Bob Motzko named Team USA coach for World Junior Championships in Minnesota

ST. PAUL, Minn. (FOX 9) - Minnesota is the host for the 2026 World Junior Hockey Championships, and the head coach for Team USA is a name familiar to local hockey fans.

USA Hockey officials announced Tuesday that Bob Motzko will be the head coach. He led Team USA to a gold medal at the 2017 World Junior Championships, and to a bronze medal in 2018. FOX 9 Sports Director Jim Rich hinted that Motzko would be the hire Monday night on social media.

"We’re fortunate to have someone with Bob’s level of experience coaching our team on home soil," said John Vanbiesbrouck, general manager of Team USA and assistant executive director for hockey operations at USA Hockey, in a statement. "Having guided our teams to medals on two other occasions in the World Juniors, he knows what it takes to have success, and we’re excited to have him leading our team."

Motzko’s tenure

Why you should care:

Motzko just finished his seventh season as the Gophers men’s hockey coach and has a 161-82-21 record over that time. He led the Gophers to the NCAA Tournament this season, which ended in a first round overtime exit to UMass.

 Motzko spent 13 seasons as the head coach at St. Cloud State before taking over for Don Lucia at Minnesota. He has 437 wins as a collegiate head coach.

Tuesday’s announcement

What we know:

USA Hockey unveiled Motzko as the head coach for the 2026 World Junior Championships at a 5:30 p.m. news conference at Xcel Energy Center. Minnesota is the host for the event, with sites being the home of the Minnesota Wild and 3M Arena at Mariucci, the home of the Gophers. The Tournament will go from Dec. 26, 2025, to Jan. 5, 2026.

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. 

Vanbiesbrouck made the announcement official. He was joined by St. Paul Mayor Melvin Carter, Wild owner Craig Leipold, former NHL star and hall-of-famer Mike Modano and Wendy Blacksaw, the CEO of Minnesota Sports and Events.