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BEMIDJI 鈥� Travis Winter wasn鈥檛 expecting to get the call, but he wasn鈥檛 surprised he got it either.

On Wednesday, USA Hockey announced that Bemidji State鈥檚 men鈥檚 hockey associate head coach would serve on the American bench as an assistant for the 2026 IIHF World Junior Championship. Winter got the call from head coach Bob Motzko 鈥渁 few weeks ago.鈥�

Winter will officially serve as a video coach. Boston College's Greg Brown, Augustana's Garrett Raboin, USA Hockey's David Lassonde and Minnesota's Steve Miller and Jacob LeRoy are also on staff.

鈥淚鈥檓 very grateful for the opportunity,鈥� Winter said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 very exciting. Anytime you can participate in a tournament like that and represent your country, it鈥檚 something that you don鈥檛 want to take for granted. You get excited for it; how can you not?鈥�

The World Junior Championship begins in the Twin Cities on Dec. 26 at the Xcel Energy Center and at the University of Minnesota鈥檚 3M Arena at Mariucci. The WJC runs through Jan. 5, 2026.

Winter will get the best of both worlds when the calendar flips to 2026. While Bemidji State typically plays a series on the second weekend in December, and on the first weekend in January (or a New Year鈥檚 Eve game), the Beavers are off from Dec. 6 to Jan. 9.

Scheduling luck allows Winter to serve on Team USA鈥檚 staff with the potential of not missing a BSU game, save for an exhibition against the Gophers on Jan. 2.

More importantly for Winter, with the WJC being in Minnesota, it鈥檒l become a family event for the St. Cloud native.

Courtesy / Brent Cizek Photography

鈥淚t鈥檚 the State of Hockey, and our state鈥檚 going to knock it out of the park with how they handle it,鈥� Winter said. 鈥淭hey鈥檙e going to put on a great show. It鈥檒l be an experience I get to share with my family, with it being in the Twin Cities. They鈥檒l get to be a part of it, too, which is special.鈥�

Winter will enter his 12th season on the Beavers鈥� staff this fall. He was an assistant head coach for eight seasons, then spent the last three seasons with the title of associate head coach under Tom Serratore.

Winter played for BSU from 2005-09, serving as a captain in his final two seasons. After he graduated, Winter was hired as an assistant for the Cedar Rapids RoughRiders in the United States Hockey League for four seasons, then spent a year as the head coach for the North American Hockey League鈥檚 Aberdeen Wings in 2013-14

Winter came back to Bemidji State in 2015 for his first season as an assistant, and he hasn鈥檛 left since.

鈥淚 think this honor is a testament to the respect of our program, what people think of our program and the things we鈥檝e been able to accomplish over the years,鈥� Winter said.

Motzko is one of college hockey鈥檚 most revered coaches. Since being hired by Minnesota prior to the 2018-19 season, he鈥檚 posted a record of 161-82-21. Combined with his previous 13 seasons at St. Cloud State, Motzko has a career record of 437-274-70, with 13 trips to the NCAA Tournament, including three Frozen Four appearances.

Motzko replaces Denver鈥檚 David Carle as Team USA鈥檚 WJC head coach. Carle led the Americans to back-to-back WJC titles in each of the last two tournaments.

鈥�(Motzko) asked if I鈥檇 be interested in helping out and went over the expectations for different roles,鈥� Winter said. 鈥淗e asked if I鈥檇 be comfortable doing that, and I said, 鈥榊eah, of course.鈥�

鈥淚 don鈥檛 know if you ever expect that call to come. With Bob being the head coach and being part of his circle in the hockey world, you鈥檙e kind of thinking you might get a call. But there鈥檚 a lot of other qualified guys, so you don鈥檛 spend too much time pondering that. When he called, it was awesome.鈥�

Motzko and Bemidji State head coach Tom Serratore have a long-standing relationship. Their relationship helped Winter build rapport with Motzko over the years, ultimately leading to Winter鈥檚 selection as an assistant.

鈥淭ypically, when these coaching staffs get assembled, they鈥檙e put together with people they鈥檙e familiar with,鈥� Winter said. 鈥淭hey鈥檙e familiar with their expertise and strengths as coaches. They want to make sure they cover all areas. Obviously, in working with Tommy, he鈥檚 had a big influence on that.鈥�

Like many Bemidji residents, Winter has been hard at work on community restoration following the severe thunderstorm and 100-plus mile-per-hour winds.

On Tuesday, Winter, BSU assistant coach Joe Wegwerth and members of Bemidji Covenant Church and Bemidji Youth Hockey helped clean up Paul Bunyan Park.

鈥淚鈥檝e never seen anything like this; not even close,鈥� Winter said. 鈥淛oe and I were there, along with some members of our church and Bemidji Youth Hockey. We have a pretty good group. We were just old-school raking, making piles.鈥