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United States men's national ice hockey team facts for kids

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United States
Shirt badge/Association crest
Nickname(s) Team USA
Association USA Hockey
Head coach David Quinn
Assistants Jeff Blashill
Don Granato
Mike Hastings
Captain Seth Jones
Most games Mark Johnson
Most points Mark Johnson (146)
IIHF code USA
IIHF ranking 4 Steady (May 28, 2023)
Highest IIHF ranking 4 (first in 2016)
Lowest IIHF ranking 7 (first in 2003)
Team colors               
USA national ice hockey team jerseys 2022 IHWC.png
First international
United States  29–0 Flag of Switzerland (Pantone).svg Switzerland
(Antwerp, Belgium; April 24, 1920)
Biggest win
United States  31–1 Flag of Italy.svg Italy
(St. Moritz, Switzerland; February 1, 1948)
Biggest defeat
Sweden  17–2 Flag of the United States.svg United States
(Stockholm, Sweden; March 12, 1963)
Soviet Union  17–2 Flag of the United States.svg United States
(Stockholm, Sweden; March 15, 1969)
IIHF World Championships
Appearances 73 (first in 1920)
Best result Gold medal world centered-2.svg Gold: (1933, 1960)
Canada Cup / World Cup
Appearances 8 (first in 1976)
Best result Simple gold cup.svg Winner: (1996)
Olympics
Appearances 24 (first in 1920)
Medals Gold medal.svg Gold: (1960, 1980)
Silver medal.svg Silver: (1920, 1924, 1932, 1952, 1956, 1972, 2002, 2010)
Bronze medal.svg Bronze: (1936)
International record (W–L–T)
914–471–86
Medal record
Olympic Games
Gold 1960 Squaw Valley Team
Gold 1980 Lake Placid Team
Silver 1920 Antwerp Team
Silver 1924 Chamonix Team
Silver 1932 Lake Placid Team
Silver 1952 Oslo Team
Silver 1956 Cortina d'Ampezzo Team
Silver 1972 Sapporo Team
Silver 2002 Salt Lake City Team
Silver 2010 Vancouver Team
Bronze 1936 Garmisch-Partenkirchen Team
World Championships
Gold 1933 Czechoslovakia
Gold 1960 United States Team
Silver 1920 Belgium Team
Silver 1924 France Team
Silver 1931 Poland
Silver 1932 United States Team
Silver 1934 Italy
Silver 1939 Switzerland
Silver 1950 Great Britain
Silver 1952 Norway Team
Silver 1956 Italy Team
Bronze 1936 Germany Team
Bronze 1949 Sweden
Bronze 1962 United States
Bronze 1996 Austria
Bronze 2004 Czech Republic
Bronze 2013 Sweden/Finland
Bronze 2015 Czech Republic
Bronze 2018 Denmark
Bronze 2021 Latvia
Canada Cup / World Cup
Gold 1996 Montreal
Silver 1991 Hamilton

The United States men's national ice hockey team is based in Colorado Springs, Colorado, with its U18 and U17 development program in Plymouth, Michigan. The team is controlled by USA Hockey, the governing body for organized ice hockey in the United States. The U.S. team is currently ranked 4th in the IIHF World Rankings.

The U.S. won gold medals at the 1960 and the 1980 Olympics and more recently, silver medals at the 2002 and 2010 Olympics. The U.S. also won the 1996 World Cup of Hockey, defeating Canada in the finals. The team's most recent medal at the World Championships came with a bronze in 2021. They won the tournament in 1933 and 1960. Unlike other nations, the U.S. doesn't typically use its best NHL players in the World Championships. Instead, it provides the younger players with an opportunity to gain international experience. Overall, the team has collected eleven Olympic medals (two of them gold), nineteen World Championship medals (two of them gold), and it reached the semi-final round of the Canada Cup/World Cup five times, twice advancing to the finals and winning gold once. The U.S. has never reached a World Championship gold medal game, having lost in the semi-final round eleven times since the IIHF introduced a playoff system in 1992.

