Anytime something hasn't happened for more than nine decades, it's fair to say history was made, and that was the case Sunday at the IIHF World Championships.
The United States, including CBJ defenseman Zach Werenski, captured the gold medal at the international hockey tournament for the first time since 1933, downing Switzerland by a 1-0 score in overtime.
It was an important victory in a lot of ways, in part because it shows the continued strength of the USA Hockey program. The Americans entered the tournament with the youngest roster in the field yet beat Switzerland, Sweden (semifinal) and Finland (quarterfinal) in the knockout rounds on the way to the historic win.
It also kept momentum going as the international best-on-best calendar fills up, as the 4 Nations Face-Off in February turned heads ahead of the NHL's expected return to the Winter Olympics at Milano Cortina 2026.
And it was a poignant triumph, as Werenski and Team USA recognized Johnny Gaudreau -- the country's all-time leading scorer at the event -- after the win by taking his jersey up for the trophy presentation. Video posted by the IIHF showed Werenski racing from the ice to the locker room and back to grab the jersey, which hung in the USA locker room throughout the event, so it could be part of the team's celebration.
"He's a guy that if he wasn't in the playoffs, he was here playing for USA Hockey," Werenski told NHL.com. "I think that's what every USA hockey player should strive to be. No one deserves this gold medal more than him. It's been awesome honoring him, especially tonight after winning. It makes me emotional thinking about it, but it's an awesome way to honor him."
On a personal level, the win had to be satisfying for Werenski, who originally planned to sit it out amid a busy summer but joined the team at the start of the tournament, in part because of how much putting on the Red, White and Blue sweater means to him. Werenski has previously played for the U.S. in the World Juniors and the World Championships but took home his first gold medal at this tournament.
Werenski finished with a goal, five assists and a plus-9 rating in seven games, making the all-tournament team and being named the top defenseman at the event as part of the IIHF Directorate Awards.
The CBJ contingent at the event included six others in the organization. Cleveland Monsters defenseman Samuel Knazko and Slovakia did not advance from pool play, while Thursday's quarterfinals saw both Canada (head coach Dean Evason, assistant coach Steve McCarthy, forwards Adam Fantilli and Kent Johnson) and Finland (forward Mikael Pyyhtia) eliminated.
Final CBJ player stats
Fantilli (CAN): 8 GP, 0-0-0, 14 SOG, +2, 10:45 TOI
Johnson (CAN): 8 GP, 2-1-3, 16 SOG, +4, 12:07 TOI
Werenski (USA): 7 GP, 1-5-6, 22 SOG, +9, 25:17 TOI
Knazko (SVK): 6 GP, 0-2-2, 6 SOG, -3, 16:34 TOI
Pyyhtia (FIN): 3 GP, 0-0-0, 2 SOG, Even +/- 12:36 TOI
CBJ Player Highlights
Sunday, May 25
The Americans will leave Stockholm with gold, but it didn't come easy. A game Switzerland team that won eight of its first nine games, including a preliminary round win over the United States, fought tooth and nail before Tage Thompson's game-winning goal 2:02 into overtime gave the U.S. a 1-0 win.
Werenski was a key part of the victory, as the Norris Trophy finalist played 26:56 -- five minutes more than any other American player -- and finished plus-1.
Saturday, May 24
Before the tournament, Werenski spoke of how important it was for the Red, White and Blue to show up at this year's tournament, especially coming off the momentum of the 4 Nations Face-Off and with the Olympics less than a year away.
"I want to see us have success in tournaments like these,” Werenski said when he joined the squad at the start of the event. “Guys should want to come here consistently every single season and build USA Hockey to be a consistent winner at the men’s level."
The Americans have done just that, beating Sweden by a 6-2 score in Saturday's semifinal. To say it was a historic win would be an understatement -- the U.S. hasn't played in a gold medal game at the World Championships since 1934, hasn't won gold since 1933, and hasn't won gold or silver since 1950 when the medals were determined by pool play.
