Table of Contents
DULUTH — One of Duluth’s signature youth hockey weekends will reach a major milestone in December.
The 50th annual Spirit of Duluth Hockey Tournament is scheduled for Dec. 4-6, bringing a deep field of teams from Minnesota, North Dakota and Canada to Duluth for three days of competition in Junior Gold, Bantam, PeeWee and Squirt divisions.
The tournament field includes many of Minnesota’s most established youth hockey programs, along with teams from Grand Forks and West Fargo, North Dakota, and Thunder Bay, Ontario.
The Junior Gold division will feature eight teams: Blaine, Duluth, Minnetonka, Prior Lake, Rosemount, Stillwater, Thunder Bay and White Bear Lake.
Rosemount enters as the defending Junior Gold champion after winning the division in 2025. Minnetonka won the championship in 2024, while Rosemount also captured the title in 2023.
The Bantam division will have a 16-team field consisting of Andover, Blaine, Centennial, Duluth East, Edina, Elk River, Grand Rapids, Hermantown, Minnetonka, Moorhead, Osseo-Maple Grove Hockey Association, Prior Lake, Rogers, Wayzata, White Bear Lake and Woodbury.
Minnetonka won the 2025 Bantam AA championship. Grand Forks won in 2024, and Moorhead captured the title in 2023.
The PeeWee field also includes 16 teams: Andover, Blaine, Centennial, Chaska/Chanhassen, Duluth East, Edina, Grand Forks, Grand Rapids, Hermantown, Minnetonka, Moorhead, Osseo-Maple Grove Hockey Association, Prior Lake, Wayzata, West Fargo and White Bear Lake.
Osseo-Maple Grove won the PeeWee AA championship in 2025, ending a two-year run by Minnetonka, which won the division in both 2023 and 2024.
The Squirt division will include 12 teams: Centennial, Duluth East, Elk River, Hermantown, Minnetonka, Moorhead, Osseo-Maple Grove Hockey Association, Prior Lake, Stillwater, Wayzata, White Bear Lake and Woodbury.
Hastings won the Squirt championship in 2025. Woodbury Royal won consecutive tournament titles in 2023 and 2024.
The field gives Duluth-area hockey fans a strong local presence throughout the tournament. Duluth or Duluth East teams will compete in all four divisions, while Hermantown will have teams in the Bantam, PeeWee and Squirt fields. Grand Rapids will compete in Bantam and PeeWee.
The tournament also will offer another early-season measuring stick for many of Minnesota’s top youth programs. Minnetonka, Prior Lake and White Bear Lake are represented in all four divisions, while several other prominent associations will send multiple teams to Duluth.
The Spirit of Duluth has grown during its five decades into a December tradition that combines high-level youth hockey with one of the state’s strongest hockey communities.
This year’s tournament carries additional significance.
Fifty years after the event began, another large collection of players, coaches and families will arrive in Duluth for a weekend built around the sport that has long been part of the city’s identity. The puck drops Dec. 4.
