Peterson Appointed General Manager of the 2026 U.S. Men’s National Team
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. — Brett Peterson (Northborough, Mass.), currently in his sixth year as assistant general manager of the Florida Panthers, has been appointed as the general manager for the 2026 U.S. Men’s National Team, as announced today by USA Hockey.
Peterson previously held the position of GM for the U.S. Men’s National Team during the 2024 IIHF Men’s World Championship in Ostrava and Prague, Czechia, and was the assistant general manager for the gold medal-winning 2025 U.S. Men’s National Team in Herning, Denmark, and Stockholm, Sweden.
“We’re thrilled to have Brett back,” stated John Vanbiesbrouck, assistant executive director of hockey operations for USA Hockey. “He has performed exceptionally well at Florida, contributing to the Panthers’ Stanley Cup victories in the past two years, and he possesses a strong understanding of our overall player pool as we aim to construct a team capable of defending the gold medal we secured last year.”
The U.S. Men’s National Team is set to compete in the 2026 IIHF Men’s World Championship, scheduled for May 15-31, in Zurich and Fribourg, Switzerland. Team USA, entering the tournament as the defending gold medalist, is placed in Group A for the preliminary round alongside Austria, Finland, Germany, Great Britain, Hungary, Latvia, and host Switzerland. All Group A matches will take place at Swiss Life Arena in Zurich. Group B, which features Canada, Czechia, Denmark, Italy, Norway, Slovakia, Slovenia, and Sweden, will conduct its preliminary round games at BCF Arena in Fribourg.
The U.S. Men’s National Team Advisory Group, led by Vanbiesbrouck and comprising NHL general managers Stan Bowman (Edmonton Oilers), Craig Conroy (Calgary Flames), Chris Drury (New York Rangers), Tom Fitzgerald (New Jersey Devils), Mike Grier (San Jose Sharks), Bill Guerin (Minnesota Wild), Chris MacFarland (Colorado Avalanche), Chris Patrick (Washington Capitals), Eric Tulsky (Carolina Hurricanes), Don Waddell (Columbus Blue Jackets), and Bill Zito (Florida Panthers), will support Peterson in putting together the roster for the 2026 U.S. Men’s National Team.
ABOUT PETERSON
Brett Peterson made history as the first Black assistant general manager in the NHL when he joined the Florida Panthers in 2020. During his time with the team, they have reached the playoffs five times, securing Stanley Cup titles in both 2024 and 2025.
Before his tenure with the Panthers, Peterson was the vice president of hockey for Wasserman Media Group and worked as a certified NHL player agent starting in 2009.
Peterson played four seasons of college hockey at Boston College, where he won a national championship with the Eagles in 2001. He graduated with a degree in communications in 2004 before playing professionally for five seasons in the AHL, ECHL, and IHL from 2004-09.
NOTES: The U.S. has achieved 36 victories in 48 games during the men’s world championships over the last five years, earning two medals, including gold last year and bronze in 2021. The gold medal marked the first for the U.S. in 92 years at the men’s world championship … Team USA will compete against Germany in its sole pre-tournament match at SAP Arena Mannheim in Mannheim, Germany, on Sunday, May 10, at 5 p.m. local time/11 a.m. ET.
