FIVE CURRENT AND FORMER AMERKS AIMING FOR GOLD AT 2026 IIHF WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS IN SWITZERLAND
Cooley, Borgen looking to lead United States to its second straight gold medal
May 14, 2026Five current or former Rochester Americans from three different countries will begin the quest for gold in hockey’s grandest spectacle at the 89th annual 2026 International Ice Hockey Federation World Championship in Zurich and Fribourg, Switzerland this weekend.
The premier international event kicks off on Friday, May 15 when Finland meets Germany before the defending world champion United States takes on host Switzerland in Group A action from Swiss Life Arena. Group B’s opening slate of games will see Canada meet Sweden before Czechia battles Denmark at BCF Arena. The three-week, 16-team tournament will conclude with the gold-medal game on Sunday, May 31.
UNITED STATES
After winning gold at last year’s event for the first time since 1960, Team USA returns to the international stage looking to repeat as world champions for the first time ever. Prior to winning gold in 2025, the Americans, who are led by former Buffalo Sabres head coach Don Granato, have medaled just five times since 2013 and six times in total over the last 30 years at the annual event.
The United States enter the tournament fresh off a their first-place finish at this year’s Winter Olympic Games in Milan, upsetting the heavy favorite and archrival Canadians with their first gold medal win since the infamous Miracle on Ice in 1980. Should the Americans repeat this year, they will join Sweden (2006) and Finland (2022) to win both Olympic and World Championship gold in the same year.
Two former Amerks will again don the red, white, and blue at the 2026 World Championships in goaltender Devin Cooley and defenseman Will Borgen.
One of three goaltenders named to Team USA’s roster, Cooley most recently played for the Amerks during the 2023-24 season, boasting a 6-6-2 record with a 3.77 goals-against average and a .891 save percentage. Since leaving Rochester, the undrafted netminder has go onto appear in 37 career NHL games, including 31 this past season for Calgary.
Borgen spent his entire AHL career with the Amerks, recording 25 points (4+21) in 140 games over parts of three seasons. He also appeared in 14 NHL contests for the Buffalo Sabres, who selected the defenseman in the fourth round (92nd overall) in the 2015 NHL Draft. This marks the third international appearance for Borgen, who previously represented the United States at the 2016 IIHF World Junior Championships and most recently at the 2018 Winter Olympics, where he was teammates alongside former Amerks Brian Gionta and David Leggio.
SWEDEN
Winners of the 2017 and 2018 World Championships, Sweden is looking to reach the medal-round for the third straight year after winning bronze at each of the last two events. Entering this year’s tournament, the Swedes have earned a total of nine medals over the last 17 years dating back to its bronze medal in 2009, including three goals medals over a six-year span.
Joining Sweden in its bid for gold include forward Rasmus Asplund and defenseman Erik Brannström, both of whom are no strangers to the international stage.
Asplund returns to Sweden’s top national team for the first time since 2022 when he scored a team-high six goals in eight games at that year’s World Championship. In six international appearances for Sweden, including back-to-back World Junior Championships in 2016 and 2017, Asplund has never finished better than fourth.
Asplund, who was a teammate of Borgen’s in Rochester, totaled 62 points (13+49) in 111 career games with the Amerks. Originally a second-round selection (33rd overall) by the Sabres in 2016, Asplund has also skated in 189 NHL games with Buffalo, Nashville and Florida, recording 49 points on 18 goals and 31 assists.
Brannström, meanwhile, had a brief yet productive stint with the Amerks, notching seven points – including five goals – in 13 games to close out a 2024-25 campaign that saw him play for four different teams. He made an immediate impact upon his arrival to Rochester, scoring twice in his Amerks debut while providing stability on the backend during the team’s late-season run to the postseason.
Brannström, who will make his national team debut with Sweden, is a four-time medal-winner in international competition, most recently earning silver at the 2018 World Junior Championships. He also won silver at both the Ivan Hlinka Gretzky Cup and U-18 World Junior Championships in 2015 and 2016, respectively, while also adding a bronze at the World U-17 Hockey Challenge in 2015.
SLOVAKIA
Set to make his senior international debut is Slovakian-born defenseman Maxim Štrbák, who was a late-season addition to the Amerks. The 20-year-old agreed to terms on a three-year, entry-level deal with the Sabres on April 1 before finishing the remainder of the season on an amateur tryout with Rochester, where he notched one assist in two games.
Štrbák, 20, was selected in the second round (45th overall) in the 2023 NHL Draft and played 102 games in three seasons at Michigan State.
Štrbák guided the Spartans to three consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances as well as three Big Ten Championships. He recorded 46 points (8+38) with a plus-33 rating during his collegiate career.
The Kosice, Slovakia, native had the second-most points by a Michigan State defenseman this season with 18 in 37 games. Štrbák was tied for 10th in the Big Ten with a plus-20 rating and had 38 blocked shots.
He represented Slovakia at four IIHF World Junior Championships (2002-2025), sharing an IIHF record, and had 16 points (2+14) in 19 games. He finished tied for the most assists by a defenseman during the 2024 tournament (6) and was selected as one of Slovakia’s top three performers at the event. He also represented Slovakia at the 2023 Men’s U18 World Championships in Switzerland, finishing fourth and serving as an alternate captain, competed in the Ivan Hlinka Tournament on Slovakia’s 2022 squad.
The Slovaks have medaled four times at the annual tournament since 2000, with their only gold coming back in 2002. Most recently, however, Slovakia claimed bronze at the 2022 Winter Olympic Games in Beijing.