The team, led by U20 national coach Tobias Abstreiter, will begin their World Championship preparations in a few days. The IIHF U20 World Championship 2026 will take place from December 26, 2025, to January 5, 2026, in Minneapolis and Saint Paul, USA. On Thursday, December 11, 2025, the team will depart from Munich Airport, traveling via Chicago and Saint Paul to Duluth, Minnesota. This will be the first stop on the U20 men's preparation tour. In addition to various training sessions, meetings, and team-building activities, the schedule includes two exhibition games: one against the Young Talent teams from Finland and the other against the host nation, the USA.
World Cup preparation schedule
20.12.2025 | 02:00 (German time) | Finland – Germany
21.12.2025 | 23:00 (German time) | USA – Germany
Livestream: https://usahockeytv.com/
U20 squad and coaching team
U20 national coach Tobias Abstreiter will travel to the USA with three goalkeepers, eight defensemen, and 15 forwards. The coaching staff around Tobias Abstreiter consists of Jochen Molling (assistant coach), Patrick Strauch (assistant coach), Luca Endres (goalkeeper coach), and Christian Bachmann (strength and conditioning coach).
Click here for the current U20 squad:
https://www.deb-online.de/u20-maenner-nationalmannschaft/
World Cup group stage in Saint Paul
After the two preparation games, the roster will be reduced by one position, so the German Young Talent team will start the 2026 IIHF U20 World Championship in Saint Paul with 25 players. There, on Saturday, December 27, the USA will be Germany's opening opponent, as they were last year. Besides the North American hosts, Slovakia, Sweden, and Switzerland are Germany's other preliminary round opponents (Group A). DEBThe team will play all group matches at the Grand Casino Arena in Saint Paul.
U20 national coach Tobias Abstreiter“Our roster selection is based on performances in recent training camps and international matches, the players' current form, and the role they can play on our team. Experience is also a key factor: Twelve players who were already part of last year's World Championship squad are back again – this experience provides us with stability. The roster consists of a balanced mix of players with experience in the PENNY DEL, the DEL2, and various North American leagues. Nearly half the team is currently active in North America, so we can benefit from their experience on the smaller ice and the associated playing styles. In the two exhibition games against Finland and the USA, we want to work intensively on further developing our special teams. At the same time, these games offer us the opportunity to optimize our lines, define roles more clearly, and further solidify the team as a cohesive unit.”
U20 World Cup Preliminary Round Schedule / Group A
27.12.2025 | 00:00 (German time) | Germany - USA
December 27.12.2025, 20 | 00:XNUMX PM (German time) | Slovakia – Germany
29.12.2025 | 19:00 (German time) | Germany - Sweden
December 30.12.2025, 20 | 00:XNUMX PM (German Time) | Switzerland – Germany
Further information can be found on the tournament website of the International Ice Hockey Federation:
https://www.iihf.com/en/events/2026/wm20/
The World Cup games of the German U20 national team will be broadcast live and free of charge on MagentaSport.