The World Junior Hockey Championships in Ottawa, Canada is headed to the semifinal round Saturday and that means it is less than a year before the next tournament in Minnesota.
Officials with Minnesota Sports and Events are in Ottawa this weekend, along with WCCO's own Vineeta Sawkar. She joined KSTP-TV's Tom Hauser on the WCCO Morning News Friday to talk about why Minnesota is in Canada for this year's tournament.
"What they're trying to learn is how the World Junior's work, what it's like behind the scenes," Sawkar explained. "Today, we're going to have a full day of tours and getting an idea of kind of the backstory of how this is put together, and what we can do in Minnesota."
The next World Junior Tournament will have games at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, and on the University of Minnesota campus.
Team USA, with nine Minnesotans on the roster including college players from the Gophers, Minnesota-Duluth and St. Cloud State, takes on Czechia in one of Saturday's semifinals games. Sweden and Finland play in the other semifinal. The third place and championship games are being played Sunday.
Sawkar says Minnesota is well-represented at this year's tourney and it's building excitement - and ticket sales - ahead of next year.
"Good Minnesota contingent up here just trying to learn as much as we can and bring it back to Minnesota," she told Hauser Friday. "And, you know, tickets are already on sale now. The full package deal is selling pretty well."
The 10-nation tournament features the best men’s players in the world under 20 years of age and the games of the championship take place over 10 days in December and January. You can find out more about the 2025 tournament and get tickets here.
Minnesota is coming off a very successful hosting of the U.S. Gymnastics Olympic Trials last summer, and on top of the 2025 World Junior Hockey Championships, more major sporting events are on the horizon. The first and second rounds of the 2027 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament and the 2028 NCAA Wrestling Championships will also be hosted in the Twin Cities.