Werenski didn't get on the scoresheet Saturday but was a big part of the win, skating 24:46 and finishing plus-4.
Thursday, May 22
One international power took care of business, while another fell in what has to be considered one of the biggest upsets in World Championships history on quarterfinal Thursday
For Werenski and Team USA, it was the former, as the Americans pulled away from Finland to earn a 5-2 win in Stockholm. The Finns took a 2-1 lead early in the second period, but unanswered goals from Zeev Buium, Conor Garland, Shane Pinto and Clayton Keller allowed the Red, White and Blue to get the victory. Werenski finished plus-2 and assisted on a pair of U.S. goals to help his team to the win. Pyyhtia put the puck in the net at one point for Finland, but review took the tally off the board for goaltender interference.
Canada, meanwhile, was the victim of a shocking upset, falling by a 2-1 score to the home team from Denmark. Evason's squad was locked in a 0-0 stalemate through two periods but pulled ahead on Travis Sanheim's goal early in the frame, just to see Denmark tie the score on Nik Ehlers' goal with 2:17 left and win it when Nick Olesen potted a rebound with 49 seconds to play. Fantilli had three shots on goal and Johnson two, but Canada will leave without a medal for the second straight season and failed to reach the semifinals for the first time since 2014.
Tuesday, May 20
All of the CBJ players and coaches on hand were in action Tuesday as preliminary round play came to a close.
Werenski and Team USA rallied from a third-period deficit to take a 5-2 win over Czechia. The CBJ defenseman continued his point-per-game pace with an assist to give him four points in four games, and the U.S. placed second in Group B and will take on Finland in Thursday's quarterfinal round.
Canada also faced a fairly tight game but emerged with a 5-3 win over Sweden in front of a frenzied opposing crowd in Stockholm. Head coach Evason's squad won Group A in the preliminary round with six wins and a shootout loss in seven games, outscoring teams 34-7, and will take on Denmark in a quarterfinal.
Finland closed the group stage with a 2-1 victory over Slovakia. Pyyhtia played in his second game, while Knazko closed the tournament. The Slovaks won just two of seven games and did not advance, placing 11th overall.
Monday, May 19
Despite the shootout effort of Johnson, Finland posted a huge 2-1 victory against Canada that was the first setback of the tournament for those who wear the Maple Leaf on their sweater.
In a tight game, Canada scored in period two before Finland tied the score in the third, setting up overtime and then a shootout. Johnson made a nice move to beat Juuse Saros with Canada's second shot of the skills competition, but Eeli Tolvanen had the deciding goal to give the Finns the win. Pyyhtia made his debut in the tournament after joining Finland as an injury replacement.
With both teams guaranteed to go through to the quarterfinals, Canada sits in second place in Group A, with Finland a spot behind.
Sunday, May 18
Werenski notched his first goal of the tournament, putting the finishing touches on the United States' 6-1 win over Kazakhstan on Sunday. His tally early in the third period gave the U.S. a 6-0 lead, as he took Michael Kesselring's pass, skated through the left circle with speed and wired a wrist shot home. Werenski finished the game plus-3 with six shots on goal as the U.S. earned its fourth win in six games and secured advancement at the tournament.
It was a different story for Knazko and the Slovaks, who lost a 5-1 final to Latvia in a game that could determine who advances out of Group A. After a 1-1 first period, Latvia scored three times in the second and again in the third, and Knazko was minus-4 in the game despite notching an assist.
Saturday, May 17
The United States pulled away to a 6-3 win over Germany in which Werenski played 26:10 with an assist and four shots on goal. The U.S. win moved the Americans into third place in Group B with 11 points in five games.
Canada and Slovakia faced off in what turned into a 7-0 win for the Canadians. None of the CBJ players involved hit the scoresheet, with Knazko playing 19:20 to place second among Slovak defensemen.
