Bob Motzko, the Minnesota Gophers head coach who has been tabbed to lead Team USA’s attempt at a gold medal three-peat in the coming World Junior Hockey Championship, will have a team of friends and rivals on his side.
On Wednesday, USA Hockey announced the full coaching staff for the Americans, who will be the host nation for the tournament, to be played in St. Paul and Minneapolis starting on Dec. 26.
Boston College head coach Greg Brown, Gophers assistant coach Steve Miller, Augustana (S.D.) head coach Garrett Raboin and goalie coach David Lassonde will do the on-ice work, while Jacob LeRoy and Travis Winter will serve as video coaches.
Miller was the no-brainer addition to the staff, having been a part of the Team USA staff for eight of the past nine World Juniors tournaments, which has included a bronze medal, a silver medal and four golds. John Vanbiesbrouck, the American team’s general manager, has joked that at some point, USA Hockey will have to erect a statue to honor Miller for all of his work with World Juniors teams over the years.
Raboin played for Motzko at St. Cloud State and coached alongside him with the Huskies and Gophers. Brown, who led the Eagles to the 2024 Frozen Four title game in just his second season on the job at his alma mater, is a former two-time U.S. Olympian.
Lassonde is USA Hockey’s national goaltending coach. LeRoy serves as the Gophers hockey operations director, while Winter is a men’s assistant coach at Bemidji State.
Motzko previously coached Team USA to a World Juniors gold medal in 2017, and a bronze in 2018. This will be the second time the Twin Cities has hosted the event, which is considered the biggest international hockey tournament outside the Olympics. Tickets for the tournament, which is celebrating 50 years in 2026, are currently on sale at the IIHF website.
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