Assist26 partners with CSS and UMD for youth hockey clinic in Proctor

The 2026 IIHF World Junior Championship is coming to the Twin Cities in December, and building up to the tournament, Assist26 and Minnesota Sports and Events are holding various clinics across the state to get more kids into the game.

The first clinic was on Thursday, October 16 in Proctor, featuring an 8U learn-to-play portion and a 12U girls skills development portion. Coaches and players from St. Scholastica and UMD came out to work with the youth players during the clinic.

Andrea Graham, who works with Assist26 through MNSE and is the co-executive director of the 2026 IIHF World Juniors, says these types of events help fuel the passion for the game and shows young players all the ways they can use their passion for hockey in the future.

“I think it is so valuable to show these young girls that there is really so many platforms that you can take your talent, you can do so many things. You can go on to play, you can become a coach, you can go on to specialize in certain skills or team ops. And so really, it’s just again shows them the wider variety of opportunities to follow their passion for hockey,” said Graham.

The first games of the 2026 IIHF World Juniors will begin on December 26 with games being played at Grand Casino Arena in St. Paul and 3M Arena at Mariucci in Minneapolis.