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Matt Boldy, Minnesota Wild (Amy Irvin / The Hockey Writers)

Wild’s Boldy & Faber Invited to Team USA’s Olympic Orientation Camp

Originally posted on The Hockey Writers
By Mariah E. Stark | Last updated Aug 20, 2025 12:15 PM ET

As the end of summer and the offseason are approaching quickly, the 2026 Olympics are right around the corner as well. On Tuesday, August 19th, Team USA announced its list of players who are invited to attend its orientation camp coming up at the end of the month. Quite a few NHL teams are represented, including the Minnesota Wild, who have two players invited.

The two Wild players who are invited for Team USA are the same players who played in the Fourth Nations Tournament this past season: forward Matt Boldy and defenseman Brock Faber . Some were surprised not to see Zeev Buium’s name on the list, but given that he hasn’t played an actual NHL season yet and is so young, i t’s not a huge surprise. In this article, we’ll look at the two players who will represent the Wild, what they bring to the team, and if they’ll make the final cut, starting with Boldy.

Boldy Continues to Represent

Not only did Matt Boldy lead the Wild in stats last season, but he represented them along with the United States in the Four Nations. He had a team leading 73 points for the Wild this past season and three points in four games played for Team USA. He didn’t let his defensive responsibilities fall either; he had 69 blocked shots throughout the season for the Wild.

Boldy is a sizable player who can score goals but also assist on them. He didn’t hit the 30-goal mark yet, but is likely to this season if he can stay healthy, and that’s just the beginning. He finally started to find his game last season after struggling with consistency, and that is something he will battle again this season, but hopefully, he can handle it better and find a way to play consistent every night. Along with his offensive side, he steps up defensively as well with a high number of blocked shots, and Team USA will need both sides of his game in the Olympics.

The main question everyone wants to know is if Boldy will make the cut. As long as his game follows what it did last season and he finds a way to impact the play every night, he’ll be in. He has a great chance, especially since his game has improved every season, and he doesn’t show signs of stopping.

Faber Can Make It

Brock Faber is the young defenseman every team wants on its roster. He has the ability to score goals but also stop them, and although he’s young, he plays with the maturity of a 10-year veteran. He was three points shy of being the top-producing defenseman with 29 points in 78 games played. He came back from a puck to the throat and barely missed any time. He also had 115 block ed shots, which is something every team can have more of.

Faber’s not the biggest guy on the team, but he’s not afraid to be physical or get in the way of the puck. While everyone knows how talented he is on the defensive side of the puck, he has a great shot that he’s not shy about using when he has a clear path, something that more of his teammates need to do.

Now to the big question: Will Faber make the roster? He should have a pretty strong chance since he played at Four Nations, and he had two points in four games played, but he has a lot of strong competition. As far as offensive contribution, he is likely outmatched, but his defensive game carries a lot of weight, and while it’ll be close, he’ll likely slide in.

Wild Have More Olympic Possibilities

This was just the invites for the United States camp while other country invites/rosters have yet to be announced, the Wild have a lot of potential candidates. For Sweden alone, they have Jonas Brodin, Joel Eriksson Ek, and Filip Gustavsson. They are the most notable names, but there may be more to come as teams announce their choices going forward. It’ll be interesting to see who makes the cut and who doesn’t, especially among Wild players.