Bob Motzko Relied on Previous International Success, Familiarity When Putting Together World Juniors Staff

When Bob Motzko looks down the bench during the 2026 IIHF World Junior Championship, he’ll see plenty of familiar faces. 

Motzko, who was named the U.S. National Junior Team head coach in April, announced a staff of six assistants on Wednesday that reflects his more than 30 years of experience coaching college hockey, as well as his two previous stints leading the U.S. at World Juniors. 

“As you get older in this coaching business, you’ve got to surround yourself with good people, and that’s the first thing we did,” Motzko, who also coaches the men’s team at the University of Minnesota, said in a virtual press conference on Wednesday. “We’ve got a great staff with tremendous amount of success at the international [level], and I couldn’t be more happy with the staff we surrounded ourselves with.” 

The U.S. National Junior Team begins its pursuit of a third consecutive gold medal on Dec. 26 against Germany at 6 p.m. ET at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul. The full tournament schedule can be found here. 

Greg Brown and Steve Miller served as assistant coaches for Motzko at the 2017 and 2018 World Juniors and are both back for this year’s tournament taking place from Dec. 26 to Jan. 5 in Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota. 

The U.S. National Junior Team came back from a two-goal deficit in the gold-medal game against Canada to eventually win the 2017 title in a shootout. A year later, the U.S. earned a bronze medal.

Motzko noted Miller’s been a “constant” at World Juniors. This year’s tournament will mark Miller’s ninth as an assistant, a run that includes helping the U.S. win back-to-back golds the past two years under head coach David Carle.

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On to 2026 on home soil.

Full #WorldJuniors Schedule and Ticket Info: https://t.co/dos18k1CYd pic.twitter.com/pWqTRsy1Mq

— USA Hockey (@usahockey) June 26, 2025

Motzko hired Miller to join him at Minnesota as associate head coach in 2022. 

“He’s got an elephant for a memory,” Motzko said of Miller. “It’s crazy the knowledge that he has, and the experience.”

Though Motzko has never worked with Brown at the collegiate level, they first coached with each other as assistants at World Juniors in 2014 and have been close friends ever since. 

Identifying himself as a “Western guy,” Motzko – a lifelong Minnesotan – said the team needed some “East Coast flair,” which is where Brown comes in. 

A Scituate, Massachusetts, native, Brown recently finished his third season coaching his alma mater, Boston College. His personal relationship with BC forwards James Hagens and Teddy Stiga could come in handy, as both are eligible to return for 2026 after helping the U.S. win gold in January. 

Among Motzko’s assistants, his relationship with Garrett Raboin runs the deepest. The current coach of Augustana University played for Motzko at St. Cloud State from 2006 to 2010 before joining his former coach behind the bench. Raboin went on to be one of Motzko’s assistants for 10 years, following him from St. Cloud to Minnesota in 2017. 

“I know what Garrett can do because I’ve worked with him for so long, and I know he did a terrific job [at World Juniors].”

Raboin has been an assistant at the last two World Junior Championships and will get the chance to win his third straight gold medal. 

David Lassonde will have the same opportunity. Lassonde — the national goaltending coach for USA Hockey — has coached at 16 international events, including the 2022 Winter Olympics. He’s back for another run as the goaltending coach this winter. 

John Vanbiesbrouck, the assistant executive director of hockey operations for USA Hockey, noted that everyone at the National Team Development Program calls Lassonde “OBC: Old Ball Coach” because he loves everything about the game.”

While goaltending is his specialty, Lassonde is an emotionally intelligent coach who connects with any hockey player, Vanbiesbrouck said 

“He’s a professor of the sport; he’s an educator at heart; he’s a teacher on and off the ice,” Vanbiesbrouck said of Lassonde. “What he lends to us is that blend between players and coaches.”

Video coaches Jacob LeRoy and Travis Winter round out the staff. Motzko described LeRoy, the director of hockey operations for the Gophers since 2021, as his “right-hand person” at Minnesota.

Winter, a St. Cloud native who’s the associate head coach at Bemidji State’s, is the only staff member who Motzko’s never worked with before.

“It’s always great when you get to add a new guy to your staff,” Motzko said. “Travis is a terrific young coach that’s doing a great job [at Bemidji State].”

The next step for this staff will be evaluating the U.S. talent pool at the World Junior Summer Showcase, taking place July 25 to Aug. 2 at Ridder Arena in Minneapolis. Tickets are on-sale now. 

When asked what he’ll look for the most out of players during the evaluation process, Motzko emphasized the important of leadership. 

“Who’s going to take hold of the leadership of the group inside from the players, because that carries such a strong message throughout the whole time together,” he said. 

Story from Red Line Editorial, Inc.

U.S. Tournament Schedule

DATE	OPPONENT/ROUND	TIME (LOCAL/ET)	LOCATION	BROADCAST
Fri., Dec. 26	Germany Preliminary Round	5:08 p.m./6:08 p.m.	Xcel Energy Center Saint Paul, Minn.	NHL Network
Sat., Dec. 27	Switzerland Preliminary Round	5:08 p.m./6:08 p.m.	Xcel Energy Center Saint Paul, Minn.	NHL Network
Mon., Dec. 29	Slovakia Preliminary Round	5:08 p.m./6:08 p.m.	Xcel Energy Center Saint Paul, Minn.	NHL Network
Wed., Dec. 31	Sweden Preliminary Round	5:08 p.m./6:08 p.m.	Xcel Energy Center Saint Paul, Minn.	NHL Network
Fri., Jan. 2	TBD Quarterfinals	TBD	Xcel Energy Center Saint Paul, Minn.	NHL Network
Sun., Jan. 4	TBD Semifinals	3:38 p.m./4:38 p.m.	Xcel Energy Center Saint Paul, Minn.	NHL Network
Mon., Jan. 5	TBD Bronze Medal Game	3:38 p.m./4:38 p.m.	Xcel Energy Center Saint Paul, Minn.	NHL Network
	TBD Gold Medal Game	7:38 p.m./8:38 p.m.	Xcel Energy Center Saint Paul, Minn.	NHL Network

Source: usahockey.com