The 2026 IIHF World Junior Championship is officially here. The annual tournament kicks off on Boxing Day as it does every year, with Sweden taking on Slovakia in the opening game of the tournament.
This year’s event takes place in Minnesota which features a 1hr time difference from Eastern Time, meaning east coast hockey fans should adjust their viewing schedule by 60 minutes when settling in for the games. As in years past, the event will feature a bevy of New Years Eve games, highlighted by the host United States taking on Sweden, and Canada taking on Finland in matchups that could decide seeding heading into the elimination rounds.
Pool A features the United States, Sweden, Slovakia, Switzerland, and Germany. Meanwhile Pool B will see Finland, Czechia, Canada, Latvia and Denmark look to punch their tickets to the medal round. Some of the notable draft eligible names taking part in the event this year include potential 1st overall pick Gavin McKenna (CAN), Ivar Stenberg (SWE), Juho Piiparinen (FIN), Chase Reid (USA), and Adam Novotny (CZE).
Here is the full tournament schedule for the 2026 event:
Photo: Hugh Lee. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic license.