Pittsburgh Penguins forward Tomas Novak and defenseman Connor Clifton have made the U.S. preliminary roster for the upcoming IIHF World Championship, which takes place May 15-31, 2026, in Zurich and Fribourg, Switzerland. The U.S. team will try to become the first team to win back-to-back gold medals. The roster will consists of three goaltenders, eight defensemen, and 14 forwards.
Group A will consists of the U.S. Men's National Team, joined by Austria, Finland, Germany, Great Britain, Hungary, Latvia, and host Switzerland. This will eb the preliminary round at the Swiss Life Arena in Zurich.
The last time the U.S. Men's National Team won Gold was at the 2025 IIHF Men's World Championship in Herning, Denmark, and Stockholm, Sweden in May 2025. That result earned the U.S. a total of 14 podium finishes in the history of the tournament.Among those 14 medals, they have two Gold medals (2025, 1933), four silver medals (1950, 1939, 1933, 1931), and eight Bronze medals (2021, 2018, 2015, 2013, 2004, 1996, 1952, 1949).
of the two Penguins, Novak won a Bronze medal for the United States National Under-18 team at the 2014 Ivan Hlinka memorial Tournament. he also participated in the 2014 World Junior A Challenge as a member of the United States National Junior Team and produced seven points in four games. For the Penguins this past season, Novak was a big part of the successful season as he produced 16 goals and 26 assists for 42 points in 82 games. He was three points shirt of a career-high as the Penguins made the playoffs this past season. He was a much-needed scoring threat as he lifted the middle-six in scoring. Novak came over from the Nashville Predators in a trade that sent Michael Bunting and a 2026 fourth-round pick.
Clifton competed at the 2013 IIHF World Under-18 Championship as a member of the United States and earned a Silver medal. For Pittsburgh, he has played solid defense as part of the Penguins middle-six defense pairings. Clifton came over from the Boston Bruins, along with the 39th pick in the 2025 NHL Draft, in exchange for Conor Timmins and Isaac Beliveau. He has six points (two goals, four assists) and 53 penalty minutes this past season.
The first hae for teh U.S. is Sunday, May 10, 2026, in a pre-tournament game against Germany. This game will take place at the SAP Arena Mannheim in Mannheim, Germany.
Add us as a preferred source on Google