And on Wednesday night, the United States\u2019 men, currently undefeated at these Olympics, head to the knockout round.<\/p>\n
Wroblewski has his fingerprints all over both teams, first as the coach guiding the top-ranked women\u2019s team in the world and second as the coach who helped mold some of the American men\u2019s brightest players.<\/p>\n
\u201cThose women are lucky to have him and we were lucky to have him as well,\u201d said American star defenseman Quinn Hughes. \u201cHe\u2019s got a lot of interesting ideas about the game. Works incredibly hard \u2014 I think he\u2019s the ultimate teacher.\u201d<\/p>\n
When Wroblewski\u2019s playing career ended in 2007 \u2014 with a fourth and final season in the ECHL after spending four years at the University of Notre Dame \u2014 he immediately pivoted to coaching.<\/p>\n
Wroblewski played on the inaugural NTDP roster in 1997. As an alumnus, he started as an assistant coach with the program.<\/p>\n
For six years, he worked his way through the ECHL and American Hockey League coaching ranks. By 2017, Wroblewski was named the head coach of the NTDP \u2014 a program that assembles the best USA Hockey players with an emphasis on developing them into NHLers \u2014 where he led one of the most talented cohorts the country has ever produced for four years.<\/p>\n
Wroblewski coached the under-18 team to gold and bronze medals at the men\u2019s under-18 world championships. Twenty-nine of his players were taken in the NHL draft, including a record eight first-rounders in 2019, led by first-overall selection and New Jersey Devils star forward Jack Hughes.<\/p>\n
While Wroblewski took over the program at a beneficial time, with elite talent like Jack and Quinn Hughes coming through the pipeline, he also played a big part in their success.<\/p>\n
\u201cWrobo\u2019s one of the best communicators and motivators I\u2019ve ever seen,\u201d said Jack Hughes. \u201cHe knows the game, he works his butt off and all he does is want his players to succeed, both as individuals and as a team.\u201d<\/p>\n
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\n John Wroblewski met with players from the U.S. men\u2019s Olympic hockey team last week at Team USA\u2019s Winter House in Milan. (Courtesy of USA Hockey)<\/p>\n
Wroblewski\u2019s stature in the game started to take off and his success with the development team made him a rising star for any organization looking for a coach with a track record of developing high-end players, and getting the most out of elite young talent. His climb up the ladder ultimately landed him with the Los Angeles Kings AHL affiliate, the Ontario Reign.<\/p>\n
\u201cJohn has a proven background in working with young players and helping them develop their game,\u201d then Kings general manager Rob Blake said in a press release in August 2020. \u201cHe\u2019s a strong leader who communicates well and he\u2019ll play an important role for our organization.\u201d<\/p>\n
In his second season, however, Wroblewski took a personal leave of absence. Three months later, in March 2022, Wroblewski and the organization mutually agreed that \u201cWroblewski would not return as head coach of the Ontario Reign.\u201d<\/p>\n
Neither the organization nor Wroblewski ever disclosed the reason for his leave. And, in an interview with The Athletic, Wroblewski said he wanted the details to remain private. \u201cThere were just a lot of things going on in my life at that time that didn\u2019t make a lot of sense,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
For the first time in decades, Wroblewski was faced with the very real possibility that a hockey season would start without him behind a bench. Then, he got a call from USA Hockey, asking him to come home, this time with an opportunity to coach the U.S. women\u2019s national team at the 2022 women\u2019s world championships.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe women\u2019s program saved me,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
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\n Team USA women\u2019s coach John Wroblewski has his group on a roll entering the semifinals at the 2026 Milan Cortina Olympics. (Jamie Squire \/ Getty Images)<\/p>\n
Vanbiesbrouck said he did his due diligence looking into what happened with the Kings organization and called several people, including Ellen Hughes, the mother of Quinn, Jack and Luke Hughes.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe loved him,\u201d said Ellen, whom Wroblewski hired in 2023 to be an on-and-off ice liaison between him and the players.<\/p>\n
After losing in the gold medal game to Team Canada at the 2022 Olympics, and with several veteran players leaving the program, the American women were a team in transition \u2014 but with elite young talent on the way. That, more than anything, is what made Wroblewski \u201can easy fit,\u201d for Vanbiesbrouck.<\/p>\n
\u201cI thought for this time and for this quad that he would challenge them,\u201d he said. \u201cAnd (that) he would give opportunities to some of our young players coming up \u2014 we have so many good ones that we didn\u2019t want to get stagnant.\u201d<\/p>\n
Since then, Wroblewski has provided a stabilizing presence behind the U.S. bench after years of turmoil at the head coach position. Between 2017 and 2022, the women\u2019s national team made four coaching changes, including one just three weeks before the 2021 world championships, when Bob Corkum abruptly stepped down, citing concerns with COVID-19 protocols.<\/p>\n
In his first tournament, the 2022 women\u2019s world championships in Denmark, Wroblewski introduced newcomers Taylor Heise, Hannah Bilka and Rory Guilday to the mix. He also gave star defender Caroline Harvey, who was benched as a 19-year-old at the 2022 Olympics, a nudge to play free and confident.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe women did not have enough belief in themselves when I first came into the program.\u201d Wroblewski said. \u201cThey didn\u2019t understand how good they were and what their ceiling was.<\/p>\n
\u201cI really believe it\u2019s their program. I\u2019m just here to try to be as thorough as possible, to give them the guidance and to make the decisions for them to achieve their dreams.\u201d<\/p>\n
