{"id":469511,"date":"2026-02-24T12:32:44","date_gmt":"2026-02-24T12:32:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/469511\/"},"modified":"2026-02-24T12:32:44","modified_gmt":"2026-02-24T12:32:44","slug":"columbus-blue-jackets-proud-of-zach-werenskis-gold-medal-effort","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/469511\/","title":{"rendered":"Columbus Blue Jackets ‘proud’ of Zach Werenski’s gold medal effort"},"content":{"rendered":"

As the United States and Canada started their first shift of overtime at Milano Santagiulia Arena<\/a> in Milan, Italy, the Blue Jackets<\/a> prepared for practice at the Ice Haus.<\/p>\n

More: Johnny Gaudreau jersey, family on the ice for Team USA gold medal celebration<\/a><\/p>\n

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All eyes in Columbus were glued on TVs showing the rivals locking horns for a gold medal in the men\u2019s hockey tournament Feb. 22 at the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics<\/a>. Blue Jackets players watched Boston Bruins defenseman Charlie McAvoy take the ice for the 3-on-3 showdown in OT ahead of his U.S. teammate and Jackets defenseman Zach Werenski. They all wondered the same thing.<\/p>\n

\u201cI mean, we\u2019re certainly biased towards him. but everybody in the locker room \u2026 Canadians, Americans, Russians, Swedish, it didn\u2019t matter,\u201d Blue Jackets defenseman Erik Gudbranson said. \u201cWe\u2019re all like, \u2018Where is Z? Why isn\u2019t he on the ice yet?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

1 \/ 6<\/p>\n

CBJ’s Zach Werenski at 2026 Olympics<\/p>\n

Zach Werenski of United States during training at Milano Santagiulia Ice Hockey Arena, Milan, Italy on February 08, 2026.<\/p>\n

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1 \/ 6<\/p>\n

CBJ’s Zach Werenski at 2026 Olympics<\/p>\n

Zach Werenski of United States during training at Milano Santagiulia Ice Hockey Arena, Milan, Italy on February 08, 2026.<\/p>\n

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2 \/ 6<\/p>\n

CBJ’s Zach Werenski at 2026 Olympics<\/p>\n

U.S. Olympians Jeremy Swayman, Zach Werenski, Charles McAvoy Jr and Jake Oettinger pose for a photo at the Team USA Welcome Experience at the 206 Milan-Cortina Olympics on February 06, 2026 in Milan, Italy.<\/p>\n

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3 \/ 6<\/p>\n

CBJ’s Zach Werenski at 2026 Olympics<\/p>\n

U.S. Olympians Jack Eichel, Jacob Slavin, Matt Boldy and Zach Werenski attend the Team USA Welcome Experience at the 2026 Milan-Cortina Olympics on February 08, 2026 in Milan, Italy.<\/p>\n

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4 \/ 6<\/p>\n

CBJ’s Zach Werenski at 2026 Olympics<\/p>\n

Brock Faber #14 and Zach Werenski #8 of Team United States take part during training on day two of the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic games at Milano Santagiulia Ice Hockey Arena on February 08, 2026 in Milan, Italy.<\/p>\n

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5 \/ 6<\/p>\n

CBJ’s Zach Werenski at 2026 Olympics<\/p>\n

Quinn Hughes #43 and Zach Werenski #8 of Team United States participate during training on day three of the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic games at Milano Santagiulia Ice Hockey Arena on February 09, 2026 in Milan, Italy.<\/p>\n

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6 \/ 6<\/p>\n

CBJ’s Zach Werenski at 2026 Olympics<\/p>\n

Zach Werenski #8 of Team United States takes part during training on day two of the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic games at Milano Santagiulia Ice Hockey Arena on February 08, 2026 in Milan, Italy.<\/p>\n

Shortly after Werenski finally jumped over the boards, the NHL’s leader in goals by defensemen made an elite play off a Canadian turnover that resulted in a golden goal scored by New Jersey Devils forward Jack Hughes, which gave the U.S. its first Winter Olympics championship since the 1980 \u201cMiracle on Ice\u201d team.<\/p>\n

Chasing the puck, Werenski used his long wingspan to corral it before walling off Colorado Avalanche center Nathan MacKinnon to wheel and hit Hughes with a perfect pass. MacKinnon, for context, is an elite forward who\u2019s arguably one of the top two or three centers in the world.<\/p>\n

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Werenski, despite playing just 12:10 on 15 shifts, showed that he\u2019s also elite.<\/p>\n

\u201cSure enough, he makes that play, and he\u2019s in on their golden goal,\u201d Gudbranson said. \u201cHe\u2019s a tremendous teammate and we\u2019re very proud of how he represented us.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Feb<\/p>\n

