Tage Thompson is swapping his Sabres sweater for stars and stripes at the 2025 IIHF World Championship, which begins Friday in Herning, Denmark.
Thompson, the Buffalo Sabres’ only representative at this year’s tournament, will serve as an alternate captain and help the United States compete for its first World Championship gold medal since 1960.
The Phoenix, Ariz. native has twice participated in Worlds, most recently in 2021. In the years since, he’s emerged as one of hockey’s most prolific offensive forces – his 158 goals across the last four NHL seasons are tied for 10th in the league.
"The fact that we (Team USA) haven't won in such a long time – there's motivation for that as well," Thompson told NHL Network about his playing in this year's tournament. "It's a good time to be able to showcase myself, try to have a good showing and maybe have a chance to make the Olympic team."
This season, despite leading Americans – and tying Alex Ovechkin for third in the NHL – with 44 goals, the 6-foot-6 forward was omitted from the United States’ 4 Nations Face-Off roster. He was summoned as an emergency backup for the Feb. 20 championship game but watched from the press box as Canada beat the U.S. 3-2 in overtime.
With every contribution at the World Championship, Thompson will fortify his (already strong) case for a roster spot at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Italy.
"You'd be lying if you say it's not on your mind," Thompson said of the Olympics. "I think that's great. I think that internal competition within USA Hockey is only gonna make the game grow in America and help each other push to try to make those teams and compete every year."
Thompson already found his footing with two goals in Sunday’s pre-tournament scrimmage versus Germany, starting on a line with the Utah Hockey Club’s Clayton Keller and Logan Cooley. The roster, comprised mostly of established NHL talent, also includes forwards Conor Garland, Shane Pinto and Matty Beniers; defensemen Zach Werenski, Brady Skjei and Jackson LaCombe; and goaltenders Jeremy Swayman and Joey Daccord.
As one of eight teams in Group B, the Americans begin play at Herning’s Jyske Bank Boxen with matchups against Denmark, Hungary, Switzerland, Norway, Germany, Kazakhstan and Czechia. That schedule runs from Friday through May 20; with a top-four finish in the group stage, the U.S. advances to the quarterfinals.
The group stage standings work as follows: three points for a regulation win, two points for an overtime/shootout win, one point for an overtime/shootout loss and zero points for a regulation loss.
Games will be broadcast on NHL Network (U.S.) and TSN (Canada). Here’s the United States’ full schedule – check back for Thompson’s stats and highlights, and Team USA’s results, as the tournament progresses.
