John Wroblewski to continue as U.S. womens national hockey team coach through 2026

June 10, 2024

U.S. women’s national hockey team coach John Wroblewski will continue in his role through the 2026 Olympic Winter Games, USA Hockey announced Monday. Here’s what you need to know:

Wroblewski, 42, helped lead the U.S. to a 2023 IIHF Women’s World Championship gold medal in April, the team’s first since 2019.
The Neenah, Wis., native was hired to the role ahead of the 2022 World Championship, where the USA women finished with a silver medal.
Team USA will be in search of its first Olympic gold medal in women’s hockey since 2018 at the 2026 Winter Games, hosted by Italian cities Milan and Cortina d’Ampezzo.

John Wroblewski will continue as head coach of the U.S. Women’s National Team through the 2026 Olympic Winter Games. 🇺🇸

Details → https://t.co/OluUsU13dg pic.twitter.com/LhEGx7voU8

— USA Hockey (@usahockey) July 10, 2023

The Athletic’s instant analysis:

Why Wroblewski’s return feels right

Every single button Wroblewski pushed at women’s worlds in Brampton was the right one.

He shook up the roster heading into the tournament, making them younger and faster, and they won a gold medal. He empowered young players like Caroline Harvey to feel comfortable and confident in their roles on the team and she led the tournament in scoring with 14 points — a tournament record. He gave Aerin Frankel the reins in net after she’d only played in one game at the senior international level and she went 5-1 and played great in the gold medal game.

Wroblewski has a track record of that developing young players, whether it’s with 16-year-old NHL draft eligibles during his time with the U.S. National Team Development Program, or elite young players in the women’s game.

The last two tournaments with Wroblewski on the bench for the U.S. team have been really refreshing. The team has been playing excellent hockey and seems to respond well to him. After so many years with so much turmoil at the head coach position, it’s really nice to see he will be sticking around through this Olympic Quad. — Salvian

Backstory

Before joining the women’s national team, Wroblewski previously served as head coach of the Ontario Reign of the American Hockey League and as head coach of the U.S. national development team program from 2016 to 2020, where he led the U-18 men’s national team to a world title in 2017. With Team USA’s win over Canada earlier this year, he became the first coach in USA Hockey history to lead both men’s and women’s national teams to gold.

The 2024 IIHF Women’s World Championship will be hosted in Utica, N.Y., by USA Hockey and the Mohawk Family Garden from April 4 to 14. It will mark the fifth time the U.S. has hosted the event.

What they’re saying

“John is an outstanding coach who has enjoyed tremendous success throughout his career,” executive director of USA Hockey Pat Kelleher said in a release Monday. “We’re excited to have him lead our women’s national team through the 2026 Olympics.”

“It’s an honor to continue to coach our U.S. Women’s National Team and I’m thankful to USA Hockey for the opportunity,” Wroblewski said. “I couldn’t be more excited about the years ahead, especially this upcoming season as we look to defend our world championship title on home soil.”

Required reading

(Photo: Steph Chambers / Getty Images)

ncG1vNJzZmismJqutbTLnquim16YvK57k29vaW1iaXxzfJFsZmlvX2Z9cLbOoaVmr6Kkr62x1qyiomWlqHq4u8yepaxlmKSwrLHYZmlpamZixKq6056pZqecrrqxtcKsZg%3D%3D