The U.S. is one of the most successful national ice hockey teams in the world and a member of the so-called "Big Six", the unofficial group of the six strongest men's ice hockey nations, along with Canada, the Czech Republic, Finland, Russia, and Sweden.

History

The American ice hockey team's greatest success was the "Miracle on Ice" at the 1980 Winter Olympics in Lake Placid, New York, when American college players defeated the heavily favored seasoned professionals from the Soviet Union on the way to a gold medal. Though ice hockey is not a major sport in most areas of the United States, the "Miracle" is often listed as one of the all-time greatest American sporting achievements. The U.S. also won the gold medal in the 1960 Games at Squaw Valley, California, defeating the Soviet Union, Canada, Czechoslovakia, and Sweden along the way. However, since this victory is not as well known as the 1980 win, it has come to be known as the "Forgotten Miracle".

The United States hockey experienced a spike in talent in the 1980s and 1990s, with future NHL stars including Tony Amonte, Chris Chelios, Derian Hatcher, Brett Hull, Pat LaFontaine, John LeClair, Brian Leetch, Mike Modano, Mike Richter, Jeremy Roenick, Kevin Stevens, Keith Tkachuk, and Doug Weight. Although the U.S. finished no higher than fourth in any World or Olympic event from 1981 through 1994 (unlike other teams that used professionals, the U.S. team was limited to amateurs at these tournaments), the Americans reached the finals of the 1991 Canada Cup and won the 1996 World Cup. Six years later, after the International Olympic Committee and NHL arranged to accommodate an Olympic break in the NHL schedule, the U.S. earned a silver medal at the 2002 Winter Olympics with a roster that included NHL stars Adam Deadmarsh, Chris Drury, Brian Rafalski, and Brian Rolston. However, by 2006, many of these NHL players had retired or had declined with age. Though the 2006 Olympic team finished a disappointing 8th, it was more of a transitional team, featuring young NHL players like Rick DiPietro, John-Michael Liles, and Jordan Leopold.

The 2010 U.S. Olympic team was composed of much younger and faster players than teams of previous years, including David Backes, Dustin Brown, Jack Johnson, Patrick Kane, Phil Kessel, Zach Parise, Joe Pavelski, Bobby Ryan, Paul Stastny, and Ryan Suter. The team also had a solid group of veterans that included such stars as goalie Ryan Miller, defenseman Brian Rafalski, and team captain Jamie Langenbrunner. The U.S. team upset team Canada 5–3 in the round-robin phase of the tournament and went into the single elimination phase of the tournament as the number-one seeded team. After beating Finland 6–1, the U.S. advanced to the gold medal game, where they lost in overtime 3–2 to Canada to claim the silver medal. The gold medal game between Canada and the U.S. was watched by an estimated 27.6 million U.S. households. This was the most watched hockey game in America since the 1980 "Miracle on Ice" game, including any Stanley Cup final or NHL Winter Classic broadcast.

The NHL pulled out of the Olympics for the 2018 competition in a dispute over insurance and the IOC's ambush marketing restrictions, prohibiting the national teams from inviting any player it held under contract. The American team was put at a particular disadvantage, as more than 31% of NHL players are Americans (in comparison, only 4.1% are Russians). As a result, the U.S. had to enter the tournament with a hastily assembled team of free agents, players from European leagues, AHLers on one-way contracts, and college players. The team proved unsuccessful, losing to Slovenia and the Olympic Athletes from Russia in the preliminary round, and being eliminated by the Czechs in the quarterfinals. The OAR team benefited most from NHL's absence and ultimately won the tournament with a team that was composed primarily of SKA Saint Petersburg and HC CSKA Moscow players from the Russia-based KHL and featured ex-NHL all-stars Pavel Datsyuk, Ilya Kovalchuk and Vyacheslav Voynov (all SKA).

