Three players from the Seattle Kraken contributed to Team USA’s Gold Medal performance at the World Championships in Sweden and Denmark.
Goalie Joey Daccord, who won two games in three starts and earned a shut-out, center Matty Beniers, who tallied six points and finished a plus-10, best among the team’s forwards, and 4th-liner Mikey Eyssimont, who chipped in three points, all travelled home with Gold.
Remarkably, aside from the 1960 Winter Olympic Gold Medal that also doubled as a world title, one not recognized by USA Hockey, the Americans hadn’t won a Men’s World Championship since 1933.
2025 marks the second tournament victory ever.
Buffalo Sabres forward Tage Thompson scored the Golden Goal 2:20 into three-on-three overtime against Switzerland, a country that’s come close, but never won Gold at Worlds. It was the first time the Gold Medal game had ever gone into OT tied 0-0.
Boston Bruins goalie and Alaska native Jeremy Swayman won the game while going 7-and-0 in the tournament.
The 3 Seattle NHL representatives knocked out a Kraken teammate in the quarterfinals when Team USA beat Finland 5-2. Eeli Tolvanen scored for the Finns, but it wasn’t enough. Vancouver Canucks winger Conor Garland scored twice for the Yanks.
In the semi-final on Saturday, the USA beat Sweden 6-2. Eyssimont’s 2nd period goal made it 4-0 for Team USA with an assist to Beniers. Seattle D-man Adam Larsson and former Kraken center Alexander Wennberg were on the losing squad in that one.
The Americans honored the late Johnny Gaudreau, killed on his bicycle by a drunk driver last summer, by holding up his number-13 jersey during the celebration. “Johnny Hockey” is the all-time leading American scorer at Worlds and won a World Junior Championship with Team USA in Ufa, Russia in 2013.
