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, 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.

Sweden has also taken several Wild players, picking Jonas Brodin, Joel Eriksson Ek, Filip Gustavsson and Jesper Wallstedt.

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

Minnesotans Jake Guentzel (Woodbury), Brock Nelson (Warroad) and Jake Oettinger (Lakeville) are also on the United States roster. Wild President of Hockey Operations Bill Guerin is general manager of Team USA.

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.

After the NHL pulled out of the 2022 Beijing Winter 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.

But the Maple Grove native could team up with Hughes at the Olympics since they’ve been playing together with the Wild.

Hughes, who had to miss the 4 Nations Face-Off with 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.

Guentzel, 31, played 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 played at Lakeville North and Boston University.

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

Same with Sweden.

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.

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.

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.

Brodin, who also has a World Juniors gold, remains one of the Wild’s steadiest defenders, and the 32-year-old has three goals and nine assists.

He centers the Wild’s most dominating line with Marcus Johansson (who wasn’t chosen by Sweden) and Boldy, their split for country allegiance a potentially intriguing showdown if Sweden and the United States meet in the Olympics.