Background The tournament returned to
Minneapolis–Saint Paul after being previously co-hosted there in
1982. This was the seventh time that the
United States hosted the WJC and first time since
2018.
Venues The tournament games were played at two arenas: •
Grand Casino Arena in
Saint Paul, and •
3M Arena at Mariucci in
Minneapolis.
Qualified teams Ten teams took part in the competition.
Denmark returned for the first time since
2019, replacing
Kazakhstan who were relegated back to Division I, Group A, after finishing last in 2025.
Match officials The following officials were assigned by the IIHF to officiate the 2026 World Junior Championships.
Referees • Cedric Borga • Andreas Huber • Martin Jobbágy • John Lindner • Richard Magnusson • Tomáš Mejzlík • Troy Murray • Alexander Österberg • Rocco Stachowiak • Adam Tobias • Hayden Verbeek • Janne Wuorenheimo
Linesmen • Nicholas Albinati • Scott Allan • Albert Ankerstjerne • Bryan Gorcoff • Matthew Heinen • Anthony LaPointe • Luka Mäkinen • Joni Pekkala • Luke Pye • Michael Stalder • Rasmus Strömberg • David Thuma
Rosters To be eligible as a junior player, a player couldn't be born earlier than 2006. A maximum of 22 skaters and 3 goalkeepers could be named to a roster, with a maximum of 20 skaters and 2 goalkeepers dressing each game.
Preliminary round Seeding ;Group A (
Grand Casino Arena) • (1) • (4) • (6) • (8) • (9) ;Group B (
3M Arena at Mariucci) • (2) • (3) • (5) • (7) • (11–promoted)
All times are local, CST (UTC−6). Group A ---- ---- ---- ---- ----
Group B ---- ---- ---- ---- ----
Relegation round Playoff round Quarterfinal winners were reseeded for the semifinals in accordance with the following ranking: • Placement in group • Points in preliminary round • Goal differential in preliminary round • Number of goals scored in preliminary round • Seeding coming into the tournament
Bracket Quarterfinals Semifinals Bronze medal game Gold medal game Statistics As of 2026-01-06 (13:48 GMT), iihf.com has not updated tournament stats to include the gold medal game. Scoring leaders GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; +/− = Plus–minus; PIM = Penalties In MinutesSource 1: IIHF.com (pdf)Source 2: IIHF.comSource 3: eliteprospects.com
Goaltending leaders (minimum 40% team's total ice time)
TOI = Time on ice (minutes:seconds); GA = Goals against; GAA = Goals against average; SA = Shots against; Sv% = Save percentage; SO = ShutoutsSource1: IIHF.com (pdf)Source2: IIHF.com
Awards • Best players selected by the directorate: • Best
Goaltender:
Love Härenstam • Best
Defenceman:
Adam Jiříček • Best
Forward:
Anton Frondell • Media All-Stars: • MVP:
Vojtěch Čihař • Goaltender:
Love Härenstam • Defencemen:
Zayne Parekh /
Tomáš Galvas • Forwards:
Michael Hage /
Anton Frondell /
Vojtěch Čihař Source:
Final standings ==Division I==