On March 31, 2021, Stan Bowman was appointed the general manager of the U.S. Olympic men's hockey team for the 2022 Beijing Games. .....

Competitive record

Olympic Games

Games GP W L T GF GA Coach Captain Round Position
Belgium 1920 Antwerp 4 3 1 0 52 2 Fellowes, CorneliusCornelius Fellowes
Schooley, RoyRoy Schooley
McCormick, JoeJoe McCormick Silver medal round 22 Silver


France 1924 Chamonix 5 4 1 0 73 6 Haddock, WilliamWilliam Haddock Small, IrvingIrving Small Final round 22 Silver


Switzerland 1928 St. Moritz Did not participate
United States 1932 Lake Placid 6 4 1 1 27 5 Winsor, AlfredAlfred Winsor Chase, JohnJohn Chase Final round 22 Silver


Germany 1936 Garmisch-Partenkirchen 8 5 2 1 10 4 Prettyman, AlbertAlbert Prettyman Garrison, JohnJohn Garrison Final round 33 Bronze
Switzerland 1948 St. Moritz 8 5 3 0 86 33 Garrison, JohnJohn Garrison Harding, GoodwinGoodwin Harding Round-robin 4th, DSQ
Norway 1952 Oslo 8 6 1 1 43 21 Pleban, ConnieConnie Pleban Van, AllenAllen Van Round-robin 22 Silver


Italy 1956 Cortina d'Ampezzo 7 5 2 0 33 16 Mariucci, JohnJohn Mariucci Campbell, GeneGene Campbell Final round 22 Silver


United States 1960 Squaw Valley 7 7 0 0 48 17 Riley, JackJack Riley Kirrane, JackJack Kirrane Final round 11 Gold


Austria 1964 Innsbruck 7 2 5 0 29 33 Jeremiah, EddieEddie Jeremiah Brooks, HerbHerb Brooks
Reichart, BillBill Reichart
Round-robin 5th
France 1968 Grenoble 7 2 4 1 23 28 Williamson, MurrayMurray Williamson Nanne, LouLou Nanne Round-robin 6th
Japan 1972 Sapporo 6 4 2 0 23 18 Williamson, MurrayMurray Williamson Sheehy, TimTim Sheehy Round-robin 22 Silver


Austria 1976 Innsbruck 6 3 3 0 23 25 Johnson, BobBob Johnson Taft, JohnJohn Taft Round-robin 5th
United States 1980 Lake Placid 7 6 0 1 33 15 Brooks, HerbHerb Brooks Eruzione, MikeMike Eruzione Final round 11 Gold


Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia 1984 Sarajevo 6 2 2 2 23 21 Vairo, LouLou Vairo Verchota, PhilPhil Verchota 7th place game 7th
Canada 1988 Calgary 6 3 3 0 35 31 Peterson, DaveDave Peterson Leetch, BrianBrian Leetch 7th place game 7th
France 1992 Albertville 8 5 2 1 25 19 Peterson, DaveDave Peterson Donatelli, ClarkClark Donatelli Bronze medal game 4th
Norway 1994 Lillehammer 8 1 4 3 28 32 Taylor, TimTim Taylor Laviolette, PeterPeter Laviolette 7th place game 8th
Japan 1998 Nagano 4 1 3 0 9 14 Wilson, RonRon Wilson Chelios, ChrisChris Chelios Quarter-finals 6th
United States 2002 Salt Lake City 6 4 1 1 26 10 Brooks, HerbHerb Brooks Chelios, ChrisChris Chelios Gold medal game 22 Silver


Italy 2006 Turin 6 1 4 1 16 17 Laviolette, PeterPeter Laviolette Chelios, ChrisChris Chelios Quarter-finals 8th
Canada 2010 Vancouver 6 5 1 24 9 Wilson, RonRon Wilson Langenbrunner, JamieJamie Langenbrunner Gold medal game 22 Silver


