As the offseason begins for half of the league, some players will return home to rest and train. Others will suit up internationally, trying to bring home a gold medal for their country. Joel Farabee will be one of those players as he was named to the United States roster for the upcoming Men's World Championships. It will be the first time Farabee has played in this specific tournament.
He has represented the USA before, but this will be the first time since the 2018-19 season. Farabee spent two seasons with the United States National Team Development Program in the USHL. In 56 games, he posted 27 goals and 63 assists. Farabee also joined the national squad on multiple occassions, wearing the captain's patch in 2017-18. In total, Farabee played at the World U17 Hockey Challenge, the U18 World Junior Championships, and the World Junior Championships. He fared well during each tournament, registering at least five points in all four tournaments.
Farabee was named to the All-Star team at the U17 WHC. He won a gold medal with the U18 team in 2016-17 and had the championship-winning goal. He earned a silver medal the following year and was named a top-three player on the USA squad. So he has plenty of experience playing for the United States. He will try to help the team bring home their first gold medal since 1933. They are looking for their first medal since winning bronze in 2021.
It appeared they would break the drought last season after capturing the top spot in group play. The United States would go undefeated heading into the elimination games. They shut out the Czech Republic in the quarterfinals. Unfortunately, they would fall to Germany in overtime in the semifinals.
USA will train in Slovakia beginning May 5 and play a pre-tournament game against the home country on May 7. The tournament starts May 10 where Team USA will face off against Sweden at 2:20 p.m. They will also play Germany, Slovakia, France, Poland, Kazakhstan, and Latvia in the preliminary round. All games will take place at the Ostrava Arena in Czechia.