Friday, May 16
None of the CBJ players and coaches took part in games on this date, but there was some news involving a CBJ player. Finland announced that because of injury, forward Mikael Pyyhtia will join the roster and arrive in Stockholm on Sunday. Pyyhtia split this season with the Blue Jackets (47 games, 4-3-7) and Cleveland (28 games, 3-13-16) and was on Finland's World Juniors team in 2021.
Thursday, May 15
Canada fell into an early 1-0 hole Austria but roared back to take a 5-1 victory, improving to 4-0 in the tournament. The Canadians had a 52-16 edge in shots on goal and have now outscored the opposition 21-2 in four games to sit atop Group A.
Fantilli was moved from wing to center for the game, posting a tournament-best four shots on goal and winning six of eight faceoffs, but neither he nor Johnson got on the score sheet.
Wednesday, May 14
Werenski made his World Championships debut for 2025 and didn't exactly ease into things.
Werenski skated 31:38 and had an assist as the U.S. won a 6-5 contest vs. Norway in overtime as Tage Thompson completed the hat trick with a power-play goal in the extra frame. It wasn't easy, though, as the Polar Bears battled back from a 5-1 deficit to tie the game late on Anaheim Ducks draft pick Stian Solberg's third goal of the game.
The U.S. now has eight points in four games at the tournament and sits third in Group B.
Knazko and Slovakia earned their second win of the tournament, posting a 2-1 victory over France to move into third place in Group A. Knazko skated a tournament-best 19:50 to lead Slovak defensemen in ice time.
Tuesday, May 13
Canada moved its record to 3-0 at the event with a 5-0 blanking of France in which the Canadians had a 36-15 edge in shots on goal.
Johnson got on the scoresheet for the second consecutive game, setting up Will Cuylle for a 2-on-1 goal that gave Canada a 2-0 lead in the opening frame. The Canadians now lead Group A with nine points and have outscored the opposition 16-1.
Monday, May 12
Zach Werenski had a pretty good reason why he wasn't able to play in Team USA's 3-0 loss to Switzerland -- his gear still hasn't arrived in Denmark.
With that in mind, Werenski said he hopes to be on the ice for Wednesday's clash with Norway provided his gear makes it, but he was still on the sidelines as the Americans dropped their first game of the tournament. Switzerland scored twice in the first period and got an insurance marker from former CBJ defenseman Dean Kukan in the third to earn the shutout victory.
Knazko and Slovakia rallied from a two-goal deficit to take Austria to overtime before falling 3-2 in a shootout. Knazko skated 17:05 and finished plus-2.
Sunday, May 11
Kent Johnson scored the first two goals for a Blue Jackets player at the tournament, getting on the board twice in Canada's 7-1 win vs. Latvia. Johnson tallied both of his goals in the second period, scoring from in front after taking a pass from Brandon Montour to make it 3-1 and then making it a three-goal lead 3:59 later with a wrist shot on the rush. Evason improved to 2-0 behind the bench in his first stint as Canada's head coach.
Knazko got on the ice for the first time in Slovakia's 3-1 win over Slovenia, notching an assist in his tournament debut. The defenseman's point shot was tipped home by Pavol Regenda to give the Slovaks a 2-0 lead in the first period that they wouldn't relinquish.
For the second straight game, Werenski did not play for Team USA in its 6-0 victory vs. Hungary after committing to join the squad in the days leading up to the tournament.
Saturday, May 10
Canada got off to a strong start with Evason and McCarthy behind the bench, downing Slovenia by a 4-0 score in their tournament opener.
Fantilli skated on a line with Sidney Crosby and Macklin Celebrini, while Johnson was paired with Ryan O'Reilly and Tyson Foerster. The two CBJ players did not get on the score sheet, though, as Canada scored three power-play goals in the victory.
Friday, May 9
Both the United States and Slovakia opened the tournament, but neither Werenski nor Knazko were on the ice.
The U.S. squad began play with a 5-0 victory over Denmark, but Werenski was unavailable after committing to join the squad this week. Meanwhile, Knazko did not play in the Slovaks' 5-0 loss to Sweden due to travel.
