By USA Hockey, 07/22/25, 12:00PM EDT
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – The 2025 World Junior Summer Showcase, which will include teams from the U.S., Canada, Finland and Sweden, begins Sunday (July 27) and runs through August 2 at Ridder Arena in Minneapolis.
The Showcase serves as an evaluation for athletes seeking to make their respective national teams for the 2026 IIHF World Junior Hockey Championship which will take place Dec. 26, 2025, through Jan. 5, 2026, in Saint Paul and Minneapolis, Minnesota.
SHOWCASE FEATURES 11 GAMES
The World Junior Summer Showcase features 11 international games and tickets are available by clicking HERE. In addition, all games from the Showcase will stream live at USAHockeyTV.com.
“We’re excited to bring the World Junior Summer Showcase to Minnesota” said John Vanbiesbrouck, general manager of the U.S. National Junior Team and also assistant executive director of hockey operations for USA Hockey. “It provides us a great opportunity to evaluate our players, and is also a chance for fans to see so many of the future stars of the NHL.”
FABER, LaCOMBE TO SERVE AS ALUMNI AMBASSADORS
Brock Faber (Maple Grove, Minn./Minnesota Wild) and Jackson LaCombe (Eden Prairie, Minn./Anaheim Ducks) will be on the ice for select practices and also behind the bench for select games during the Showcase, serving as Alumni Ambassadors. Both Faber and LaCombe were part of the gold medal-winning 2021 U.S. National Junior Team in the IIHF World Junior Championship. LaCombe also helped Team USA win gold in the 2025 IIHF Men’s World Championship, only the second gold medal ever won by the U.S. in the event and first since 1933. Faber was part of the 2022 U.S. Olympic Men’s Ice Hockey Team and also played for Team USA in this past February’s 4 Nations Face-Off.
“We’re excited to have Brock and Jackson be around our players and staff,” said Bob Motzko(Austin, Minn.), head coach of the 2026 U.S. National Junior Team and also the head men’s ice hockey coach at the University of Minnesota. “They know what it takes to win on the international stage and I know our group will enjoy engaging with both of them.”
For the full Showcase schedule, click HERE.
NOTES: Tickets for the 2026 IIHF World Junior Championship are on sale now and can be purchased by click HERE. The event will be staged at the Xcel Energy Center, home of the NHL’s Minnesota Wild, and 3M Arena at Mariucci, home of the University of Minnesota men’s ice hockey team … The 2026 IIHF World Junior Championship will mark the 50th anniversary of the tournament … Team USA has won the last two gold medals in the World Juniors and has medaled in eight of the last 10 tournaments … A total of nine players from the gold medal-winning 2025 U.S. National Junior Team have an opportunity to return in 2026, including defenseman Logan Hensler (Woodbury, Minn./University of Wisconsin), Cole Hutson (North Barrington, Ill./Boston University) and Adam Kleber (Chaska, Minn./University of Minnesota Duluth), along with forwards Trevor Connelly (Tustin, Calif./Providence College), Cole Eiserman (Newburyport, Mass./Boston University), James Hagens (Hauppauge, N.Y./Boston College), Max Plante(Hermantown, Minn./University of Minnesota Duluth), Teddy Stiga (Sudbury, Mass./Boston College) and Brodie Ziemer (Hutchinson, Minn./University of Minnesota) … The 43 players invited by USA Hockey to the World Junior Summer Showcase include nine first-round NHL draft picks, 13 second-round choices and five third-round picks. All but three players have been drafted.
Tag(s): News WJSS Men's World Juniors Home 2026 World Juniors
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