Feb 22, 2026; Milan, Italy; Zach Werenski (left) and Jack Hughes of the United States celebrate after winning the men’s ice hockey gold medal game during the Milano Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games at Milano Santagiulia Ice Hockey Arena. Mandatory Credit: James Lang-Imagn Images<\/p>\n

Gudbranson is one of the Blue Jackets\u2019 many Canadian players.<\/p>\n

He was pulling hard for Canada but couldn\u2019t help but feel good for Werenski, who paraded Johnny Gaudreau\u2019s No. 13 U.S. jersey<\/a> around the ice as a postgame tribute and held Gaudreau\u2019s oldest of three kids, daughter Noa, for a team photo.<\/p>\n

Gaudreau, who likely would\u2019ve been on Team USA, was killed along with his brother, Matthew on Aug. 29, 2024, when an alleged drunk driver struck them as they biked in Oldmans Township, New Jersey. Gudbranson and Sean Monahan, two Canadians who first befriended Gaudreau as teammates with the Calgary Flames, were happy to see the U.S. memorialize him while celebrating with the Gaudreau family.<\/p>\n

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\u201cVery classy by USA Hockey to bring them over there,\u201d Gudbranson said. \u201cIt goes to show, again, how important Johnny was to the game of hockey, to us, to the Calgary Flames and to people all over the world. He would\u2019ve been on that team, too, and I would\u2019ve been losing my marbles watching him skate around with the puck.\u201d<\/p>\n

Charlie Coyle and the smaller U.S. contingent in the Blue Jackets\u2019 locker room spilled their own marbles when Hughes ended it, especially knowing it was Werenski\u2019s play that set it up.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was saying before overtime started that I really wanted \u2018Z\u2019 to score just to see who his real friends are in the locker room, to see if there were any cheers from Canadians,\u201d Coyle said, smiling. \u201cOf course, he had a factor in it and made a great play to win a battle and get it over to Hughes. So, I don\u2019t think guys can be too upset by that. Most of our guys were pretty happy, but it was just an awesome game to watch.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Feb<\/p>\n

Feb 22, 2026; Milan, Italy; Seth Jarvis of Canada battles for the puck against Zach Werenski of the United States during the men’s ice hockey gold medal game during the Milano Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games at Milano Santagiulia Ice Hockey Arena. Mandatory Credit: James Lang-Imagn Images<\/p>\n

Elvis Merzlikins, who played in the tournament for Latvia<\/a>, enjoyed it too. He wasn\u2019t required to return until Feb. 24 but joined the Blue Jackets to watch the U.S. and Canada before getting on the ice for practice.<\/p>\n

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He made no secret about his rooting interests.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was super happy,\u201d Merzlikins said. \u201cThere were many Canadians here on the team, so I was against them. They didn\u2019t like it, but I was cheering for my teammate. That\u2019s what I told them. I\u2019m proud. I\u2019m proud of him. He deserves it and I can\u2019t wait for him to come home.\u201d<\/p>\n

That\u2019s a shared sentiment, even among those who allegiance lies North of the border.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was kind of a win-win for us, as Canadians,\u201d Gudbranson said. \u201cYou\u2019re either winning and you\u2019re happy, or you\u2019re incredibly proud of your teammate who\u2019s living a dream that we all had as kids. I couldn\u2019t be more proud of \u2018Z\u2019 representing his country and how he represented the Blue Jackets.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Blue Jackets reporter Brian Hedger<\/a> can be reached at bhedger@dispatch.com<\/a> and @BrianHedger.bsky.social<\/a><\/p>\n

This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Columbus Blue Jackets ‘proud’ of Zach Werenski’s golden Olympics<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"As the United States and Canada started their first shift of overtime at Milano Santagiulia Arena in Milan,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":469512,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5108],"tags":[3644,5180,95,26,30319,1285,2154,144,897,230,5179,7819,6817,5,1272,3265,517,151,4,1945,3255,2566],"class_list":["post-469511","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-columbus-blue-jackets","tag-blue-jackets","tag-bluejackets","tag-boston-bruins","tag-calgary-flames","tag-canadians","tag-charlie-coyle","tag-charlie-mcavoy","tag-colorado-avalanche","tag-columbus","tag-columbus-blue-jackets","tag-columbusbluejackets","tag-elvis-merzlikins","tag-erik-gudbranson","tag-hockey","tag-jack-hughes","tag-johnny-gaudreau","tag-nathan-mackinnon","tag-new-jersey-devils","tag-nhl","tag-sean-monahan","tag-team-usa","tag-zach-werenski"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nhl\/116125627732741382","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/469511","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=469511"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/469511\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/469512"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=469511"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=469511"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=469511"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}