The 2026 Winter Olympics have come to a close and the LA Kings are heading out of Milan with some hardware.
The victory by the United States in the gold-medal game means that Kings goaltending coach Mike Buckley finishes as a part of the gold-medal winning United States squad for his participation on the team's coaching staff. Certainly got to give the goaltending some credit for that one, don’t you? Connor Hellebuyck was a no-brainer to select as the starter in net and he was outstanding in the gold-medal game, making several saves to keep the game as tight as it was throughout, which allowed Team USA to eventually find the game-winning goal. Buckley is on the Team USA staff for the second time, after he earned a second-place finish at the 4 Nations Faceoff last season. Buckley is highly regarded around the league in goaltending circles and is deserving of his place. I'm sure it was a tremendous experience for Buckley, who was in Milan with his family to take in a special couple of weeks. He spoke about that before going off, his excitement to share the moments with his wife and children, on top of what is naturally an unbelievable opportunity to be a part of the coaching staff on this stage. Really, really special for him and great to see a guy like that get the reward.
While I’m sure it will feel like a consolation, it’s also congratulations to Kings defenseman Drew Doughty, goaltender Darcy Kuemper and Head Equipment Manager Darren Granger on winning silver, following the defeat against Team USA in the gold-medal match on Sunday in Milan. For Doughty, despite his third medal being silver instead of gold, he still becomes one of the most decorated players of this era of international hockey, as he becomes the first player, along with Pittsburgh's Sidney Crosby, to win three medals with at least two being gold, in the era of NHL players participating. Doughty played in all six games during the tournament and collected one assist. Along with his gold medals in 2010 and 2014, as well as a place on the All-Tournament Team in 2014, Doughty has put the cherry on top of a distinguished international career, which will likely earn him a place in the IIHF Hall of Fame when all is said and done. Congrats to Doughty on earning a place on this team at age-36 and for another accomplishment on this stage.
For Kuemper, while he did not play at the tournament, he had the honor of being selected to on this team, on this stage, and that still says something. Kuemper got to suit up against Team Switzerland in the group stage and still earned his medal. For a player who has had quite the turnaround in his career over the last 18 months, adding an Olympic medal to a Vezina nomination last season is certainly a nice accolade. For Granger, he adds a second Olympic performance to his impressive resume, on top of 2014. He’s also got titles at the 4 Nations Faceoff and World Cup of Hockey to his name. Granger is considered among the best at his craft in the entire NHL and it's telling that he was selected to the Team Canada staff among so many talented individuals. Congratulations to a great person and professional.
