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Apr. 21—ROCHESTER — Minnesota is preparing to host the world, and Rochester will play a big part in it.
Some of the best Under-20 men's hockey players in the world will call Rochester home for nearly two weeks in December.
Officials from Minnesota Sports and Events, Experience Rochester, the Rochester Recreation Center, the Mayo Civic Center and Rochester MN Sports, as well as other community leaders, made the announcement on Monday morning at a press conference on the upper level of the Civic Center.
The annual International Ice Hockey Federation World Junior Championship, which features teams comprising the best players from each of 10 countries, will be hosted by Minneapolis and St. Paul in late December this year and early January 2026. The 10 teams will stage — practice and play exhibition games — at outstate sites.
Rochester joins Bemidji and Mankato as pre-tournament host sites. At least one more preliminary location is expected to be announced soon.
"We are very excited about this event and we hope that the community will get behind it," said Matt Esau, the director of Rochester MN Sports, who first began working toward hosting this event nearly two years ago. "Other communities are rolling out the red carpet and we're ready to do that, too. Our rinks, our fans, our community are prepared to make this a highlight of the 2026 World Junior experience.
"Let's show the world why Rochester is more than ready to shine as a hockey destination."
Two teams are expected to call the Rochester Recreation Center home for approximately 10 days in advance of the WJC opening on Dec. 26. The gold medal game is scheduled for Jan. 5, 2026.
The teams will likely move in on or about Dec. 14. Permanent upgrades are being made to four of the Rec Center locker rooms. One team will use those four rooms for the entirety of their stay in Rochester, while another team will move into the Rochester Grizzlies locker room, which already has individual stalls and laundry facilities in place.
The number of games to be played in southern Minnesota, the teams competing here and the dates of those games will be announced this summer, possibly as soon as July. USA Hockey will determine which teams are staged at which sites. Other community events that coincide with the WJC pre-tournament practices and exhibition games will also be announced as the event draws closer.
"When Matt called me back in 2023 and asked me if we'd be interested in being a part of the World Juniors — if it came to Minnesota — I don't think I even let him finish his sentence before I said 'yes, absolutely. We want to be part of this,'" Recreation Center manager Caryn Rooney said. "As someone who grew up playing (hockey) and watching this tournament, I knew how special it would be to be a part of it."
Sandy Sweetser of Minnesota Sports and Events, the Co-Executive Director of the 2026 World Junior Championship, said the economic impact of the event will be felt statewide. MS&E worked with the University of Minnesota, she said, on a study that estimates the impact at $75 million statewide.
Experience Rochester president Joe Ward said this will be a chance for Rochester to show off, not only as a hockey community, but as a city, to visitors from across the world.
"One of the challenges of an event like this is, because the teams (coming to Rochester) are yet to be named and how many associated staff will come, it's difficult to put an exact number on the local economic impact," Ward said. "The bigger thing, from a tourism perspective, is showing Rochester in such a great light to the world. There are many people who will be here, who have never been here before.
"... It's hard to top the World Juniors in the State of Hockey."
The U.S. team will be coached by Austin native and current University of Minnesota head coach Bob Motzko. He coached the U.S. to gold in the WJC in 2017 and a bronze medal in 2018.
The U.S. will enter the 2026 IIHF World Junior Championship as two-time defending gold medalists. According to USA Hockey, Team USA will compete in Group A against Germany, Slovakia, Sweden, and Switzerland in the preliminary round at Xcel Energy Center in Saint Paul. Group B, which includes Canada, Czechia, Denmark, Finland, and Latvia, will play its preliminary round contests at 3M Arena at Mariucci in Minneapolis.
Among the legendary NHL players to have played for their country in the WJC are Wayne Gretzky (Canada), Sidney Crosby (Canada), Alexander Ovechkin (Russia), Zach Parise (U.S.) and Marc-Andre Fleury (Canada).
In more recent years, the names have included Connor Bedard (Canada), Trevor Zegras (U.S.), Cale Makar (Canada) and Casey Mittelstadt (U.S.).
In other words, players who will be NHL stars within the next five to 10 years, or sooner, will play in Rochester and in Minnesota in December.
"I have spent many weekends in Rochester with kids who played soccer and basketball, and this community really does show up and welcome (visitors)," Sweetser said. "I wish I still had a 12-year-old to bring down here to watch.
"This event, it really is unlike anything you're going to experience. It's just ... it's an event where Ovechkin played Crosby in their first-ever matchup. The best Under-20 players in the world will be here. It's a chance for everyone in the State of Hockey to see these kids play."
Rochester has a deep history of hosting national teams and international games.
