USA Hockey announced its preliminary roster for the IIHF Men's World Championship taking place in Switzerland later this month, and a handful of players will represent the mustard yellow.
The Nashville Predators will send two of their players to compete: forward Ryker Lee and defenseman Ryan Ufko. Additionally, there will be a three former Preds members in the lineup: goalie Devin Cooley, forward Mathieu Olivier and forward Tommy Novak.
They'll help Team USA in its attempt to win gold for the third time ever and in first in back-to-back championships.
Ufko, Lee bring speed and skilled offense to Team USA
Ufko is the only current Predators roster player competing this year. The 23-year-old rookie played 19 games with Nashville over the span of two season, 18 coming from this season. He finished the season with two goals and 11 points, solidifying himself as the Predators top up-and-coming blueliner.
Ufko was one of the AHL's top point scorers, recording 44 points in 52 games. He was fourth in points for the Milwaukee Admirals, despite missing 20 games. He was named to the 2026 AHL All-Star Classic representing the Central All-Stars.
Lee, 19, is the youngest player on the roster. He was drafted 26th overall by Nashville in last year's draft after scoring 31 goals and 68 points in the USHL. Since then, Lee joined Michigan State University where he scored 15 goals and 30 points in 35 games, the team's fourth most this year.
Together, Ufko and Lee will provide USA Hockey with reliable depth scoring and puck moving. Given the strength of USA's roster, the two will more than likely not be high minute players; don't count them out, however, as they're still extremely talented youngsters with a lot of future potential.
Preds alumni set to represent USA and the Volunteer State
Novak is the most recent member of the bunch, playing for the team last season. He was traded to the Pittsburgh Penguins two days before the NHL Trade Deadline for Michael Bunting. Novak posted back-to-back 40+-point seasons with the Predators, including a 45-point campaign in his last full season with the club.
Cooley has since become a popular figure in the league fueled by his interesting interview responses. His professional career started in Nashville after he was signed as an undrafted free agent in 2020. While he never played an NHL game with the Preds, he did play a consistent role on their farm teams. He split his tenure with the Everblades in the ECHL and the Admirals in the AHL. He sought his first NHL start with San Jose and is now a back-up to Dustin Wolf on Calgary.
Much like Cooley, Olivier landed an NHL contract after going undrafted. He played 48 games with Nashville, becoming a fan-favorite thanks to his enforcer playstyle. The Predators later traded Olivier to Columbus for a pick in the 2022 NHL Draft. With the Blue Jackets, Olivier's development exploded. He posted a career high in points with 15 in his first full season and took over as the team's go-to physical player. He later topped that with 32 points while recording 139 penalty minutes.
While these three never got to play in the NHL with Ufko and Lee, it's safe to say that the Smashville origins won't be absent in the lineup.
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