Next month, the U.S. National Team Development Program will provide most – possibly all – of the players who skate for Team USA during the IIHF Under 18 Championships. The next topflight event after that will be the Men's World Championships, hosted by Switzerland in May. The United States will be in a pool with seven other nations at that two-week competition. However, Team USA won't be the same group that won Olympic gold less than 300 miles away in Cortina during February. Many players from that team will be skating in the Stanley Cup playoffs.
Last week, USA Hockey announced Florida Panthers executive Brett Peterson will be the general manager in charge of selecting the 2026 U.S. squad headed for Zurich and Fribourg. Peterson will be assisted by an advisory group of NHL general managers and hockey operations officials. They will try to keep the U.S. on top after a first-ever first-place finish in the World Championships last year, plus last month's memorable Olympic run.
Based on recent years, much of the U.S. team is likely to be composed of NHL players from teams that are out of the running for the Stanley Cup. Recent rosters suggest those skaters tend to be younger and often have other international hockey experience.
Cal Petersen and Dylan Samberg were the last Black Hawks alumni to play for the United States in the IIHF Men's World Championships. That was in 2023. Here are some other former Waterloo skaters who seem to fit the mold for a trip to the Alps next month.
Sam Rinzel – Chicago Blackhawks
During his NHL rookie season, Rinzel has played 40 games for the Chicago Blackhawks, while also spending just over two months in the American Hockey League with the Rockford IceHogs. In total, that adds up to 63 appearances for the 21-year-old. That's a lot of hockey already, but playing for the U.S. at the World Championships would certainly qualify as an additional development opportunity. Red, white, and blue are familiar colors for Rinzel, who most recently helped the U.S. to gold at the 2024 World Junior Championship while he was a Minnesota Gopher. Rinzel has also appeared in the Gretzky-Hlinka Cup (2021) and the World Junior A Challenge (2022).
Max Sasson – Vancouver Canucks
Sasson has made the transition to being a fulltime NHL player during the 2025/26 season. Although he opened the year in the AHL, Sasson has skated in 58 of Vancouver's 68 games. The 25-year-old has produced 11 goals and averages over 11 minutes of ice time. Sasson also has one of the highest shooting percentages on the Canucks (11 goals on 56 shots for 19.6 percent). If the Michigan native were to be chosen for Team USA, it would be his first significant opportunity in international competition after not being rostered during his junior or college career.
Vinnie Hinostroza – Florida Panthers
Way back in 2016, Hinostroza played in the World Championships following his first full season in professional hockey. At 31, he doesn't fit the typical young American player profile which has been common to U.S. World Championship rosters. However, 2025/26 has been Hinostroza's best NHL season in several years. He has five goals and eight assists in 52 games, giving him more points and appearances than in any campaign since 2021/22 with Buffalo. He also has the opportunity to make an impression on Brett Peterson firsthand every day after the Panthers traded to acquire him from the Minnesota Wild earlier this month.
Dylan Samberg – Winnipeg Jets
When Samberg last skated at the World Championships, he had 78 career NHL regular season games to his credit. Now that number is up to 268 and counting, all with the Winnipeg Jets. This winter, the defenseman has recorded a goal and 12 assists with a +3 plus/minus differential that places sixth on the team. An early-season injury kept him out of action until mid-November, perhaps meaning he would be fresher than if he had been available for all 82 NHL games. Samberg played on two different World Junior Championship teams while he was a student at Minnesota-Duluth.
John Mustard – Providence College
USA Hockey's World Championship roster has sometimes included players who have spent the prior season playing NCAA hockey. That was the case for Black Hawk alumni Craig Smith in 2011 and Cal Petersen in 2017. Among the current crop of Waterloo players in college hockey, Mustard might be the best candidate. He has 28 points (16 goals, 12 assists) in 35 games for the Friars, who are currently ranked 7th in the country after winning the Hockey East regular season championship. Joining the U.S. World Championship delegation would be a big opportunity for the third round Chicago Blackhawks draft pick to show what he can do against professional opponents.
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