Organizers of the 2026 IIHF World Junior Championships held a celebration today with a special fan and media event at the Huntington Bank Rotunda inside the Mall of America.
It was quite the spectacle at the Mall as we are just now 50 days away from the start of World Junior Championships, which are being hosted in Minnesota for the first time.
University of Minnesota hockey coach Bob Motsko is coach of Team USA.
"It's one of the biggest tournaments in the world. We just don't know about it in the US," Motzko said on Thursday.
Motzko also talked about how good American hockey is right now.
"United States hockey right now, it's probably the greatest that it's ever been," says the Gopher head coach. "You think what happened in 1980 Olympics and it kept growing. Well, now we're producing players like we're 33%, 35% of the National Hockey League."
“Fifty days from now, hockey fans from around the world will descend on the State of Hockey,” said Wendy Williams Blackshaw, president and CEO of Minnesota Sports and Events. “From the opening faceoff to the gold medal game, the World Juniors will unite 10 nations over 29 games and thousands of fans celebrating their shared love of hockey. Bold North Breakaway will extend that spirit beyond the rink and into downtown Saint Paul.”
Bold North Breakaway Fan Fest will be a free event which will transform downtown Saint Paul into a winter playground for fans and families during the 11-day tournament.
Expect bumper cars, a skills zone, trolley rides, plus a New Year's Eve fireworks show and plenty more. See the entire list here.
The IIHF World Junior Championship features the best men’s hockey players under 20 competing for gold. From Dec. 26, 2025 through Jan. 5, 2026, games will be held at Saint Paul’s Grand Casino Arena (formerly Xcel Energy Center) and 3M Arena at Mariucci in Minneapolis, with exhibition games in Bemidji, Duluth, Mankato, and Rochester, dubbed the World Juniors Pre-Tournament Series.