Russia 2014 Sochi 6 4 2 20 12 Bylsma, DanDan Bylsma Parise, ZachZach Parise Bronze medal game 4th
South Korea 2018 Pyeongchang 5 2 3 11 12 Granato, TonyTony Granato Gionta, BrianBrian Gionta Quarter-finals 7th
China 2022 Beijing 4 3 1 17 7 Quinn, DavidDavid Quinn Miele, AndyAndy Miele Quarter-finals 5th
Italy 2026 Milan/Cortina To be determined

Results by "Big Six" opponent

Opponents Played Won Tied Lost Biggest victory Biggest defeat
Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg Canada 19 4 3 12 4:1 3:12
Flag of the Czech Republic.svg Czechoslovakia/
Flag of the Czech Republic.svg Czech Republic
21 10 0 11 16:0 1:7
Flag of Finland.svg Finland 13 7 2 4 8:2, 6:0 1:6, 0:5
Flag of the Soviet Union.svg Soviet Union/
Flag of the CIS.svg CIS/
Flag of Russia.svg Russia
14 4 1 9 4:3, 3:2 (x3) 2:10
Flag of Sweden.svg Sweden 15 6 2 7 20:0 1:5
Total 81 30 8 43 20:0 3:12

World Championships

Note: Between 1920 and 1968, the Olympic ice hockey tournament was also considered the World Championship for that year.
Note: World War II forced cancellation of all tournaments from 1940 to 1946.
Note: In 1972, a separate tournament was held both for the World Championships and the Winter Olympics for the first time.
Note: No World Championships were held during the Olympic years 1980, 1984, and 1988.
Note: the 2020 tournament was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
  • 1920 – 22 Silver
  • 1924 – 22 Silver
  • 1928 – did not participate
  • 1930 – did not participate
  • 1931 – 22 Silver
  • 1932 – 22 Silver
  • 1933 – 11 Gold
  • 1934 – 22 Silver
  • 1935 – did not participate
  • 1936 – 33 Bronze
  • 1937 – did not participate
  • 1938 – 7th place
  • 1939 – 22 Silver
  • 1947 – 5th place
  • 1948 – 4th place
  • 1949 – 33 Bronze
  • 1950 – 22 Silver
  • 1951 – 6th place
  • 1952 – 22 Silver
  • 1953 – did not participate
  • 1954 – did not participate
  • 1955 – 4th place
  • 1956 – 22 Silver
  • 1957 – did not participate
  • 1958 – 5th place
  • 1959 – 4th place
  • 1960 – 11 Gold
  • 1961 – 6th place
  • 1962 – 33 Bronze
  • 1963 – 8th place
  • 1964 – 5th place
  • 1965 – 6th place
  • 1966 – 6th place
  • 1967 – 5th place
  • 1968 – 6th place
  • 1969 – 6th place (relegated to Group B)
  • 1970 – 7th place (1st in Group B, promoted to Group A)
  • 1971 – 6th place (relegated to Group B)
  • 1972 – 8th place (2nd in Group B)
  • 1973 – 8th place (2nd in Group B)
  • 1974 – 7th place (1st in Group B, promoted to Group A)
  • 1975 – 6th place
  • 1976 – 4th place
  • 1977 – 6th place
  • 1978 – 6th place
  • 1979 – 7th place
  • 1981 – 5th place
  • 1982 – 8th place (relegated to Group B)
  • 1983 – 9th place (1st in Group B, promoted to Group A)
  • 1985 – 4th place
  • 1986 – 6th place
  • 1987 – 7th place
  • 1989 – 6th place
  • 1990 – 5th place
  • 1991 – 4th place
  • 1992 – 7th place
  • 1993 – 6th place
  • 1994 – 4th place
  • 1995 – 6th place
  • 1996 – 33 Bronze
  • 1997 – 6th place
  • 1998 – 12th place
  • 1999 – 6th place
  • 2000 – 5th place
  • 2001 – 4th place
  • 2002 – 7th place
  • 2003 – 13th place
  • 2004 – 33 Bronze
  • 2005 – 6th place
  • 2006 – 7th place
  • 2007 – 5th place
  • 2008 – 6th place
  • 2009 – 4th place
  • 2010 – 13th place
  • 2011 – 8th place
  • 2012 – 7th place
  • 2013 – 33 Bronze
  • 2014 – 6th place
  • 2015 – 33 Bronze
  • 2016 – 4th place
  • 2017 – 5th place
  • 2018 – 33 Bronze
  • 2019 – 7th place
  • 2021 – 33 Bronze
  • 2022 – 4th place

