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John Wroblewski was overcome with emotion when Team USA women’s hockey star Megan Keller got around a Canadian defender and scored the game-winning goal to bring the Americans a gold medal on Thursday.
The NBC broadcast brought tears to Wroblewski’s face as his team simultaneously celebrated an incredible moment for the sport and the country.
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Head coach John Wroblewski of Team USA Megan Keller #5 of Team USA celebrates victory after the women’s ice hockey gold medal game between the United States and Canada (2-1 OT) on day thirteen of the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic Games at Milano Santagiulia Ice Hockey Arena on February 19, 2026 in Milan, Italy. (EyesWideOpen/Getty Images)
American Taylor Heise, who assisted on Keller’s goal, told PK Press Club Digital in a recent interview that it was coming full circle for her coach.
“I saw the video yesterday (Friday), and it represents him pretty well,” she said. “He’s an emotional guy, but he’s coached a lot of men’s teams and this is kind of his first women’s job and we’ve welcomed him with grace over the last four years and I think he’s done wonders for this group and certainly an honor for me because in the last Olympics I was eliminated. He’s the first coach who gave me that chance again. He knows I’m very grateful to him. I tell him that every day.
AMERICAN WOMEN’S HOCKEY GOLD MEDALIST TAYLOR HEISE UNVEILS WHAT IT MEANS TO PLAY FOR TEAM USA
United States head coach John Wroblewski and Laila Edwards (10) celebrate after beating Canada in the women’s ice hockey gold medal game at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Milan, Italy, Thursday, February 19, 2026. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)
“We didn’t really get to talk with him afterward. We had a lot of media and everything, but we’re grateful for him. He’s a guy who deserves the world because he believed in all of us and gave all these young girls a chance to come forward and I think he picked the right 23 girls to be here.”
Wroblewski played in the ECHL and American Hockey League (AHL) and coached for the Team USA Development Program and the AHL’s Ontario Reign before taking over the women’s Olympic team in 2022.
Heise, who will continue to play in the Women’s Professional Hockey League for the Minnesota Frost, is now something only a few can become – a gold medalist.
Grace Zumwinkle, left, and Taylor Heise of the United States celebrate the victory ceremony for women’s ice hockey at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Milan, Italy, Thursday, Feb. 19, 2026. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)
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“It’s great,” she said. “It’s definitely a goal of mine that I’ve had for a very long time and now to achieve it, it was definitely one of the last things on my list that I wanted to check off. It’s just an incredible experience and the team that I got to do it with is extremely special and one of the most talented teams I’ve ever seen.”
