It’s been quite a season for USA Hockey. In January, the U.S. won their second straight title at the World Junior Championship. In April, they grabbed the Women’s Ice Hockey World Championship in Czechia, and in May, they ended their 92-year-long dry spell at the men’s tournament in Stockholm.
 
It only took a few seconds from the moment that Tage Thompson’s wrist shot hit the back of the net for the US players to jump over the beards and rush out to the opposite corner to celebrate the historic win, their helmets, gloves and sticks scattered round the ice.
 
“[We were] going nuts! I think the whole bench just jumped and was so happy,” Matty Beniers said.
 
“That's hockey, man. It's the biggest moments and the biggest stages. That's what we live for. I knew that we had something special in here. When we went back in that locker room, we were excited for it. We weren't nervous. We knew that this was going to be an incredible moment. 1933 was in our mind the whole time, and we knew that we had a job to do. And mission accomplished, baby!” goaltender Jeremy Swayman said.
 
“What a group, what a fun month. If we lost, we lost … but we didn’t. We’re such a tight-knit group, that’s just the way it always is with USA Hockey,” added Conor Garland.
 
After the gold medals had been handed out, and after team captain Clayton Keller had hoisted the trophy, All-Star defender Zach Werenski ran out and returned moments later with Johnny Gaudreau’s Team USA jersey in his hand, and “Johnny Hockey” was front and center in all the championship photos.
 
“I think about him every time I go on the ice, his jersey hangs in the locker room in Columbus. He deserves this. His jersey is a reminder of what it means to be a US hockey player,” Werenski said of Gaudreau who, together with his brother Matthew, was killed in an accident last summer. Gaudreau is Team USA’s all-time leading scorer I the Ice Hockey World Championships.
 
“Last time Johnny [Gaudreau] played hockey it was in these colors and in this tournament last year. We had his jersey hanging up in our locker room the entire tournament and everyone knew we were playing or something bigger than ourselves,” added Cutter Gauthier.
 
“It's super-heartfelt. You start getting teary-eyed talking about it, being able to put that jersey on that cup and pay your respects aa you're able as you win. So, it's cool. It's obviously so sad. Everyone's missing him. More guys knew him than I did. But you obviously know him as a hockey player. One amazing player. Guys talk about him and keep his memory going,” Beniers said.
 
While it may be difficult to realize the historical importance of the win right in the middle of the celebrations, for many of the players, the tournament was a steppingstone to something big.
 
“This tournament and this group rejuvenated me as an individual. I gained so much more confidence, and I found my game again. I was happy again, and I just learned so much. This year was obviously an up and down year for me personally. To come here and be surrounded by such quality human beings and get a job done, a mission accomplished, that's a turning point for me in my life. I couldn't be more excited,” Swayman said.
 
Gauthier, who was born in Sweden, won his second gold medal in the last 18 months, as he was also on the World Junior Championship team in 2024 and that tournament was also played in Sweden.
 
“Hopefully more tournaments will be on Swedish soil, I'm two-for-two now,” he joked. “I’m super proud of the group, being able to compete for the full 60… 65, 67 minutes, how ever many minutes it was, I’m proud of the guys. We come to these tournaments to play in high-pressure games, big moments, gold medal games, and I’m happy we got the job done.”
 
“It’s just one tournament but I think we’ve grown. But there are a lot of good countries, [the final] was just one game. This was our year, and I'm happy to be a part of it. It’s a game of inches, things just fell our way," Werenski said. “A lot of these guys are going to play in World Cups and Olympics, and this will give them confidence, and it's a great for USA Hockey.”
 
Another American defenseman, Brady Skjei echoed his teammate’s sentiments.
 
“[US hockey] has always been good, we just haven't gotten the success that we've obviously wanted. But there's a ton of great players, a ton of youth that's coming up that can really play and will be impact players in the NHL for a long time and in this tournament as well. USA Hockey is in a great spot right now,” he said.
 
The Americans have had strong teams in the tournament before, but for some reason, haven’t been able to go all the way. The 2025 editions didn’t fall into the same pitfalls the earlier campaigns did. This time around, they played tight, and they played together.
 
“We had a purpose. We had a great game plan going in. Our staff put a great game plan for us. We were building every single game. And we knew that there was something special in this room, but the biggest thing was having Johnny Gaudreau in our room too,” Swayman said.
 
“We were a very tight-knit group, and we had a lot of fun together. That's the best way to gel well together. First getting here, you're sort of feeling everyone out. You're just meeting everyone. And then you're thrown into it. You're practicing together. You're playing cards together. You're going to have drinks together. You're going to dinner together. Basically, every waking minute, you're together with every single guy on that team. I had some of the best memories in a very long time. What a way to finish it,” Beniers said.
 
“We have so many talented players, and it's a good thing to have the competition we do. We're raising the bar and it's a new regime. We want to make it that way. USA Hockey is here to stay, and this is the first step for us to do that,” concluded Swayman as he joined the rest of the team in their gold medal celebrations.
 
And how heavy was the medal?
 
“It’s pretty heavy,” Cutter Gauthier said with a laugh.