After 92 years of failure at the IIHF Men’s World Championship, Team USA took home the gold medal on Sunday in Stockholm.
That result, combined with perhaps the biggest upset in tournament history, drew the attention of North Americans to the tournament, which is typically ignored since it coincides with the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
Here are a few storylines from the 2025 event.
Team USA wins gold
Every hockey conversation between an American and a Canadian typically involves a jeer pointing out that a Canadian team hasn’t won the Stanley Cup since 1993. But when it comes to men’s international hockey, Team USA historically hasn’t had much to be proud of — until now.
As mentioned, this year’s gold medal was Team USA’s first gold at this tournament since 1933 and their first at any men’s tournament since 1996.
After losing to Canada in the gold medal game of the 4 Nations Face-Off in February, the Americans’ urgency seemed to ramp up.
With the 2026 Winter Olympics getting closer every day, Team USA management has some tough roster decisions to make. Several players from the World Championship team hope they’ve made enough of a splash to get the call.
The Utah Mammoth had four players on the team, and two have realistic chances at making the Olympic squad: Clayton Keller and Logan Cooley.
Clayton Keller
Keller was one of the primary snubs of the 4 Nations team. When the news came out that he wouldn’t be participating, his production ramped up. Though he never explicitly said it, he seemed to be playing with a chip on his shoulder.
As the only NHL captain on Team USA’s World Championship roster, he wore the “C.” He scored a point per game and seemed to have great chemistry with everyone.
Keller’s size is still the biggest factor working against him, though it really shouldn’t make a difference. He plays a quick, skilled game, and he’s proven himself as a top scorer in the toughest league in the world.
Besides, the Olympics tend to be less physical — there’s no fighting and hits are penalized much more heavily than they are in the NHL.
Logan Cooley
With an assist on the golden goal, Cooley tied Frank Nazar for the team lead in points. He also tied Sidney Crosby and a few others for sixth in points, though most of them did it in less games.
That’s not bad for someone who turned 21 this month.
There’s no question Cooley is one of the league’s up-and-coming stars. The question is whether USA’s management sees him as a fit for a talent-loaded Olympic team.
One factor working in his favor is his defensive focus: He’s not just an offensive star. He kills penalties, and more importantly, he doesn’t sacrifice defense for offense. You can’t say the same about many others in his age group.
Denmark upsets Canada on home ice
When it’s all said and done, a minimum of three of Team Canada’s players in the 2025 tournament will find themselves in the Hockey Hall of Fame.
By contrast, Team Denmark has just three active NHL players — but they found a way to pull out the victory on home ice in the quarterfinal, sending Canada (literally) packing.
Team Canada, who had played all of their games in Sweden but traveled to the other host country, Denmark, for this game, was reportedly so confident they would win that they didn’t even bother checking out of their hotel. Upon being eliminated, they had to go back to Sweden to pick up their luggage.
NHL Insider Elliotte Friedman also reported in Monday’s episode of “32 Thoughts: The Podcast” that one Canadian player was on his way to the airport to replace the injured Bo Horvat, but when he saw the score he turned around and returned home.
Denmark’s steam ran out in the semifinal against Switzerland. They lost to Sweden in the bronze medal game, but a fourth-place finish is probably better than they probably thought they’d ever achieve.
Swiss hockey looking up
Danish hockey isn’t the only program on the rise. Team Switzerland won its second consecutive silver medal. They were the only team to beat the USA in the group stage and they fell 1-0 in overtime of the gold medal game.
Historically, Switzerland hasn’t had a ton of NHL players — but that seems to be changing now. Eight players on their World Championship roster are committed to NHL teams. Among them were 2017 first-overall pick Nico Hischier and several other prominent NHL players.
Their program probably isn’t quite to the point where it will contend for Olympic gold, but it has probably done enough to inspire young Swiss kids to play hockey.
Impressive individuals
On the aforementioned podcast episode, Friedman reported that Finland’s Robin Salo had played well enough to garner some NHL interest. The defenseman played 32 games for the New York Islanders in 2021 and 2022, but he has split time since then between the AHL and the SHL.
Salo wasn’t the only one to improve his public perception at the tournament. Here are a few others that turned some heads:
Stian Solberg
The Anaheim Ducks liked Stian Solberg so much that they traded up to get him in the first round of the 2024 draft. He showed why he was worth the move at this tournament.
His hat trick sent Team Norway to overtime against Team USA — something nobody saw coming.
Overall, he had four goals and six points in seven games. And he’s only 19. And he’s a defenseman.
Something tells me we could be seeing him in the NHL soon.
Patrik Puistola
Former Edmonton Oilers and Carolina Hurricanes prospect Patrik Puistola ranked 13th in SHL scoring this year, and he followed it up with an impressive World Championship.
The 24-year-old’s draft rights expired in 2023, meaning he’s eligible to sign with any NHL team. If someone wanted to take a chance on him, it could pay off handsomely.
Frank Nazar
As an NHL rookie this year, Frank Nazar scored a respectable 26 points in 53 games. The 13th-overall pick from 2022 was always expected to be an NHL regular, but after leading the gold medal-winning squad in goals and co-leading it in points, his ceiling seems even higher.
Nazar’s Chicago Blackhawks are desperately in need of bona fide NHL players, so if he can play at a similar level next season as he did at this tournament, he could be a big factor in solving the team’s biggest problem.