The 2025 IIHF World Championships turned out to be historic for the United States, as the Americans got past host Sweden to get the final against Switzerland and won in dramatic fashion, as Buffalo Sabres forward Tage Thompson scored the golden goal early in overtime to give Team USA a 1-0 victory and their first World Championship gold medal since 1933.
Thompson tied for the club lead in the tournament with six goals, which included a hat trick and game winner against Norway in the preliminary round. The Sabres forward said last month after the end of the regular season that after being invited as an injury replacement for the NHL Four Nation Face-Off, that he wanted to go to the Worlds to stay on USA Hockey’s radar for the upcoming Olympics in Milano/Cortina next February.
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“I think that'll be just another good stepping stone to try to continue to build off of a decent year and continue to grow that confidence and round out my game," Thompson said. "Anytime you throw on that USA jersey, it's a huge honor, so to be able to go over there and compete for something will be exciting."
After losing to Canada at Four Nations, Team USA is likely to be going through some roster changes. Veterans like Brock Nelson, Vincent Trocheck, and Chris Krieder could be left off the club in favor of dynamic scorers like Thompson, Montreal’s Cole Caufield, and Utah’s Logan Cooley and Clayton Keller.
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