Perhaps the most famous of those occurred in January 1980, just six weeks before the Herb Brooks-led U.S. Olympic team delivered the Miracle on Ice, as the college-aged U.S. players stunned the Soviet Union in Lake Placid, N.Y. Brooks brought that U.S. team, which included legendary captain Mike Eruzione, goalie Jim Craig and Rochester Mayo graduate Eric Strobel, to Rochester to face a powerful Soviet team (though not the Soviet Union Olympic team) at Graham Arena.
That game was played on Jan. 5, 1980, the 48th game the U.S. played en route to the 1980 Games. According to an account in the next day's Post Bulletin, more than 2,400 fans packed into what is now called Graham Arena I.
Two years later, Rochester was heavily involved in the 1982 World Junior Championship, which ran from Dec. 22, 1981 through Jan. 2, 1982, with Bloomington and Minneapolis as the host sites. The tournament was an eight-team round-robin at that time.
Rochester's Graham Arena hosted the de facto championship game of that tournament on Jan. 2, 1982, when Canada and Czechoslovakia tied 3-3, giving Canada the gold medal and Czechoslovakia the silver.
Finland earned the bronze medal that year, while the Soviet Union placed fourth. The U.S. placed sixth, with a roster that featured future Hall of Famers Chris Chelios, Phil Housley and John Vanbiesbrouck, who is currently the general manager of Team USA and an assistant executive director for hockey operations at USA Hockey. Vanbiesbrouck will work with Motzko to form the U.S. roster for the championship.
The last time the tournament was held in any part of Minnesota occurred in December 2004 and January 2005, when it was hosted at Ralph Engelstad Arena in Grand Forks, N.D., and group-play games were also held in Thief River Falls, Minn.
The Rochester Recreation Center also hosted the U.S. Women's National Team on Friday, Jan. 22, 2010, when it beat the Century High School boys team 2-1 in front of an overflow crowd estimated at close to 3,000, in an exhibition game in the lead-up to that year's Olympic Games, which were held in Vancouver, Canada.
Now Rochester will again take its place on the international stage.
"Rochester's rich hockey tradition, first-class facilities and enthusiastic fans are a perfect reflection of Minnesota's deep hockey roots extending throughout our state," said Wendy Blackshaw, president and CEO of Minnesota Sports and Events, the state's sports commission and tournament host, in partnership with USA Hockey. "We are thrilled to be able to showcase tomorrow's NHL stars on Rochester's home ice, a once-in-a-generation opportunity."
Continue reading...
Some of the best Under-20 men's hockey players in the world will call Rochester home for nearly two weeks in December.
Officials from Minnesota Sports and Events, Experience Rochester, the Rochester Recreation Center, the Mayo Civic Center and Rochester MN Sports, as well as other community leaders, made the announcement on Monday morning at a press conference on the upper level of the Civic Center.
The annual International Ice Hockey Federation World Junior Championship, which features teams comprising the best players from each of 10 countries, will be hosted by Minneapolis and St. Paul in late December this year and early January 2026. The 10 teams will stage — practice and play exhibition games — at outstate sites.
Rochester joins Bemidji and Mankato as pre-tournament host sites. At least one more preliminary location is expected to be announced soon.
"We are very excited about this event and we hope that the community will get behind it," said Matt Esau, the director of Rochester MN Sports, who first began working toward hosting this event nearly two years ago. "Other communities are rolling out the red carpet and we're ready to do that, too. Our rinks, our fans, our community are prepared to make this a highlight of the 2026 World Junior experience.
"Let's show the world why Rochester is more than ready to shine as a hockey destination."
Two teams are expected to call the Rochester Recreation Center home for approximately 10 days in advance of the WJC opening on Dec. 26. The gold medal game is scheduled for Jan. 5, 2026.
The teams will likely move in on or about Dec. 14. Permanent upgrades are being made to four of the Rec Center locker rooms. One team will use those four rooms for the entirety of their stay in Rochester, while another team will move into the Rochester Grizzlies locker room, which already has individual stalls and laundry facilities in place.
The number of games to be played in southern Minnesota, the teams competing here and the dates of those games will be announced this summer, possibly as soon as July. USA Hockey will determine which teams are staged at which sites. Other community events that coincide with the WJC pre-tournament practices and exhibition games will also be announced as the event draws closer.
"When Matt called me back in 2023 and asked me if we'd be interested in being a part of the World Juniors — if it came to Minnesota — I don't think I even let him finish his sentence before I said 'yes, absolutely. We want to be part of this,'" Recreation Center manager Caryn Rooney said. "As someone who grew up playing (hockey) and watching this tournament, I knew how special it would be to be a part of it."