Canada beat the U.S. in that tournament for a third straight gold medal at a major international tournament. At the 2022-23 Canada-USA Rivalry Series, where Canada won four-straight games by a combined score of 16-5, it became apparent to Wroblewski that it was time for more change.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s no way we were going to be able to catch Canada (by 2026) if our older players can\u2019t carry us now,\u201d Wroblewski said. \u201cSo then you start considering how you\u2019re gonna circumvent (that) and that\u2019s only through development.\u201d<\/p>\n
Wroblewski shook up the roster, adding 21-year-old Penn State forward Tessa Janecke and 20-year-old defender Haley Winn ahead of the 2023 women\u2019s world championships. He also gave goalie Aerin Frankel the reins in net after she\u2019d only played in one game at the senior international level. Frankel went 5-1 in the tournament and backstopped the U.S. to its first world championship win since 2017.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe was really excited for me to get that opportunity, and obviously, with it being my first worlds, he was aware that there\u2019d probably be some nerves, but he felt like I was prepared and had done a good job to earn myself some starts,\u201d said Frankel. \u201cAnytime your coach has confidence in you it\u2019s a great boost.\u201d<\/p>\n
The youth movement continued when NCAA stars Kirsten Simms, Laila Edwards and Joy Dunne entered the picture in 2024. While the U.S. lost that world championship \u2014 in a thrilling 6-5 overtime victory by Canada \u2014 that youth movement is now a critical piece of the 2026 Olympic team.<\/p>\n
Of the 13 national team rookies Wroblewski has introduced over the last four years, eight \u2014 Janecke, Bilka, Heise, Edwards, Dunne, Guilday and Simms \u2014 made the Olympic roster. Heading into the semifinals on Monday, those players alone have combined for 11 goals and 26 points through five games. Harvey and 23-year-old Abbey Murphy have added another three goals and 14 points to help pace the offense, though they\u2019re playing in their second Olympics.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m really proud of the way the program has developed,\u201d Wroblewski said.<\/p>\n
For all the confidence he works to instill, Wroblewski can be demanding and believes there\u2019s a certain way the game should be played. He coaches an up-tempo style in which he believes the best defense is an aggressive offense, and so far, the U.S. women have done it to perfection. It feels like they always have the puck and Team USA has steamrolled opponents in five-straight victories in Milan, outscoring opponents 26-1.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s putting in the work,\u201d said Kendall Coyne Schofield, a four-time Olympian who has medaled three times, including a gold. \u201cWhen it comes to the details, the X\u2019s and O\u2019s, the film, I mean, it\u2019s unbelievable, the amount of work he does. You guys don\u2019t see it, we don\u2019t see it, but it\u2019s every day. He\u2019s prepared to make us the best that we can be. And, and it\u2019s obviously showing.\u201d<\/p>\n
The U.S. women are heavily favored to win the Olympic gold medal Thursday. The U.S. men, too, are contenders, with six players from Wroblewski\u2019s days with the NTDP now on the Olympic team.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt feels really good to see those guys succeed,\u201d Wroblewski said. \u201cIt\u2019s not like I feel like, \u2018Wow, what a job that I did.\u2019 But you look at what they\u2019re doing, and you\u2019re so happy for them, and (that) you\u2019re along for their ride.\u201d<\/p>\n
Minnesota Wild star Matt Boldy, who was coached by Wroblewski in the program, sees a lot of their team in the U.S. women.<\/p>\n
\u201c(They\u2019re) high-flying, fast, offensive creativity all over the ice,\u201d he said. \u201cThe women\u2019s games I\u2019ve watched have been crazy.\u201d<\/p>\n
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<\/p>\n
\n John Wroblewski congratulates Matt Boldy at the 2019 NHL Draft in Vancouver. (Michael Russo \/ The Athletic)<\/p>\n
Boldy led the NTDP in goals as a rookie in 2017-18. One year later he was taken 12th overall by the Wild in the 2019 NHL draft. Now, in Milan, he\u2019s a bonafide star and the highest producing American forward in the NHL, with 32 goals.<\/p>\n
\u201cI owe a lot of credit to him with the trust he had in me and the faith he had in the player that I was going to become and the opportunity he gave me and the situations he put me in,\u201d Boldy said about Wroblewski\u2019s part in his path.<\/p>\n
Just over four years ago, Wroblewski wasn\u2019t sure if he was going to stay involved in hockey. Now, his team is two wins away from an Olympic gold medal. It\u2019s not an opportunity he ever expected, having spent so much time in the men\u2019s game. But it\u2019s one he\u2019s been \u201cvery humbled\u201d by.<\/p>\n
Contracts for national team coaches are for the length of a quad. Vanbiesbrouck expects that Wroblewski will have other coaching opportunities after the Olympics, but if he wants to return, Vanbiesbrouck would love to have him back.<\/p>\n
\u201cBeing here and having this opportunity has been so amazing for me, and those women mean so much to me,\u201d Wroblewski said. \u201cAnd that team is just incredible. Those are special women in that room, a real collection of not only winning hockey players, but winners in life.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"MILAN \u2014 Last Wednesday, John Wroblewski headed over to the United States\u2019 Winter House, where the men\u2019s and…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":459695,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[377],"tags":[5,54125,38,151,4,2602,25,54279],"class_list":{"0":"post-459694","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-hockey","8":"tag-hockey","9":"tag-mens-olympic-ice-hockey","10":"tag-minnesota-wild","11":"tag-new-jersey-devils","12":"tag-nhl","13":"tag-olympics","14":"tag-ottawa-senators","15":"tag-womens-olympic-ice-hockey"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nhl\/116080105260681499","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/459694","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=459694"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/459694\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/459695"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=459694"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=459694"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=459694"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}