Earlier this week, Team USA released their roster for the U.S. Men's Olympic Orientation Camp. The final roster for the team will be crafted from the 44 players attending the workouts at the end of the month in Plymouth, Michigan. As expected, several Minnesota Wild players have been invited, and have a strong change of making the team.
Brock Faber and Matt Boldy already have international experience as they suited up for Team USA at the 4 Nations Face-Off back in February. They will be heading over to Michigan with an excellent chance of making the team. Most of the mock rosters for the Olympics have both players putting on the red, white, and blue. For Faber, it would be his second Olympics as he was part of the contingent that went to Beijing in 2022. He appeared in four games and picked up one assist as the US was kept off of the medal stand.
While Boldy has yet to play in the Olympics he has played for his country several times as a junior hockey player (and has an Under-20 World Championship Gold Medal) and as a professional, playing in a couple of IIHF World Championships. In 2024 he led the international tournament in points as he posted 6 goals and 8 assists in 8 games. Sadly, it didn't lead to a medal as Czechia upset the US in the quarter-finals.
Joining Faber and Boldy will be some other players with ties to the state of Minnesota. Jake Guentzel (Woodbury), Brock Nelson (Warroad), Ryan McDonagh (Saint Paul), Brady Skjei (Lakeville), Jackson LaCombe (Eden Prairie), Neal Pionk (Hermantown), and Jake Oettinger (Lakeville) all hail from the state. Matthew Knies and Logan Cooley attended the University of Minnesota. The Wild's general manager, Bill Guerin, is also the GM of Team USA, so he'll be responsible for building the final roster that will be competing for a gold medal.
It is important to note that even if they weren't invited to the orientation camp, players can still make their way onto the final Olympic roster. It will be tough to eclipse the list of names on the invite list, but injuries and other factors could play into someone working their way past everyone else. For the Wild, who do have a fair number of Americans on the roster, the most likely player to play his way on would be one of their youngest - Zeev Buium.
Yes, it would be a lot of pressure for the 19-year-old, but he's had his share of glory for Team USA already in his young career. There are two U20 gold medals hanging in his closet and he has 11 points in 14 games. Next to those medals is an IIHF World Championship gold from 2025 where he had 4 points in 8 games. It would take an impressive run of play over the first three months of the season for the rookie to convince his general manager that he deserves a spot on the roster, but it's not completely out of the realm of possibility.
While Boldy and Faber would likely enjoy a long break in February, the chance to represent their country will be more important to them than a couple of days on a beach somewhere.