USA wins 2025 Hlinka Gretzky Cup over Sweden, Canada takes bronze
The United States has won gold at the Hlinka Gretzky Cup for the second time in the nation’s history, beating Sweden 5-3 in Slovakia on Saturday afternoon.
USA previously won the tournament back in 2003. This is USA’s 15th medal in tournament history, and they’re now only the second active Hlinka participant to win multiple medals. Russia/Soviet Union have combined for five gold medals, but they haven’t played since winning the title in 2021.
Sweden’s silver medal is their fifth in tournament history, with their last gold coming in 2007.
Special teams were the story, with USA scoring three power-play goals, while Sweden had one. Elton Hermansson scored his first of two goals today just 10 seconds into the game, but Levi Harper would answer back at 2:53.
The back-and-forth would continue, with Noah Davidson and Jack Hextall scoring for USA, while Hampus Zirath was credited with Sweden’s second goal as USA took a 3-2 lead. Nikita Klepov scored the lone American goal in the second, giving USA some breathing room. Hermansson would score his second with about two minutes to go in the middle stanza to make things a little closer. Sweden continued to pepper the Americans late in the game, but Nick Bogas would score late on the power play to secure the victory.
In the bronze medal game, Canada shut out the Finns 3-0 to win their tournament-leading 30th medal, and just their second bronze ever. Cooper Williams, Ethan Belchetz, and Daxon Rudolph would lead the way offensively, while Gavin Betts would secure the shutout in the victory.
Here’s a look at the top performers from both games:
Sweden 3, USA 5
Sweden
#12 Marcus Nordmark, RW: Nordmark was involved everywhere – as expected. He was involved in physical battles and looked much more dangerous in the slot. Nordmark is a good puck-handler who always appears to be scanning for passes. He has a fast release and can get the puck where he wants it more often than not.
#17 Elton Hermansson, LW: Hermansson finished the tournament with a pair of goals, doing whatever it took to get his team back into the game. I love his shot release – he can fire it off from anywhere. He also comes back to help out defensively, and his acceleration allows him to win most puck races.
#9 Theodor Knights, D: I hadn’t noticed Knights much this week but he came to play today. He had an assist, but also had a couple of key blocked shots in the second period. He seemed to move better than I’ve seen him do this week, and he also did a solid job of keeping the puck in the attacking zone despite USA’s best efforts.
USA
#3 Nick Bogas, D: Bogas had the 5-3 goal to secure the win. But more importantly, he was USA’s best defenseman tonight, having a couple of blocks and making some nice reads to kill plays before they got to the net. Bogas rarely looked out of position, and he never had an off night this week.
#9 Jack Hextall, C: Hextall had a goal, two assists and was great in the faceoff dot to finish as USA’s top player today. The center does a good job of slowing the pace down before firing a high-quality shot on net. Hextall is exceptionally smart as a distributor but he also has a quick release that he isn’t afraid to launch past traffic.
#7 Noah Davidson, LW (2027): Davidson was USA’s most dangerous shooter today, scoring a power-play goal, adding an assist and even led the team in shots throughout most of the game. I loved how often he got in front of the net to create a screen, especially on the power play. He’s one of the USA’s most intriguing prospects for the 2027 NHL Draft and would be a first-round candidate if he were born two months earlier.
#12 Nikita Klepov, RW: Klepov combines speed and skill to do his damage. He was great all week, but this felt like his most involved game. He rushed the net on the power play to make it 4-2, using a quick, high shot to beat the Swedish goaltender. He has fast hands that defenders struggle to read because he doesn’t give much indication of what he’s going to do.
Canada 2, Finland 0
Canada
#31 Gavin Betts, G: Betts might want to erase yesterday’s shootout from his memory – that was his lone black mark this week. Betts was lights out today, tracking pucks as well as we’ve seen him do in Czechia this week. He has a quick glove hand, and while he’s small, he does a good job of moving laterally to make up for it.
#9 Landon DuPont, D (2027): DuPont is a smart defender who makes calculated decisions with the puck. I like how patient he was on the play that led to the 2-0 goal, outwaiting an attack by the point to get the puck in front to Belchetz. DuPont didn’t have an explosive offensive showing at any point this week, but he made so many smart, subtle plays that remind you just how special he is.
#25 Daxon Rudolph, D: This felt like Rudolph’s best game of the tournament. He had some iffy moments against the Americans, but he did an excellent job skating smoothly and taking space away in the D-zone. I also liked how he continued to put pressure on the Finnish defenders by rushing in to generate quality scoring chances. He deserves all the love he has received this week.
#16 Ethan Belchetz, LW: Belchetz loves to get to the front of the net and make things happen. That’s exactly what happened with the 2-0 goal – he caused a screen in front before receiving the puck and jamming it home for the insurance marker. Belchetz has been an absolute beast this week – I can’t wait to see how high in the draft he goes.
Finland
#31 William Gammals, G: You can’t win when your team doesn’t score. Gammals was one of Finland’s top players throughout the tournament, consistently holding down the fort, even when his team struggled to generate quality chances. Canada kept him busy early but he proved to be up for the task – it just wasn’t enough.
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