DULUTH — The United States began its quest for a third consecutive gold medal late Monday afternoon at Amsoil Arena ahead of the 2026 IIHF World Junior Championship in Minneapolis and St. Paul.
No one remains from the 2024 U.S. National Junior Team that won gold in Sweden, and only nine players from the 2025 squad that won gold in Ottawa were on the ice for the first of six scheduled practices this week in Duluth.
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What the 30-man preliminary roster does have are 16 members of the 2024 U.S. Under-18 Men’s National Team that lost to Canada in the gold medal game of the 2024 IIHF U18 Men’s World Championship in Finland.
That’s why the 2026 World Juniors isn’t about three-peating; Monday was the start of a redemption tour for Team USA.
“For a lot of us, that was the first time hockey got real, those first two years at the NTDP,” said USA forward Brendan McMorrow, a Lakeville, Minnesota, native and Los Angeles Kings draft pick who played at the USA Hockey National Team Development Program before joining Denver this season. “We worked so hard with that goal in mind.
"We went into the third up one, and it all just came crashing down. For us to lose in that fashion, it still hurts. For us to get another crack at it with the guys the same age as us, it’s just really special. It’s still nightmare fuel for us, and we’ll use that going into the tournament.”
Bulldogs Hockey Bulldog Insider: Kleber previews 2026 World Juniors in Minnesota Team USA's big man on the blue line, UMD defenseman Adam Kleber, previews the upcoming 2026 World Junior Championship that is coming to Duluth, Minneapolis and St. Paul in December and January.
The U.S. lost to Canada 6-4 in the final of the 2024 U18 Worlds after beating Slovakia, Norway, Latvia and Finland by a combined 33-7 in the preliminary round, and then Switzerland and Slovakia by a combined 11-2 in the quarterfinals and semifinals.
The Americans outshot Canada in the gold medal game 35-25, and led 3-1 in the second period before the Canadians scored four-straight power-play goals. Three of those power-play goals came in the third period after Trevor Connolly — here in Minnesota for a second consecutive World Juniors — was ejected from the game for head contact.
“It definitely left a bad taste in our mouth,” said USA defenseman EJ Emery, a sophomore at North Dakota and 2024 first-round pick of the New York Rangers. “It’s something that doesn’t leave your mind. It’s something you think about every time you’re training. It’s special that we get to redeem that.”
The United States and Canada are not scheduled to play in the preliminary round of this year’s World Juniors. If they meet in Minnesota, it will be in the knockout rounds.
Hermantown’s Max Plante, the NCAA’s leading scorer with 30 points in 20 games at Minnesota Duluth, was on the U18 team that lost to Canada and last year’s U.S. junior team that won gold. He told the News Tribune’s Bulldog Insider Podcast during a recording for an upcoming episode that the goal for this year’s team is to win gold, and he doesn’t really care if the U.S. meets Canada in the tournament.
The United States doesn’t need to beat Canada for redemption, however, it’d be really fun to play the Canadians on American soil, Plante said.
“I want to play them bad. I hate Canada so much, just based off our U18 year,” said Plante, a 2024 second-round pick of the Detroit Red Wings. “We knew we had a better team. We showed up. We just took too many penalties and they capitalized on the opportunities. That's what drives our group. We really want to show that we want to win as a group together, because we had a lot of success in past tournaments, and now we get one last draw.”
Of the 16 players who were part of Team USA for the 2024 U18 Worlds, 14 were teammates for two seasons at the USA Hockey NTDP in Plymouth, Michigan. Plante is one of the nine players and eight NTDP alumni trying to make the U.S. National Junior Team — and win gold — for a second year in a row, while McMorrow and Emery are trying to make their first World Juniors roster.
Plante has said he wants to win the 2026 World Juniors so his former NTDP teammates, like Emery and McMorrow, can get a gold medal. The teenagers — typically high school juniors and seniors — who play together for two seasons at “The Program” in Plymouth form a special bond that they say is tough to explain to those who have not gone through it.
“It’s obviously special,” said Emery, who grew up in Compton, California. “When you’re with someone 24/7 for two years, it’s hard to not be close with them. We have a special connection every time we get together.”
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Practice report
Team USA gathered together in St. Paul on Sunday before making the trip to Duluth on Monday morning. They practiced for a little over 90 minutes late Monday afternoon at Amsoil Arena.
All 30 players were present at the start of practice; however, forward James Hagens, out of Boston College, and defenseman Asher Barnett of Michigan collided at center ice during a drill. Both left practice and did not return, with Barnett suffering a cut to his face. USA Hockey’s Dave Fischer said both are OK and expected back at practice Tuesday.
The Bulldogs’ Plante connected with North Dakota’s Will Zellers on a highlight reel goal during drills and later led the team through some post-practice pushups. Plante practiced on a line that included the only professional on the roster, Connolly, of the AHL’s Henderson Silver Knights, and Michigan State’s Ryker Lee.
Plante’s UMD teammate, 6-foot-6 defenseman Adam Kleber, found himself paired with another high-scoring, offensive-minded defenseman in Boston University’s Cole Hutson on Monday. Hutson and Bulldogs sophomore defenseman Ty Hanson are part of a three-way tie for second in scoring among defensemen in the NCAA.
Sports Organizers have high hopes for World Juniors tournament The weeklong tournament will feature the world’s best international juniors teams from 10 countries including the U.S. and Canada Bulldogs Hockey Proctor goalie could join Plante, Kleber at World Juniors UMD sophomores Max Plante and Adam Kleber will be joined by future Bulldogs goalie A.J. Reyelts of Proctor on Team USA's preliminary roster for the 2026 World Junior Championship in Minnesota. Sports Mural created for upcoming international hockey tournament honors Indigenous land The mural is titled “Land of 10,000 Rinks.” It features vibrant colors of orange as the main backdrop and a yellow sun as a centerpiece Bulldogs Hockey Amsoil Arena to host Team USA prior to 2026 World Juniors The United States, Finland and Germany will face off in pretournament games at Amsoil Arena in Duluth prior to the 2026 IIHF World Junior Championship in Minneapolis and St. Paul. Comments By Matt Wellens Co-host of the Bulldog Insider Podcast and college hockey reporter for the Duluth News Tribune covering the Minnesota Duluth men's and women's hockey programs.
