MN Wild Players Invited to U.S. Olympic Orientation Camp

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Brock Faber, Minnesota Wild
Credit: Matt Blewett-Imagn Images

Later this month in Colorado Springs, CO, USA Hockey will assemble 44 of the best American-born players on the planet, to start preparation for the 2026 Winter Olympics, which will include NHL players for the first time since the 2014 Sochi Games.

Minnesota Wild general manager Bill Guerin, who has served as Team USA general manager since 2021, is yet again in charge of assembling the American squad. With NHLers in the mix, however, this time around will be a bit different than what he put together in 2022.

After the smashing success of last year’s 4 Nations Face-Off, which replaced the 2024-25 NHL All-Star Game and acted as an extended in-season break for players who did not compete, the league is planning the same type of schedule centering around this winter’s Olympics (Feb 6-22).

Brock Faber and Matt Boldy join Team USA from Minnesota Wild

In the past couple NHL seasons, Brock Faber and Matt Boldy have established themselves as two of the brightest young talents in hockey, quickly earning top line minutes with the Minnesota Wild, along with the eye Team USA.

Of course, it helps when the guy running your NHL team is also the guy picking Team USA’s roster, but both Faber and Boldy proved during the 4 Nations Face-Off that they belonged on the ice with the best players in the world.

The upcoming season will be Faber’s fourth in the NHL. He finished second to Connor Bedard for the Calder Memorial Trophy (best rookie) in 2023-24. In 78 games for the MN Wild last year he had 10 goals and 29 points while blocking 116 shots and handing out 36 hits.

Faber also participated in the 2022 Olympics for Team USA. That roster failed to medal as they lost in a quarterfinal shootout against Slovakia.

Boldy, the 12th overall pick in 2019, is entering his fifth NHL season. He played in all 82 games for the Wild last season and scored 27 goals with 73 points. He won 46.4% of his faceoffs, and contributed six power play goals.

Of course Guerin is more than familiar with players from a Minnesota Wild team he is in charge of assembling. New York Rangers head coach Mike Sullivan will be leading Team USA on the ice.

This Olympic Orientation Camp is a team-building part of the process. The actual Olympics roster will consist of just 25 players. There are 19 spots left after Jack Eichel, Auston Matthews, Brady Tkachuk, Matthew Tkachuk, Quinn Hughes, and Charlie McAvoy were named to the first six.

Minnesota coming for Team USA spots as well

It’s not just Minnesota Wild players that are noteworthy among the Olympic Orientation Camp participants. Minnesota is a hockey hotbed, and there are multiple natives that were invited as well.

Beyond Faber, he is joined by the likes of Jake Guetzel (Woodbury), Brock Nelson (Warroad), Brady Skjei (Lakeville), Neal Pionk (Hermantown), Ryan McDonagh (St. Paul), Jackson LaCombe (Eden Prairie), and Jake Oettinger (Lakeville).

Related: MN Wild Sign NHL Veteran and One-Time Shattuck St. Mary’s Rental to Pro Tryout

Guerin will have some difficult decisions to make as he looks to round out his roster. There are just 19 spots for the 44 invited players. This camp does not include an on-ice component, so it will be little more than a team-building get together.

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