Duluth Among Minnesota Towns Hosting IIHF World Junior Exhibition Hockey Games

Exciting hockey news dropped today in the State of Hockey!

It was officially announced that the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) World Junior Championship is coming to Minnesota, and Duluth will be among a handful of cities hosting some of the exhibition games leading up to the tournament.

The annual tournament has been hosted in various places around the world, including a handful of cities in Canada, Finland, and Sweden in recent years.

The 2026 tournament in Minnesota marks the second time the United States has hosted in the last 10 years and the 7th time the U.S. has hosted in the history of the tournament. It also marks the second time Minnesota has hosted, with the last time being in 1982.

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The United States is looking to defend its championship title once again after winning the last two years. Doing so on American ice in the State of Hockey adds an exciting element for hockey fans across Minnesota!

The 2026 IIHF World Junior Championship, the 50th edition of the tournament, will be hosted at Grand Casino Arena in St. Paul, MN, and Mariucci Arena in Minneapolis, MN. Before the tournament gets underway at the end of December, a series of exhibition games will be played across the state.

It was announced today (October 28) that AMSOIL Arena in Duluth will host a pre-tournament series that will include games featuring Team USA, Finland, and Germany from December 19-23.

These exhibition games give teams the opportunity to finalize rosters before the tournament while allowing fans to enjoy games and coaches and players from around the world to explore parts of Minnesota.

Duluth's exhibition game schedule is as follows:

• Friday, December 19: Finland vs Germany at 7:00 pm
• Sunday, December 21: USA vs Germany at 4:00 pm
• Tuesday, December 23: USA vs Finland at 6:00 pm

Single-game and all-game passes for these games are available now via the Dultuh event page on TicketWeb.

Other exhibition venues around the state include the Sanford Center in Bemidji,  Mayo Clinic Health System Event Center in Mankato, and Rochester Rec Center in Rochester.

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The 2026 IIHF World Juniors then officially get underway on December 26, with the first game of the opening round being Sweden vs. Slovakia at Grand Casino Arena at noon and games at both Grand Casino Arena and Mariucci Arena through the end of December and into the beginning of January.

The tournament will conclude with semifinal games on January 4, and the third-place & championship games on Monday, January 5, at Grand Casino Arena in St. Paul. You can see the entire schedule and get tickets on the IIHF website.