Seven Minnesotans will skate for the U.S. in the upcoming Junior World Ice Hockey Championships
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On Wednesday, USA Hockey named the 25 players who made the 2026 U.S. National Junior Team. The team is chosen from the best under-20 players from around the country and will represent the United States in the 2026 World Junior Championship tournament starting Friday in St. Paul.
This year’s roster includes four Minnesotans who were part of last year’s gold medal-winning team. Defensemen Logan Hensler of Woodbury and Adam Kleber of Chaska will return to represent the United States, as will forwards Max Plante of Hermantown and Brodie Ziemer of Chaska.
New to the team this year is forward Brendan McMorrow of Lakeville. Goalie Caleb Heil of Victoria and Will Zellers, a forward from Maple Grove, also made the cut.
All seven are currently committed to or playing hockey at colleges across the country, and all have been drafted by NHL teams.
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Players who had been named to the preliminary roster spent the last two weeks auditioning at a camp in Duluth.
“It's always difficult to settle on our final roster and that's a credit to the great players we have in our country and all those that have supported them along the way. We're excited about playing at home this year in the World Juniors and we look forward to getting the tournament started on Friday,” said John Vanbiesbrouck, general manager of the 2026 U.S. National Junior Team.
Team USA will be led by Gophers’ coach Bob Motzko, who was named back in April. The team will practice together in St. Paul on Christmas Day before the tournament begins.
The tournament runs from Dec. 26 through Jan. 5. The team will play an early matchup on Friday at 5 p.m. against Germany at Grand Casino Arena in St. Paul.
