DENVER – University of Denver hockey freshman forward Brendan McMorrow is helping the United States defend its gold medal at the 2026 IIHF World Junior Championship.
 
McMorrow, 19, is one of 25 players that was named to the Americans' final roster on Dec. 24 for this year's under-20 tournament on home soil in St. Paul and Minneapolis, Minnesota. The U.S. National Junior Team has never won when hosting the event but has won each of the last two World Juniors, when the squad was guided by DU Richard and Kitzia Goodman Hockey Head Coach David Carle.
 
The annual tournament runs from Dec. 26-Jan. 5, with Team USA in Group A with Germany, Slovakia, Sweden and Switzerland. The U.S. is playing all of its preliminary-round contests at Grand Casino Arena, home of the NHL's Minnesota Wild. The University of Minnesota's 3M Arena at Mariucci is the other host site.
 
McMorrow owns seven points on two goals and five assists in 17 NCAA games this season with the Pioneers, and he's also added 22 shots ,four penalty minutes and a plus-6 rating. The right wing made his college debut on Oct. 17 at Lindenwood and recorded his first career point by scoring on Oct. 24 at Boston College. He also tallied on Dec. 6 against Miami.
 
The Lakeville, Minnesota, native joined Denver after playing for the Waterloo Black Hawks of the United States Hockey League in 2024-25 and following a two-year stint with the U.S. National Team Development Program in Plymouth, Michigan, from 2022-2024. He compiled 74 total points (38g/36a) in 121 career games with the NTDP.
 
McMorrow represented the United States and won gold medals at the 2022 World Under-17 Hockey Challenge (1g/5a) and 2024 World Junior-A Challenge (2g/5a). He also earned a silver medal while playing in all seven games at the 2024 IIHF U18 World Championships
 
He was selected by the Los Angeles Kings this past summer in the seventh round at No. 196 overall in the 2025 NHL Draft.
 
The IIHF World Junior Championship is back on U.S. soil for the first time since Buffalo, New York, hosted the event in 2018. Team USA has won seven World Junior Championships, with each coming since 2004. Led by Carle, the Americans won consecutive gold medals in 2024 in Sweden and 2025 in Canada for the first time in the country's history.
 
All United States games in the tournament will be broadcast on NHL Network.
 
Team USA Schedule
Friday, Dec. 26 vs. Germany – 4 p.m. MT
Saturday, Dec. 27 vs. Switzerland – 4 p.m. MT
Monday, Dec. 29 vs. Slovakia – 4 p.m. MT
Wednesday, Dec. 31 vs. Sweden – 4 p.m. MT
Friday, Jan. 2, Quarterfinals – TBD
Sunday, Jan. 4, Semifinals – 2:30 p.m. MT
Monday, Jan. 5, Gold/Bronze Medal Games – 2:30/6:30 p.m. MT