GLENDALE - Coyotes defenseman Connor Murphy recently returned to the United States after a memorable experience at the 2017 IIHF World Championship in Cologne, Germany.
Murphy, 24, was picked by Team USA to serve as team captain at the annual 16-nation tournament. The Americans won six of their eight games, but were bumped from the event by Finland in the quarterfinals.
"I'm very thankful that USA Hockey gave me the opportunity to be team captain and that they keep inviting me to play for them," said Murphy, a four-time participant at the World Championship. "It was a great experience. We played in a really nice arena there in Cologne, and we came together really well as a team. We had good coaching and a good staff. Obviously it ended sooner than we all wanted it to. Everyone had high goals going into that quarterfinal game and we believed we had a good team that could've won it, but when you get into the quarterfinals it's one game and anything can happen, and we ultimately came up short."
Murphy Enjoyed Serving as Team USA Captain
Coyotes defenseman Connor Murphy led the Americans to six wins in eight games at IIHF World Championship
© Photo by Getty Images.
© Photo by Getty Images.
© Photo by Getty Images.
© Photo by Connor Murphy