Canada Cup / World Cup of Hockey

Games GP W L T GF GA Coach Captain Round Position
1976 5 1 3 1 14 21 Pulford, BobBob Pulford Nyrop, BillBill Nyrop Group stage 5th
1981 6 2 3 1 18 23 Johnson, BobBob Johnson Ftorek, RobbieRobbie Ftorek Semi-finals 4th
1984 6 3 2 1 23 22 Johnson, BobBob Johnson Langway, RodRod Langway Semi-finals 4th
1987 5 2 3 0 13 14 Johnson, BobBob Johnson Langway, RodRod Langway Group stage 5th
1991 8 5 3 0 29 26 Johnson, BobBob Johnson Otto, JoelJoel Otto Finals 22 Silver


1996 7 6 1 0 37 18 Wilson, RonRon Wilson Leetch, BrianBrian Leetch Finals 11 Gold


2004 5 2 3 0 11 11 Wilson, RonRon Wilson Chelios, ChrisChris Chelios Semi-finals 4th
2016 3 0 3 5 11 Tortorella, JohnJohn Tortorella Pavelski, JoeJoe Pavelski Group stage 7th

Results by "Big Six" opponent

Opponents Played Won Tied Lost Biggest victory Biggest defeat
Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg Canada 14 3 1 10 5:2 (x2) 3:8
Flag of the Czech Republic.svg Czechoslovakia/
Flag of the Czech Republic.svg Czech Republic
6 3 1 2 6:2 1:3
Flag of Finland.svg Finland 6 4 1 1 7:3 1:2
Flag of the Soviet Union.svg Soviet Union/
Flag of the CIS.svg CIS/
Flag of Russia.svg Russia
9 4 0 5 5:2 (x2) 0:5
Flag of Sweden.svg Sweden 6 4 0 2 7:1 2:9
Total 41 18 3 20 7:1 2:9

Team

Current roster

Roster for the 2022 IIHF World Championship.

