The holiday season winding down means the World Junior Championship is also soon coming to a close.
The IIHF World Junior Championship is an annual, two-week tournament featuring the world’s premier under-20 players. Many current and former NHLers have become household names after playing in this event, ringing especially true for Kraken captain Jordan Eberle.
Four Seattle Kraken prospects have participated in this year’s tournament: Julius Miettinen and Kim Saarinen for Finland, Loke Krantz for Sweden, and Jakub Fibigr for Czechia.
While the participating players have been showing out for their home nations, things haven’t been going swimmingly in the Twin Cities when it comes to attendance.
Group A, which included the U.S., played at Grand Casino Arena in St. Paul, home of the Minnesota Wild. Canada’s Group B competed at 3M Arena in Minneapolis, home of the NCAA’s Minnesota Golden Gophers.
Games involving the United States drew relatively strong crowds, averaging about 13,500 fans per game, but attendance for other nations has lagged. Some games have drawn just 28 percent of capacity, prompting online questions about the future of the event in the United States.
The U.S. has hosted the tournament three times since 2005, twice in Buffalo, N.Y., and once split between North Dakota and Minnesota.
The 2018 tournament in Buffalo saw Canada outdraw U.S. games at KeyBank Center, with the Canada–Sweden gold medal game the only contest to draw more than 10,000 spectators (not counting the USA–Canada outdoor game).
What might be contributing is the tournament being predominantly CHL-driven. In a historically college-dominated region like Minnesota, it might be difficult for local fans to keep track of all of the players and teams involved, since many top prospects play in Canadian markets with less U.S. media coverage.
No U.S. market will ever truly match the intensity and devotion of Canadian markets, which have hosted the tournament a record 17 times and will host two of the next three.
But if there’s a region in the U.S. with the junior hockey foothold and infrastructure to replicate that atmosphere, it’s Seattle and the Pacific Northwest, which has previously attempted to attract the tournament.
The U.S. won’t host the tournament again for at least three years, with host locations set through the 2028–29 season, which leaves ample time to begin building the case for the Pacific Northwest as the next host region.
The Seattle area venues
There are many great venues in the region that could be enticing host sites. The obvious flagship would have to be Climate Pledge Arena in downtown Seattle (home of the Kraken and Torrent), which holds 17,151 spectators for hockey. It would bring in the NHL and WHL crowds, as the Seattle Thunderbirds called it home from 1989 to 2008, and the two local WHL teams have played each other there once a year for the last five years.
Typically, the host country’s group plays in the larger venue, with the other group playing in the secondary venue. The U.S. at CPA sure would be a sight to behold.
The two other WHL venues would offer similar amenities for the other group as well.
Angel of the Winds Arena in Everett is an unmatched setting for WHL games, with a seating capacity of 8,149. About 45 minutes north of Seattle, Silvertips fans consistently pack the arena during the season. Complete with deafening cowbells that add to the intimate experience, it’s a unique environment in which to watch a game.
Everett is also about an hour south of the Canadian border, well located to draw fans in the Vancouver metro area and beyond to make their way down.
There’s also a second ice rink attached to the arena that could be used for team practices.
Accesso ShoWare Center in Kent is another facility that could be used for the event. About 30 minutes south of Seattle, the Thunderbirds always have the venue rocking no matter the year.
The horseshoe-like footprint of ShoWare might make it challenging for visiting fans to maneuver, but given its proximity to Sea-Tac Airport, it would offer added ease of access for visiting fans and media flying in.
Practice venues include the aforementioned rink attached to Angel of the Winds Arena, Kraken Community Iceplex, and various other rinks throughout the Seattle metro area.
Other possible hosts
The IIHF doesn’t strictly limit itself when it comes to proximity of the buildings used. The event usually stays within the same general region, but it does branch out from time to time and utilize venues that are farther away from each other. Right now, it’s in the Minneapolis–St. Paul region, with the two cities about 15 minutes apart, but in 2026, Edmonton and Red Deer, Alb. will share hosting duties despite being almost two hours apart.
