2025 Worlds Tournament Takeaways: Team USA

After an excellent tournament, the United States is golden again at the IIHF Women’s World Championships. They became the first team since 2021 to finish the tournament undefeated, and now get to enter an Olympic year as the reigning champions. The TIG staff will be putting out report cards on every team in the coming days, but in the meantime, here are four of my musings on Team USA's tournament that I haven't been able to write about and couldn't fit into the report card.

1. The third line was perhaps their best line

The U.S. ran a third line of Kendall Coyne Schofield, Kelly Pannek, and Abbey Murphy for most of the tournament, and it was arguably their most successful line. Sure, the top line of Tessa Janecke, Alex Carpenter, and Hilary Knight was also outstanding, and the second and fourth lines had some nice moments too. But, before Janecke's golden goal, it was the third line typically coming up clutch. Pannek shined particularly bright, potting four goals and four assists to sit in a four-way tie for fourth in tournament scoring. Two of her goals were the game-winners in the quarterfinals and semifinals. All three third liners had a two-goal game at some point, and their combination of speed, skill, and Murphy’s peskiness was a nightmare for opponents to contain. They were broken up for the game against Czechia, and while Pannek still scored the game-winner, none of them looked as dangerous as they were together. The more important the game, the more important quality depth scoring is, and that’s exactly what the Americans found in their third line. They'd be smart to run it back at next year's Olympics.

2. Move Laila Edwards back to forward.

After first trying it at this year’s Rivalry Series, Team USA opted to keep Edwards, a natural forward, on defense for this tournament. Ahead of the Rivalry Series, the decision was reportedly mutual by Edwards and the U.S. staff, and seemed primarily driven by heavy competition for the forward spots. However, it’s hard to wrap your head around thinking it'd be better to switch such a talented offensive player to defense rather than leave someone home that's perhaps a little more experienced but with a lower ceiling.

The good news is, Edwards did not play poorly on defense despite the trial by fire. There were certainly some gaffes, but that's to be expected, and overall, she settled in reasonably well and built more trust with the coaching staff as the tournament wore on. However, she admitted to The Athletic's Hailey Salvian that she was playing more hesitantly offensively, and that's a problem given how talented she is. Her shot is lethal, but it was only really unleashed on power plays late in the tournament. As time goes on, she'll likely get more comfortable working more offense in from the blueline, but again, is this even something we need to discuss? Edwards went to Czechia as the reigning tournament MVP (and the youngest player ever to claim that title) and the leading NCAA scorer this season. She scored a tournament-leading six goals in her first senior Worlds appearance last year. It’s inexplicable to say there wasn't a spot for her up front again, because what more could you want? The longtime faces of Team USA (such as Knight and Coyne Schofield) are closer to the ends of their careers than the beginning. They need someone to emerge as the next face of the program, and Edwards has that potential. But she has a better chance of reaching it as a forward than as a defender.

3. Gwyneth Philips is a star in the making.

This tournament marked Philips’ first time as the primary USA backup, and she proved she’s ready for it. She wasn’t busy in her two appearances in the preliminary round, but then, she had to enter the gold medal game cold in the third period after starter Aerin Frankel left with an injury. That’s not a good scenario for any goaltender, let alone one as new to this stage as Philips. Yet, she turned aside 17 of 18 shots faced, including all ten she saw in 3v3 overtime and numerous grade-A opportunities, to allow the Americans to reclaim gold. She deserves a ton of credit for how she rose to the occasion on the biggest stage she’s ever been on. This isn't a one-off thing either, as she's done the same for the Ottawa Charge since Emerance Maschmeyer's injury. She’s been in Frankel’s shadow for most of her young career, but the future is bright for her.

4. The NCAA players took another step this year.

Team USA has been infusing more NCAA players into their lineup for a handful of tournaments now, and they keep proving that the future of this team is bright. Caroline Harvey is a bona fide star, taking home Best Defender honors for the second time at just 22 years old. She’s only the fourth player to win the award multiple times, and one imagines there are more in her future. Up front, there is no one quite like Abbey Murphy in the women’s game. She has a way of consistently infuriating opponents while having the skill to make an impact on the scoreboard. She has a flair for theatrics that might get her in trouble eventually, but it’s probably safe to say she’ll continue to be the player everyone loves to have on their team but hates to play against for a long time. You can’t forget about golden goal scorer Janecke either, who fit right in on the top line alongside Knight and Carpenter. Penn State’s all-time leader in points (men’s or women’s) doesn’t shy away from big moments, and she has a long career ahead of her. Plus, there’s Edwards, who saw increased minutes as she got more comfortable on defense throughout the tournament. Her willingness to do whatever it takes to stick around on this team is admirable, even if making her switch positions is a questionable decision.

Finally, Joy Dunne, Lacey Eden, and Haley Winn all continued to get more comfortable at this level, and one hopes to see more of Kirsten Simms’ creative playmaking in the future after she got limited minutes this tournament. Wisconsin's Ava McNaughton also got a small taste of senior Worlds action by playing the second half of the game against Switzerland, which will be valuable experience as she works to claim the third goaltender spot again in the future. All in all, the future of Team USA is in good hands as this next generation embraces increased roles while still learning from the program’s current leaders.