If you want to talk about the ultimate revenge tour, consider what Tage Thompson did at the 2025 IIHF World Championships.
After being held off the USA roster at the Four Nations Faceoff, he scored one of the biggest goals in USA Hockey history. His overtime winner against Switzerland in the Gold Medal Game ended a 92-year drought as Team USA won Gold at the Men’s World Championships for the first time since 1933.
Thompson took the words from Detroit Red Wings forward Dylan Larkin, who called out the top U.S.-born players for not taking the IIHF World Championships seriously after Team USA’s overtime loss to Team Canada at the Four Nations Faceoff.
“We’ve had a tough time with USA Hockey getting guys to play in the world championships, and I think guys that are at home watching this, I’m hoping they’re wanting a piece of it,” Larkin said. “They got to go to the world championships and prove themselves and play for their country.”
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Thompson knew he needed to be there to prove what he could prove on the big stage. He finished the tournament with nine points (six goals and three assists), including the Golden Goal for Team USA. But as he told Jon Morosi of NHL Network before the tournament started, he wanted to be part of the group that ended the group for USA Hockey at this stage.
“Yeah, I think that’s why most of us are here is want to be a part of that group that can say that we won gold since whatever was 1933,” Thompson said. “So it’s been a long time coming, and I think there’s a chip on everybody’s shoulder, and I think to say you were part of that group is pretty special. So that’s what we’re looking to achieve.”
Those were some big words to live up to, but so were the ones put out by Larkin back in February. Everyone kept asking why Team USA can’t win at the Men’s National level. USA Hockey has won multiple gold medals at the World Juniors (including back-to-back golds in 2024 and 2025 for the first time in program history), Men’s U18s, Women’s U18s, and Women’s Worlds and Olympics. But the Men’s National Team can’t get it done on the big stage.
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The US National Development Program was finding success everywhere, and entering the tournament, Team USA was the youngest team, comprised of 14 players from that program. Some of those players won at the World Junior level. But you could tell there was a swagger to Team USA this season. This team meant business when Jeremy Swayman, Zach Werenski, Clayton Keller, Conor Garland, Logan Cooley, Shane Pinto, Matty Beniers, Frank Nazar, Tage Thompson and others went over.
“It makes a statement to other guys: If someone like him is coming, we’re here to win,” Thompson told Morosi on NHL Network.
They saw what Canada was doing and said we must respond with some of our best to win. Even though Boston Bruins goalie Swayman was the third goalie on Team USA at Four Nations, he posted a 7-0 record and backstopped Team USA to the gold. Columbus Blue Jackets defenseman Zach Werenski, who also played at Four Nations, was a late addition to the squad.
These players heard Larkin’s call and former NHL and USA Hockey GM Brian Burke’s call when he joined Jeff Marek on the Sheet on Daily Faceoff. Burke said there isn’t enough national pride in the tournament.
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It’s great that Dylan said that. It’s a real problem for us as a country to get people to go. I beg people to go. I’ve threatened people, and if they don’t go, they’ll never be asked again. So it’s a big problem. Getting people to go is a huge problem. It’s not new. I begged, I’ve threatened, I’ve said to people, you want to be on the Olympic team, you got to come. They still don’t come. There’s not enough national pride in that tournament. The problem is it’s so late. So the season ends, you wait two and a half, three weeks, they ask you to come over to Europe and play. Now you’ve shut down for three weeks and if you’re not in shape or you’re nursing a nagging injury, you’re beat up. Everyone is at the end of the year, and they say no, I’m not going.
These players went because they knew they had something special with this group. All season, they had been playing for Johnny Gaudreau, who tragically lost his life before the start of the 2024-25 season. Tage Thompson and Zach Werenski were close to Johnny Gaudreau, and Werenski played with him last year at this tournament. So you knew Team USA wanted to win it for him. But there were also auditions for Milan 2026 at stake.
If you look at the Four Nations Faceoff roster, Tage Thompson, Clayton Keller, or Logan Cooley are not on it. Cole Caufield wasn’t there either. He did not play in this tournament because of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. However, Team USA needed an overtime goal at Four Nations; they could have used Thompson there. Not to mention, Kyle Connor is in the lineup as well.
There will be locks for Team USA’s roster for Milan 2026, but with the way guys like Thompson, Cooley, Keller, and even Shane Pinto played, you have to think they earned roster spots. This group has done so much winning, you have to bring that swagger into the Olympics in 2026. Without that swagger, USA Hockey could fall again in the big moments.
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Team USA hopes times are changing regarding the best players attending the World Championships. It makes a statement to the rest of the world that USA Hockey is here to stay.
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