Head coach: David Quinn

No. Pos. Name Height Weight Birthdate Team
1 G Jeremy Swayman 1.91 m (6 ft 3 in) 91 kg (201 lb) (1998-11-24) 24 November 1998 (age 25) United States Boston Bruins
2 D Andrew Peeke 1.91 m (6 ft 3 in) 93 kg (205 lb) (1998-03-17) 17 March 1998 (age 26) United States Columbus Blue Jackets
4 D Seth JonesC 1.93 m (6 ft 4 in) 100 kg (220 lb) (1994-10-03) 3 October 1994 (age 29) United States Chicago Blackhawks
5 D Jon Merrill 1.91 m (6 ft 3 in) 93 kg (205 lb) (1992-02-03) 3 February 1992 (age 32) United States Minnesota Wild
7 D Nick Blankenburg 1.75 m (5 ft 9 in) 79 kg (174 lb) (1998-05-12) 12 May 1998 (age 25) United States Columbus Blue Jackets
11 F Riley Barber 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in) 93 kg (205 lb) (1994-02-07) 7 February 1994 (age 30) United States Grand Rapids Griffins
12 F Matthew Boldy 1.88 m (6 ft 2 in) 91 kg (201 lb) (2001-04-05) 5 April 2001 (age 22) United States Minnesota Wild
14 F T. J. Tynan 1.73 m (5 ft 8 in) 75 kg (165 lb) (1992-02-25) 25 February 1992 (age 32) United States Ontario Reign
15 F John Hayden 1.91 m (6 ft 3 in) 101 kg (223 lb) (1995-02-14) 14 February 1995 (age 29) United States Buffalo Sabres
16 F Austin Watson – A 1.93 m (6 ft 4 in) 93 kg (205 lb) (1992-01-13) 13 January 1992 (age 32) Canada Ottawa Senators
17 F Adam Gaudette 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in) 77 kg (170 lb) (1996-10-03) 3 October 1996 (age 27) Canada Ottawa Senators
22 F Kieffer Bellows 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in) 88 kg (194 lb) (1998-06-10) 10 June 1998 (age 25) United States New York Islanders
24 F Sam Lafferty 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in) 88 kg (194 lb) (1995-03-06) 6 March 1995 (age 29) United States Chicago Blackhawks
25 F Karson Kuhlman 1.78 m (5 ft 10 in) 86 kg (190 lb) (1995-09-26) 26 September 1995 (age 28) United States Seattle Kraken
26 F Sean Farrell 1.75 m (5 ft 9 in) 79 kg (174 lb) (2001-11-02) 2 November 2001 (age 22) United States Harvard Crimson
27 F Alex Galchenyuk 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in) 88 kg (194 lb) (1994-02-12) 12 February 1994 (age 30) United States Arizona Coyotes
28 F Vinni Lettieri 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in) 84 kg (185 lb) (1995-02-06) 6 February 1995 (age 29) United States Anaheim Ducks
31 G Strauss Mann 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in) 79 kg (174 lb) (1998-08-18) 18 August 1998 (age 25) Sweden Skellefteå AIK
32 G Jon Gillies 1.97 m (6 ft 6 in) 101 kg (223 lb) (1994-01-22) 22 January 1994 (age 30) United States New Jersey Devils
34 F Thomas Bordeleau 1.78 m (5 ft 10 in) 79 kg (174 lb) (2002-01-03) 3 January 2002 (age 22) United States San Jose Sharks
38 F Ryan Hartman 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in) 87 kg (192 lb) (1994-09-20) 20 September 1994 (age 29) United States Minnesota Wild
43 D Luke Hughes 1.88 m (6 ft 2 in) 83 kg (183 lb) (2003-09-09) 9 September 2003 (age 20) United States Michigan Wolverines
44 D Jaycob Megna 1.98 m (6 ft 6 in) 100 kg (220 lb) (1992-12-10) 10 December 1992 (age 31) United States San Jose Sharks
59 F Ben Meyers 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in) 91 kg (201 lb) (1998-11-15) 15 November 1998 (age 25) United States Colorado Avalanche
88 D Nate Schmidt – A 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in) 88 kg (194 lb) (1991-07-16) 16 July 1991 (age 32) Canada Winnipeg Jets

IIHF World Championship directorate awards

The IIHF has given awards for each year's championship tournament to the top goalie, defenseman, and forward (all since 1954), and most valuable player (since 2004). The following American team members have won awards.

  • 1955 – Don Rigazio (goalie)
  • 1956 – Willard Ikola (goalie)
  • 1959 – Bill Cleary (forward)
  • 1960 – Jack McCartan (goalie)
  • 1962 – John Mayasich (defenseman)
  • 1967 – Carl Wetzel (goalie)
  • 2004 – Ty Conklin (goalie)
  • 2014 – Seth Jones (defenseman)
  • 2018 – Patrick Kane (MVP)
  • 2021 – Cal Petersen (goalie)

Uniform evolution

See also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: Selección de hockey sobre hielo de Estados Unidos para niños

  • List of United States national ice hockey team rosters
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