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BECKONS BECKONS 2025 2024 2021 2017 2013 2010 2004 PHOTOS BY Getty Images; Images On Ice That's what aspirations for a Team USA gold medal were founded on in the early years of the IIHF World Junior Championship, according to Bob Motzko, head coach of the U.S. National Junior Team. Nowadays, winning gold is expected as the coveted Under-20 international hockey tournament returns to American soil Dec. 26 through Jan. 5, 2026, in St. Paul and Minneapolis, Minnesota. "That's how far USA Hockey has come," said Motzko, the University of Minnesota head coach who is at the helm of the U.S. National Junior Team for a third time. "We're in a position where our players know what to do. Our players have played on the international stage, and they are driven to be in this tourna - ment. It's just in the blood now. "There comes expectations for USA Hockey." Coming off back-to-back gold medals for the first time in USA Hockey history, the U.S. National Junior Team is focused on a three-peat—something that hasn't been done since Canada won the last of five straight in 2009. Further, the U.S. is attempting to win a gold medal at World Juniors on home soil for the first time in the orga- nization's history. "You want to do it in your home country," James Hagens said. "As fun as it was when we did it over in Canada (at the 2025 World Juniors in Ottawa), it means a lot when you're on your own soil. "You don't want to stand on that blue line and hear a different country's national anthem." "A HOPE AND A PRAYER." k James Hagens and Cole Eiserman helped lead the U.S. National Junior Team to a gold medal in 2025.