Badgers Freshman Wins Gold At IIHF World Juniors

Quinn Finley will be coming back to Madison with a gold medal after the U.S. beat Sweden.

The Wisconsin Badgers have a world junior gold medalist coming back from overseas after the conclusion of the 2024 IIHF World Junior Championship.

Quinn Finley, a Badgers freshman, was part of the gold-medal winning U.S. team that concluded play on Friday in Gothenburg, Sweden. The U.S. team defeated Sweden, 6-2, in the final.

The team played in five different cities in 24 days, won each game and won the sixth gold medal in U.S. history.

Finley, the 6-foot, left-handed forward from Suamico, Wis., was making his third appearance internationally. He participated in the 2022 World Junior A Challenge in Cornwall, Ont., where his team finished in first place. He also played in the 2021 Hlinka Gretzky Cup in Piešťany, Slovakia and Břeclav, Czech Republic, where his team finished in fifth place.

Finley chose to join the Badgers even though he was selected by the New York Islanders in the third round of the 2022 NHL Draft. The Islanders retain his rights.

He played in the Badgers’ first 18 games this season, leaving the team after tits sweep of Penn State on Dec. 8-9. He scored two goals in his Badgers debut against Augustana (SD) on Oct. 7 and has five goals and two assists this season.

Before joining the Badgers he scored 15 goals and 38 points in 32 games with the USHL’s Chicago Steel in 2022-23. He was traded to the Steel from the Madison Capitols, where he scored 10 goals and 27 points.

The Badgers have resumed play after the holiday and are at Notre Dame on Saturday after beating the Irish, 2-1, on Friday.