Article by Felicity Harding. Photo by St. Cloud State University Athletics.
From peewees, to high school, to juniors and college, hockey players get to play in many hockey tournaments, but some tournaments just stick out amongst the rest. For a few Huskies, that tournament was World Juniors.
In the many tournaments hockey players play in, some stick out for different reasons whether it’s playing with familiar faces, making new memories, or full circle moments. Growing up in Minnesota in a hockey family, it was a tradition for freshman defenseman Colin Ralph and his family to watch World Juniors and follow Team USA, making it that much more special for Ralph to put on the USA jersey for this years World Juniors team.
“For me it’s just special to be able to represent my country, something that I had never done before. [It’s an] honor to be able to do that because after this point the opportunities to do that become really slim, so I’m just fortunate,” Ralph said.
But Colin Ralph was not the only person representing the Huskies at World Juniors as he was joined by freshman forward Austin Burnevik as well as the Huskies Head Coach Brett Larson, who was the Assistant Coach for Team USA. While having your own teammate at World Juniors is great, it is also special to have a familiar face behind the bench.
“It was definitely comforting and nice to have [Larson] there. I think for me and [Burnevik] we see him a little bit differently because he’s our head coach here and we’ll always see him that way, but [at World Juniors] he’s more of the assistant coach and he can be a little bit different a little more friendly with the players so that was good to see,” said Ralph.
When asked about playing under Larson at World Juniors, Austin Burnevik said, “Obviously [it was] a little different of a dynamic being there with [Larson] being our assistant coach. But playing for him this year so far has been great, and it was great to have him behind the bench at that tournament as well.”
Not only did three Huskies get to be part of Team USA at World Juniors, but they also got to be a part of history being made. Prior to the 2025 World Juniors, Team USA had never won back-to-back gold medals, let alone played in back-to-back gold medal games, and that is exactly what the 2025 USA Team did, with Larson being part of the coaching staff for both golds.
“It was our goal going up there. To be the first to ever [win back-to-back golds for Team USA] and to accomplish that goal was really special,” Larson said. “It was an amazing honor to have three Huskies on the group that was the first to ever do it.”
While this was Larson’s second gold, getting to see Burnevik and Ralph earn their firsts made it extra special for Coach Larson.
“Obviously it’s a huge tournament on the big stage, bright lights, best hockey in the world at that age group and to see [Burnevik] and [Ralph] go in there and contribute to a gold medal. It was so much fun to just see them be a part of it and obviously really proud of them too. They stepped into big moments and did a great job,” Larson said. [Seeing Burnevik and Ralph] contribute and be big parts of winning the gold medal made it even more special as their coach back here in St. Cloud.”
While Team USA made history with their back-to-back golds, they were able to do it in enemy territory, on Canadian soil. While Team USA played Finland for the gold medal, the US vs. Canada hockey rivalry was very much still alive with many Canadians cheering for a US loss. For Colin Ralph and Austin Burnevik, being the enemy in almost every game made playing even more fun. To top it off, the US was able to beat Canada on New Year’s Eve in front of the Canadian fans. For Ralph, Burnevik, and many US players there is nothing better than beating Canada on Canadian soil.
“The New Year’s Eve game against Canada was as fun a game as I’ve ever been a part of. [Then] winning that gold medal there, it was definitely a huge achievement and very special moment,” Larson said.
While the US did beat Canada in their home, the target was already on Team USA’s back from the start of the tournament creating an even more exciting and crazy environment for the Team USA players and staff. With all of their passion for hockey and love for World Juniors, Canadians take the tournament very seriously, some may even say it gets a bit hostile.
“[Being on Canadian soil, the intensity] kind of turned up another notch so it was pretty hostile anywhere in town. You didn’t want to be wearing your USA gear outside of the hotel too much,” Ralph said.
While the environment may have been a bit hostile at times, winning gold and making history was made a little more special being on enemy grounds and in the end, Team USA came out on top.
When reflecting back on the tournament there were many takeaways for the Team USA Huskies whether it was forming connections with the group of players and staff, the immense amount of pride while putting on the US jersey, or seeing how important team culture is when coming together as a group in short tournaments like World Juniors.
While Ralph and Burnevik will have aged out before the next World Juniors, they still have some words of wisdom for the 2026 team.
Burnevik said, “stick together.”
Ralph said, “Don’t be satisfied and don’t take it for granted.”
Coach Larson had his own, similar piece of advice for the 2026 team as he said, “Stay in the moment and check the egos at the door, put everything in for the group and the team, and if they do that they’ll have a chance [at gold].”
It’s no doubt that Team USA had a special group that was resilient and never satisfied. For next year the Americans will have the chance to make even more history at World Juniors, with an even harder task to accomplish, but this time it will be on American soil in Minnesota.
“It’s going to be an awesome tournament,” Larson said.
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