Wild players Brock Faber, Matt Boldy, Quinn Hughes on U.S. Olympic men’s hockey team

ANAHEIM, CALIF. – Team USA has tabbed the Wild’s leading goal scorer and top defensive pairing to vie for the country’s first Olympic gold since the “Miracle on Ice.”

Matt Boldy and Brock Faber were officially named to the U.S. roster Friday, Jan. 2, joining Quinn Hughes after Hughes was among the first six selections announced in June when he was still with Vancouver before getting traded to the Wild last month.

“It’s super special,” Faber said. “It’s obviously a dream come true. To have an opportunity to play best on best at the Olympics, it’s one of the coolest things.

“I’m so grateful and excited for this opportunity.”

Sweden took four Wild players, picking Jonas Brodin, Joel Eriksson Ek, and goalies Filip Gustavsson and Jesper Wallstedt.

In all, the Wild have eight players on Olympic rosters, with Nico Sturm representing Germany. They could have three more if prospects David Jiricek and David Spacek (Czech Republic) and Samuel Hlavaj (Slovakia) are chosen.

The men’s hockey tournament at the Winter Games Milano Cortina begins Feb. 11, and NHLers are participating for the first time since 2014.

Boldy, 24, made the team having the most goals in the NHL among Americans with 25.

The Massachusetts native had a goal and two assists at the 4 Nations Face-Off last year that saw Canada outlast the United States in overtime in the championship game. Boldy has also played for Team USA at two World Championships and the 2021 World Junior Championship, the winger winning gold alongside Faber.

This will be Faber’s second Olympics.

After the NHL pulled out of the 2022 Beijing Olympics because of the pandemic, the United States sent mostly college players, and Faber was in his sophomore season with the Gophers at the time; he had an assist in four games, and the U.S. lost to Slovakia in a shootout in the quarterfinals. Finland captured gold over the Russian Olympic Committee, and Slovakia nabbed bronze.

Faber, 23, was a standout at the 4 Nations Face-Off, chipping in two assists on a shutdown unit with Carolina’s Jaccob Slavin.

Hughes, who had to miss the 4 Nations Face-Off because of an injury, hasn’t suited up for Team USA since 2019 when he skated in the World Championship and World Junior Championship; he also appeared in both tournaments in 2018.

Born in Orlando, Hughes grew up in Toronto while his dad, Jim, worked for the Maple Leafs before settling in Michigan for the U.S. National Team Development Program and two seasons at the University of Michigan.

His brother Jack, a forward with New Jersey, also cracked Team USA, which will be coached by the New York Rangers’ Mike Sullivan. Wild coach John Hynes is an assistant.

Guentzel, 31, is a former standout at Hill-Murray. He skates for the Tampa Bay Lightning and is a three-time 40-goal scorer.

Nelson, who played college hockey at North Dakota, was traded by the New York Islanders to the Colorado Avalanche last season. The 34-year-old has scored more than 30 goals in a season three times.

Oettinger, 27, is the Dallas Stars’ goalie. He went to Lakeville North and Boston University.

With three players, the Wild had the most representatives on Team USA.

Brodin, Eriksson Ek and Gustavsson were expected to be named to their first Olympics after all three were at the 4 Nations Face-Off, but Wallstedt made the cut for the Games after a superb start to his rookie season with the Wild.

The 23-year-old is 11-2-3 with a .928 save percentage that ranks first in the NHL and the fifth-best goals-against average at 2.21; he also leads the league in shutouts with four. Wallstedt was also on the 2024 Worlds team that won bronze, and he has a World Juniors bronze.

“It’s always fun to be around the best and compete against the best,” Wallstedt said. “That’s what I want to do. That’s my dream. So, been doing that now in the NHL and going to Olympics and playing the best players in the world, it’s gonna be super cool.”

But after struggling last season, he figured he had “no chance” to get picked by Sweden.

“I told my girlfriend [Erika] that we’re gonna try to book to go to Hawaii or something,” Wallstedt said, “Obviously, that’s not happening now.”

Gustavsson is on a 9-1-2 run since mid-November with a 1.81 goals-against average and .931 save percentage.

The 27-year-old also has a successful international track record, including gold and bronze medals from the World Championship and silver at the World Junior Championship.

“Double trouble,” Gustavsson said of him and Wallstedt. “We just go, both of us, and keep doing what we’re doing here.”

The veteran winger has 12 goals and 20 assists for 32 points, which are tied for fourth among Swedish NHLers.

“It’s obviously sad and disappointing, but I’ve done what I can,” Johansson said. “I think I’ve proven how I can play, and I guess it’s not enough.”

Johansson, 35, was on Team Sweden the last time NHLers were at the Olympics in Sochi in 2014 and won silver. He also has two bronze medals from the World Championship and a World Juniors silver and bronze.

“It’s something you work hard for and dream about,” he said. “Yeah, it’s tough to swallow.”

Eriksson Ek and Brodin played on the Swedish teams that won gold (2017) and bronze at the Worlds (2024), and Brodin picked up another bronze last year at the tournament.

Up front, Eriksson Ek is the Wild’s two-way specialist, with 10 goals and 19 assists while keeping the other team’s best players in check, and it’s easy to imagine the 28-year-old handling a similar role for Sweden.

He centers the Wild’s most dominating line with Johansson and Boldy, their split for country allegiance a potentially intriguing showdown if Sweden and the United States meet in the Olympics.

The Americans and Swedes are in separate groups, which will have three preliminary games before a single-elimination playoff en route to the gold medal game on Feb. 22.

“You’re happy for your teammates,” Faber said. “But at the same time, you’re rooting pretty hard against them. You don’t want them to beat you, and you want to beat them.