Strong arguments also exist for other venues, such as Numerica Veterans Arena in Spokane or the Toyota Center in Kennewick. Both cities offer excellent facilities and top-tier fanbases who consistently show their support. There’s also a compelling case to include Portland, or even having the Rose City serve as the primary host city on its own, given its two venues and the strength of its fan base.
But Seattle and Everett makes the most sense. It would offer ease of coordination for the event, with other factors to consider like transportation accessibility, arena availability, and things to do in the area.
There are some challenges and work-arounds too with hosting a tournament like this. If done in an NHL city, often the NHL team goes on a prolonged road trip. The Wild had a seven-game road trip to accommodate the tournament this season. That would be something to consider for the Kraken.
But what do you think? Where would you like to see World Juniors games played if they came here?
I would love to see this happen and would definitely make as many games as possible.
Curious if a Vancouver/Seattle co bid would be too much for them to turn down. I mean Portland would be great for Portland but make it Vancouver and you have double the hockey fans and a bigger pool of large venues. Possibly wouldn’t even need the 7 game road trip.
I am wondering that as well. Seattle and Vancouver are nearer to one another than Edmonton and Red Deer are, and there are suitable arenas in between them at Everett and Abbotsford. In this small area there are two NHL arenas, an AHL arena, and several WHL arenas as well as various practice facilities. On top of that, there are two major airports and an international population with some disposable income. That would seem to me to be an easy sell.
Seattle was a finalist for this year’s world juniors but ultimately MSP won out. I’ve heard Tampa is always in the mix.
Tampa? Gross
I was hearing some banter on one of the pods about the attendance and how a poor showing could be the end of a US bid for a long time. Unfortunately, I don’t think Team USA’s early exit helped.
I think Nino’s proposition of a joint Seattle/ Vancouver bid sounds like a great idea.
Seattle/Vancouver would be amazing.
During the last portion of the Sweden/Finland game (😢🇫🇮), the commentators ran through the list of upcoming hosts. It sounded like the actual locations have been determined for the next 3(?) tournaments, but they had a list of countries that went out several more years. They mentioned US for 2032.
As a Canadian living in the Lower Mainland in BC, even with the proximity to Seattle, I still wouldn’t cross the border to watch Team Canada games. I think quite a few International travelers probably feel the same way.
Why not? It is an easy trip, and the border guards work fast, especially if you have a passport. My wife and I occasionally do day trips across the border when we find something to do. Then you have the option of taking the train or the Victoria Clipper. The only bad experience we have ever had crossing the border was from Alaska to the Yukon, and that was only because the guards did a thorough enough inspection that they had to open my wife’s toy box. At least they were polite enough to not comment on its contents.
😂
This could possibly be the best post ever on SOH.
Scott I’m an expat living in Seattle and honestly it’s nothing to worry about. It’s not Trump Land like many parts of the country, just suck it up and be willing to cross the border. I completely understand and respect our fellow Canadians not wanting to support the current government BUT most of Washington State doesn’t as well. It’s not a bad drive and if that’s not the problem you need to get over the feeling that all Americans are the same.
He may be more concerned with the behavior of the American border guards toward foreigners. They do have something of a reputation these days. That should come as no surprise given the type of people they like to hire. I mean, have you seen those TV recruitment advertisements for ICE? Just imagine the kind of people they would appeal to–not exactly the sane and stable type.
You need not look any further than whom Seattle elected as its new mayor to know which direction the citizens want their political leaders.
Agreed. All those people who think that it’s an issue of passports or think that Seattle being fairly liberal negates any fears is ignoring what the Trump regime has been doing when it comes to border control and treatment of foreign residents and visitors. It also ignores the fact that, regardless of who the Pacific NW supports politically, a lot of Canadians aren’t interested in doing anything to support the US economically in the wake of tariffs that violate international agreements and all the talk of the 51st state.
id love to see the world juniors played in Portland Veterans Memorial Coliseum (home of the winterhawks) seats 12,000