Sandy Sweetser of Minnesota Sports and Events, the Co-Executive Director of the 2026 World Junior Championship, said the economic impact of the event will be felt statewide. MS&E worked with the University of Minnesota, she said, on a study that estimates the impact at $75 million statewide.
Experience Rochester president Joe Ward said this will be a chance for Rochester to show off, not only as a hockey community, but as a city, to visitors from across the world.
"One of the challenges of an event like this is, because the teams (coming to Rochester) are yet to be named and how many associated staff will come, it's difficult to put an exact number on the local economic impact," Ward said. "The bigger thing, from a tourism perspective, is showing Rochester in such a great light to the world. There are many people who will be here, who have never been here before.
"... It's hard to top the World Juniors in the State of Hockey."
The U.S. team will be coached by Austin native and current University of Minnesota head coach Bob Motzko. He coached the U.S. to gold in the WJC in 2017 and a bronze medal in 2018.
The U.S. will enter the 2026 IIHF World Junior Championship as two-time defending gold medalists. According to USA Hockey, Team USA will compete in Group A against Germany, Slovakia, Sweden, and Switzerland in the preliminary round at Xcel Energy Center in Saint Paul. Group B, which includes Canada, Czechia, Denmark, Finland, and Latvia, will play its preliminary round contests at 3M Arena at Mariucci in Minneapolis.
Among the legendary NHL players to have played for their country in the WJC are Wayne Gretzky (Canada), Sidney Crosby (Canada), Alexander Ovechkin (Russia), Zach Parise (U.S.) and Marc-Andre Fleury (Canada).
In more recent years, the names have included Connor Bedard (Canada), Trevor Zegras (U.S.), Cale Makar (Canada) and Casey Mittelstadt (U.S.).
In other words, players who will be NHL stars within the next five to 10 years, or sooner, will play in Rochester and in Minnesota in December.
"I have spent many weekends in Rochester with kids who played soccer and basketball, and this community really does show up and welcome (visitors)," Sweetser said. "I wish I still had a 12-year-old to bring down here to watch.
"This event, it really is unlike anything you're going to experience. It's just ... it's an event where Ovechkin played Crosby in their first-ever matchup. The best Under-20 players in the world will be here. It's a chance for everyone in the State of Hockey to see these kids play."
Rochester has a deep history of hosting national teams and international games.
Perhaps the most famous of those occurred in January 1980, just six weeks before the Herb Brooks-led U.S. Olympic team delivered the Miracle on Ice, as the college-aged U.S. players stunned the Soviet Union in Lake Placid, N.Y. Brooks brought that U.S. team, which included legendary captain Mike Eruzione, goalie Jim Craig and Rochester Mayo graduate Eric Strobel, to Rochester to face a powerful Soviet team (though not the Soviet Union Olympic team) at Graham Arena.
That game was played on Jan. 5, 1980, the 48th game the U.S. played en route to the 1980 Games. According to an account in the next day's Post Bulletin, more than 2,400 fans packed into what is now called Graham Arena I.
Two years later, Rochester was heavily involved in the 1982 World Junior Championship, which ran from Dec. 22, 1981 through Jan. 2, 1982, with Bloomington and Minneapolis as the host sites. The tournament was an eight-team round-robin at that time.
Rochester's Graham Arena hosted the de facto championship game of that tournament on Jan. 2, 1982, when Canada and Czechoslovakia tied 3-3, giving Canada the gold medal and Czechoslovakia the silver.
Finland earned the bronze medal that year, while the Soviet Union placed fourth. The U.S. placed sixth, with a roster that featured future Hall of Famers Chris Chelios, Phil Housley and John Vanbiesbrouck, who is currently the general manager of Team USA and an assistant executive director for hockey operations at USA Hockey. Vanbiesbrouck will work with Motzko to form the U.S. roster for the championship.
The last time the tournament was held in any part of Minnesota occurred in December 2004 and January 2005, when it was hosted at Ralph Engelstad Arena in Grand Forks, N.D., and group-play games were also held in Thief River Falls, Minn.
The Rochester Recreation Center also hosted the U.S. Women's National Team on Friday, Jan. 22, 2010, when it beat the Century High School boys team 2-1 in front of an overflow crowd estimated at close to 3,000, in an exhibition game in the lead-up to that year's Olympic Games, which were held in Vancouver, Canada.
Now Rochester will again take its place on the international stage.
"Rochester's rich hockey tradition, first-class facilities and enthusiastic fans are a perfect reflection of Minnesota's deep hockey roots extending throughout our state," said Wendy Blackshaw, president and CEO of Minnesota Sports and Events, the state's sports commission and tournament host, in partnership with USA Hockey. "We are thrilled to be able to showcase tomorrow's NHL stars on Rochester's home ice, a once-in-a-generation opportunity."
Continue reading...
