As thousands of hockey players, fans, scouts, press and vendors from around the world descend on downtown St. Paul this month for the 11-day World Junior Ice Hockey Championships, how will the capital city greet them?

Visit St. Paul, the city’s official convention and tourism bureau, has skated out a plan to assemble the world’s largest hockey puck — a 5,000-pound testament to the excitement around the international round-robin style tournament.

The puck will anchor Rice Park’s outdoor “Fan Fest” activity zone for all 11 days, serving as a photo opportunity throughout the World Juniors, which are bringing together the best hockey players ages 17-19 from 10 countries.

The puck, which is being made at the Wonder Studio fabrication shop on St. Paul’s old Hamm’s Brewery campus and at TC Rig

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