 1:00 p.m. ET - Switzerland vs Slovakia
• 3:30 p.m. ET - Czechia vs Latvia
• 6:00 p.m. ET - USA vs Sweden
• 8:30 p.m. ET - Canada vs Finland

Friday, January 2

• 12:30 p.m. ET - Relegation Game
• 2:00 p.m. ET - Quarterfinals Game 1
• 4:30 p.m. ET - Quarterfinals Game 2
• 6:00 p.m. ET - Quarterfinals Game 3
• 8:30 p.m. ET - Quarterfinals Game 4

Sunday, January 4

• 4:30 p.m. ET - Semifinals Game 1
• 8:30 p.m. ET - Semifinals Game 2

Monday, January 5

• 4:30 p.m. ET - Bronze Medal Game
• 8:30 p.m. ET - Gold Medal Game

Team USA World Junior Championship 2026 Schedule

Friday, December 26

• 6:00 p.m. ET - Germany vs USA

Saturday, December 27

• 6:00 p.m. ET - USA vs Switzerland

Monday, December 29

• 6:00 p.m. ET - Slovakia vs USA

Wednesday, December 31

• 6:00 p.m. ET - USA vs Sweden

Team Canada World Junior Championship 2026 Schedule

Friday, December 26

• 8:30 p.m. ET - Czechia vs Canada

Saturday, December 27

• 4:30 p.m. ET - Latvia vs Canada

Monday, December 29

• 8:30 p.m. ET - Canada vs Denmark

Wednesday, December 31

• 8:30 p.m. ET - Canada vs Finland

2026 World Junior Championship Teams

View the list of teams, by group, for the 2026 IIHF World Junior Championship.

Group A

• USA
• Germany
• Switzerland
• Sweden
• Slovakia

Group B

• Canada
• Czechia
• Latvia
• Denmark
• Finland

Follow FloHockey's Coverage Of The 2026 World Junior Championship

FloHockey will be on site for complete coverage of the 2026 IIHF World Junior Championship in St. Paul and Minneapolis, Minnesota. You can expect game-by-game coverage of both Team USA and Team Canada from FloHockey's experts, interviews with key players and coaches and much more. Follow FloHockey's WJC coverage here.

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The best, and most complete, coverage of the NHL minor league hockey and NHL Draft is found on FloHockey. Don't miss the latest new prospect guides, rankings and more from Chris Peters and the FloHockey staff.

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