Samberg finds new confidence in his game after World Championship

Winnipeg Jets defenceman Dylan Samberg delayed his off-season by representing USA Hockey at the 2023 IIHF World Hockey Championship, but that decision wasn't made immediately by the Minnesota product.

"I asked them if I could take the day to think about it and I talked to my family. It's obviously tough after a couple days after your season finishes and you're still kind of down in the dumps a little bit," said Samberg, referring to the Jets being eliminated in five games by the Vegas Golden Knights in the opening round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

"I was up in the air about it, but I talked to my family and they're like 'This could be a once in a lifetime opportunity so you might as well take it and enjoy it.' I'm sure glad I did because I had a lot of fun."

It must have been a lot of fun. The Americans made history by concluding the preliminary round with victories in all seven of their games and thus finishing first in Pool A. Samberg felt after his team beat co-host Finland 4-1 in the tournament opener, and followed that up with a 7-1 thrashing of Hungary, that they could go on a run.

"After that point we were like 'We actually have a really good team here and we can do some damage' and we ended up doing that in the preliminary round," Samberg said. "Off the start we weren't sure but after we gelled so quickly, we thought we had a really good team and a really good chance."

The 24-year-old helped the Americans finish the preliminaries with the (almost) perfect record. The US recorded 20 out of a possible 21 points, missing out on 21 points because their final win came in overtime (teams get two points for overtime wins at Worlds). It was Samberg who finished off Sweden when he fired home the winner and his first of the tournament.

"Pretty cool, obviously. It was a big moment for our team to have seven wins in the preliminaries which hasn't been done before, but that part (the OT winner) was awesome," said Samberg.

"It was also fun to be out in (3-on-3) overtime, it's been a long time since I've seen (3-on-3) overtime, usually I'm sitting and watching. It was a great experience; it was a really cool way to finish."

As mentioned, Samberg and his teammates missed out on a medal thanks to back-to-back extra time losses. They led 3-2 in the third period of the semi-finals before Germany tied it up with 1:23 remaining and lost 4-3. The same story in the 4-3 loss in the Bronze Medal game, where Latvia tied it with 5:39 left in the final period before upsetting the US in overtime.

"We were up in each of the games, you've seen the song and dance before where you let a team get one and the tide starts to turn and then you get into overtime, and you just didn't really have the confidence," explained Samberg.

"I think after they scored to tie the game and that's the way it goes sometimes. It is what it is. We didn't lose a game in regulation so can't really complain there. When it comes to overtime, it's one shot.

"For me personally, I felt like I discovered more of an offensive side of my game. I felt like I played a little bit more free, I felt really relaxed out there. I started to enjoy it. I feel like I have of an offensive side of my game that I didn't know," said Samberg of his tournament experience.

"The coaches were harping on me all year about that in Winnipeg. To finally be able to play and realize 'yes I have this, I can bring this' was a big takeaway for me."

With the fourth-place finish behind them, Samberg and some of his teammates decided to that it wasn't time to head back home just yet. The group decided to go see some more of Europe.

"It was me and three other guys from our world championship team. It was (former Moose and Jet teammate) Mikey Eyssimont, Scott Perunovich and Ronnie Attard," said Samberg.

"It was kind of a throw together thing about halfway through the tournament and I kind of figured 'You know what? I'm over here, they (USA Hockey) are going to pay for my flight back, I may as well enjoy the time over here."

Samberg loved Switzerland and leaned on Swiss product and fellow Winnipeg Jet Nino Niederreiter for guidance on what do.

"I reached out to Nino to get some advice where to find the Gondola ride (to the Alps), so he let me know where to go and what not. He gave me a few other restaurants, he told me to visit Lucerne - there is this kayak place and few other places for lunch and dinner," said Samberg.

"We hit most of the places he suggested, and it was awesome. We only had a couple of days there. We really didn't have enough time to hit everything, but it was still helpful that he reached out and gave some advice."

Samberg said he has a couple of weddings he has to attend this summer as well as a fishing trip with his dad scheduled for the end of this month. It's at that point he looks to get back to training for the 2023-24 season.