When the Boston Bruins' brain trust met with the media on Wednesday afternoon for their end-of-the-year season media availability, general manager Don Sweeney mentioned that a handful of players were going to Switzerland to play in the IIHF World Championship.
One name that he mentioned was forward Sean Kuraly. That was a bit of a surprise that he was going to play for Team USA along with defenseman Mason Lohrei and forward James Hagens. However, when the Team USA roster was released on Thursday, Kuraly was missing. According to Steve Conroy of the Boston Herald, reported that he wasn't going because of a logistical issue.
On Friday, it was announced that Bruins forward Alex Steeves was going over to Switzerland and would play for Team USA, which is a bit of a surprise.
Bruins forward Alex Steeves playing for Team USA in Switzerland
To say that the 26-year-old Steeves joining Team USA is a surprise is a bit of an understatement. However, in 43 games he played this season, he had nine goals and seven assists with a plus/minus of plus-6 while averaging 11:56 a night. He didn't come up until November, but made a quick impression with a goal against his former team, the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Steeves is joining the squad 🇺🇸
— Boston Bruins (@NHLBruins) May 8, 2026
Alex Steeves has been named to Team USA's preliminary roster for the upcoming IIHF World Championship. pic.twitter.com/OG5vUDu0V0
However, Sweeney overreacted a bit and inked him to a two-year extension. Well, that isn't going to be a contract that ages well, as he was a healthy scratch down the stretch of the regular season and the playoff series against the Buffalo Sabres.
Hagens and Lohrei playing for Team USA will be big, and we'll see how much Steeves plays and how much he contributes. This might be something that he needs going into the 2026-27 season to help him have a better taste in his mouth this summer than sitting on the ninth floor late in the season. This can't do anything but help.
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