Panthers' Brett Peterson named GM of USA’s Men’s World Hockey Championship team

USA Hockey announced that Brett Peterson has been named general manager for the 2024 IIHF Men’s World Championship next spring in Czechia.

Peterson has spent the past four seasons as assistant GM of the Florida Panthers. The team has made the postseason three times with Peterson on payroll, including a trip to the Stanley Cup Final last year.

This will be his first time with USA Hockey, having never represented the team as a player or on the management side. Peterson, 42, spent four years with Boston College from 2000-04 before turning pro in 2004-05. The highest he ever got was the AHL, registering one assist in 21 games between the Albany River Rats and Grand Rapids Griffins.

“We are really excited to have Brett as the general manager of our men’s national team,” USA Hockey’s assistant executive director of hockey operations John Vanbiesbrouck said in a team statement. “He has done a terrific job in helping build the Florida Panthers, and his extensive knowledge of the overall player pool in our country will be really beneficial in putting together our team for the world championship.”

USA Hockey’s advisory group features a variety of NHL managers, including Buffalo’s Kevyn Adams, Calgary’s Craig Conroy, Chris Drury, Tom Fitzgerald, Mike Greir, Lou Lamoriello, Bill Guerin, Chris McFarland, Don Wadell and Bill Zito. Combined, they’ll assist Peterson in building the roster.

No other members of management have been determined yet, with a decision coming closer to the event in May. USA will play in Group B alongside France, Germany, Kazakhstan, Latvia, Poland, Sweden and Slovakia and look bound to compete for a medal after losing to Latvia in the bronze medal game last year.

USA has never advanced to the gold medal game in the tournament’s history but did win in 1933 and 1960. USA has finished third in three of the last eight years, with the most recent coming in 2021.