MSU's Howard to Join Team USA at IIHF World Championships
Michigan State star forward Isaac Howard isn't giving himself much of a break after winning the Hobey Baker Award earlier this month.
USA Hockey announced on Wednesday that Howard has joined Team USA and will play in this year's IIHF World Championships.
Howard joins Michigan State coach Adam Nightingale, who will be on staff as an assistant. This will be Nightingale's second time in the role, having first done so at the 2021 IIHF World Championships when Team USA took home the bronze medal.
The Spartan forward comes off a career season, recording 47 points (24 goals, 23 assists). By the end of his season, he had averaged 1.41 points per game, which led the nation.
Along with his Hobey Baker Award, Howard also won the Big Ten Tournament Most Outstanding Player, was a first-team All-Big Ten honoree and was a first-team All-America selection.
Howard has played for USA Hockey before, having led the Red, White and Blue to a gold medal at the 2024 IIHF U20 World Junior Tournament and at the 2021 U18 World Junior Championships.
Howard will be playing his third season in East Lansing next season after deciding to remain at the collegiate level for another year, forgoing what would have been his first year as a member of the Tampa Bay Lightning organization.
"I think I get the unique opportunity to be back here and chase that national championship," Howard said earlier this month. "I think we're going to have such a loaded roster with so much talent. And having that ability to come back and just be grounded here and be trying my best to win a national championship."
Team USA will begin training in Dusseldorf, Germany on Friday before playing a pre-tournament contest against Germany on Sunday.
The team will be part of the Group B preliminary round, where it will also face Germany, Denmark, Czechia, Hungary, Kazakhstan, Norway and Switzerland.
Its first game will be against Denmark on Friday, May 9 in Herning, Denmark, with puck drop set for 2:20 p.m. EST.
The 2025 IIHF World Championships will be broadcast on NHL Network.
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