Team USA Honors Johnny Gaudreau After Winning First IIHF Gold In 92 Years

Published•Updated

I heard earlier this week that Team USA was headed to the gold medal game at the IIHF World Championship, and my first reaction was shock that this was true. 

The U.S. hadn't come out on top or even played for the top prize in that tournament in nearly 100 years?

But it was true, and it might have a little something to do with the fact that the tournament takes place in late spring as a lot of NHLers are playing in the Stanley Cup Playoffs or just recently started their offseason.

SIGN UP for The Daily OutKick. New Look, Same Attitude.

You can't fault guys for not wanting to fly to Europe for more hockey after playing 82+ games, but fortunately, many are happy for the opportunity to represent their country, and that's why Team USA was able to send a top-notch team to this year's tournament held in Sweden and Denmark.

On Sunday, the Americans faced off against Switzerland — a burgeoning player on the international hockey stage — for the gold medal.

Lucky me, I don't have to get into the nuts and bolts of what happened in regulation because this game was knotted at 0-0 through sixty minutes, which meant the world champ would be decided in overtime.

It didn't take long, as about two minutes into the extra frame, Buffalo Sabres star Tage Thompson scored the golden goal to give Team USA a historic win, and a statement win with the Olympic Games just under a year away.

What a shot, and what a celebration from Team USA. As mentioned earlier, that's the first gold at this tournament for Team USA since 1933, per the IIHF website. As for the Swiss, it's their fourth time "winning" silver since 2013.

But the coolest moment came when the Americans took a photo with the tournament trophy and brought along a Johnny Gaudreau sweater. The late Blue Jackets star's final competitive hockey was played during last year's edition of this tournament.

What a moment, and it should get you pretty fired up about the squad we'll be sending to Italy next winter for the Olympics.

Tags
Written by
Matt is a University of Central Florida graduate and a long-suffering Philadelphia Flyers fan living in Orlando, Florida. He can usually be heard playing guitar, shoe-horning obscure quotes from The Simpsons into conversations, or giving dissertations to captive audiences on why Iron Maiden is the greatest band of all time.