- Team USA coach Reid Cashman compares Gunnar Conboy to Capitals forward Tom Wilson
- The 6-foot-3 winger is an associate captain and a 2027 NHL Draft prospect
- Read below for what Cashman said and where Conboy plays next
Reid Cashman spent two seasons behind the Washington Capitals bench, and one of the players he coached there keeps coming to mind in Edmonton this week.
The Team USA head coach was asked about Gunnar Conboy, the 6-foot-3, 197-pound left wing who has been one of the Americans’ steadiest players at the Hlinka Gretzky Cup. Cashman went straight to Tom Wilson, per Derek Van Diest of NHL.com.
“He’s big and strong and can skate, but he is also an amazing person, and his leadership has been incredible. This isn’t fair to him, but I got to be around Tom Wilson for a couple of years when I coached with the Capitals (2018-20) and there’s some similarities there.”
“Tom will be the next captain when ‘Ovi’ (Alex Ovechkin) retires, and I see a lot of that in Gunnar. To me that’s the comparable at the next level.”
Conboy wears an A for the U.S., which swept Group B and closed the preliminary round with an 8-1 win over Germany. The Americans draw Slovakia in Friday’s first semifinal at 2 p.m. ET.
The 17-year-old is one of the names near the top of the 2027 board, and Cashman spelled out what scouts are buying.
“That’s why scouts value him. You see that size and you see that mobility and you see a willingness to play a certain way. He’s got pro prospect and pro potential written all over him.”
Hockey dragged Conboy all over the map growing up. His father, Tim, played three seasons with the Carolina Hurricanes from 2007-10 and six more in Germany’s DEL. Gunnar was born in Raleigh, spent years overseas and eventually landed in Minnesota, which he now calls home.
He heads back to Green Bay of the USHL for a second season after 21 points (12 goals, nine assists) in 37 games, with the University of Minnesota waiting after that.
Take a look at how the Americans finished off the round robin:
Gavin Burcar opened the tournament with a hat trick against Czechia, and the U.S. has not lost since.
Canada sits on the other side of the bracket, which sets up a gold-medal meeting Saturday if both teams hold serve. Conboy has to get through Slovakia first.
