Team USA hockey rosters feature 14 with ties to Minnesota

Originally posted on Bring Me The News | By Joe Nelson | Last updated Jan 2, 2026 9:44 AM ET

Team USA revealed its hockey rosters for the upcoming Milano Cortina Winter Olympics, and there are 14 players with Minnesota ties on the men's and women's rosters.

On the men's side, Minnesota Wild stars Matt Boldy, Quinn Hughes, and Brock Faber will don the red, white, and blue. Hughes and Faber are among the best defensemen in the NHL. At the same time, Boldy has established himself as one of the top forwards in the world. His 25 goals this season rank second in the NHL, only trailing Colorado Avalanche megastar Nathan MacKinnon (34).

Fellow Minnesotans, forward Jake Guentzel of the Tampa Bay Lightning, forward Brock Nelson of the Avalanche, and goalie Jake Oettinger of the Dallas Stars also made the USA roster.

There are eight players with Minnesota ties on the women's team, including Gophers forward Abbey Murphy, Frost stars Taylor Heise, Grace Zumwinkle, Kelly Pannek, Kendall Coyne-Schofield, Lee Stecklein, and Britta Curl-Salemme, and Ottawa Charge standout Rory Guilday.

Coyne-Schofield and Stecklein are now four-time Olympians, while Pannek, Zumwinkle, and Murphy will be playing in the Olympics for a second time.

When you break it down by Minnesota connection, you get nine players who are Minnesota natives, six members of the Frost, three from the Wild, and one current Golden Gopher.

Minnesota natives playing for Team USA:

Rory Guilday (Chanhassen)
Lee Stecklein (Roseville)
Kelly Pannek (Plymouth)
Grace Zumwinkle (Excelsior)
Taylor Heise (Lake City)
Brock Faber (Maple Grove)
Jake Guentzel (Woodbury)
Brock Nelson (Warroad)
Jake Oettinger (Lakeville)

Meanwhile, four members of the Wild were named to Sweden's Olympic team: goalies Filip Gustavsson and Jesper Wallstedt, forward Joel Eriksson Ek, and defenseman Jonas Brodin.

This article first appeared on Bring Me The News and was syndicated with permission.

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