Columbus, Ohio has long known what Zach Werenski was capable of.
The rest of the world caught a glimpse of it Thursday night.
Werenski tallied three total assists for Team USA on Thursday night in their 6-1 victory over Team Finland, including two power play points and two primary assists.
The three assists from Werenski tied four other players for the NHL International Tournament record for assists in a game by a defenseman, including Bobby Orr and Al MacInnis.
Zach Werenski opened his #4Nations Face-Off with a game-high 3 assists and in the process tied NHL International Tournament marks for assists and points in a game by a defenseman. #NHLStats: https://t.co/8t9uqUolWE pic.twitter.com/8u8zPMQ6Fo
— NHL Public Relations (@PR_NHL) February 14, 2025
All three assists were to one of the Tkachuk brothers: Matthew and Brady each scored two goals in the win.
After Team Finland took an early 1-0 lead, Team USA needed less than three minutes to tie the game at 1-1 on Brady Tkachuk's first of the night. Werenski would get the secondary assist on the goal after keeping the puck in the zone and using the boards to pass up to Matt Boldy, who immediately found Brady crashing the net.
United States goal!
— NHL Goals (@nhl_goal_bot) February 14, 2025
Scored by Brady Tkachuk with 09:39 remaining in the 1st period.
Assisted by Matt Boldy and Zach Werenski.
Finland: 1
United States: 1#USAvsFIN #TeamFinland #TeamUSA #4Nations pic.twitter.com/MFXQ2WXAkN
Werenski's second assist of the night came just seconds into the third period with Team USA on the power play. He takes a pass from Jake Guentzel and passes across the zone over to Matthew Tkachuk, who fires from just inside the blueline. It deflects off the stick of the Finnish defense and ends up in the back of the net to extend the Americans lead to 3-1.
Power play goal for United States!
— NHL Goals (@nhl_goal_bot) February 14, 2025
Scored by Matthew Tkachuk with 19:45 remaining in the 3rd period.
Assisted by Zach Werenski and Jake Guentzel.
Finland: 1
United States: 3#USAvsFIN #TeamFinland #TeamUSA #4Nations pic.twitter.com/vQKqm4Yq3C
With Team USA up 5-1 just over halfway through the third period, Werenski gets his third assist of the night. This one is again on a Matthew Tkachuk goal and again with the Americans on the power play. Werenski shoots the puck from the high slot and it's deflected by Matthew, who gets his own rebound and puts it into the net to make it 6-1.
Power play goal for United States!
— NHL Goals (@nhl_goal_bot) February 14, 2025
Scored by Matthew Tkachuk with 08:47 remaining in the 3rd period.
Assisted by Zach Werenski and Jack Eichel.
Finland: 1
United States: 6#USAvsFIN #TeamFinland #TeamUSA #4Nations pic.twitter.com/RvV1PqlRiW
Werenski, who was paired with Charlie McAvoy on the top line of defense, finished with 21:45 of ice time to lead all skaters for the Americans.
Team USA's next game in the round-robin tournament is a huge showdown with Team Canada on Saturday night, with puck-drop scheduled for just after 8 p.m.
