John Wroblewski grew up in Neenah, Wis., loving to play hockey, advancing through the ranks of the Fox Valley Youth Hockey Association. As a 15-year-old, he joined the Green Bay Road Runners in a Midwest 18-and-under league.

“I was one of the few kids in my school playing hockey,” Wroblewski recalls. “But I loved it. I had great coaches in youth hockey and wouldn’t be the coach I am today without  those relationships.”

Wroblewski, a four-year University of Notre Dame hockey player and 2003 alum, served as head coach of Team USA women’s hockey, leading it to the Gold Medal at the 2026 Olympics in Italy this February. He was assisted by another former Irish skater, Josh Sciba ’07.

In 1997, Wroblewski was presented with a unique opportunity – to play for the newly-formed USA Hockey National Development Program. It was the brainchild of rising hockey coach Jeff Jackson, who had already reached the pinnacle in college hockey, helping Lake Superior State to three NCAA championships, two as head coach.

Coach Jackson, who would go on to lead Notre Dame hockey for 20 years until retiring after the 2024-25 season, left a lasting impression on young Wrobo.

“It was an amazing time,” Wroblewski remembered. “It was literally an introduction to high-end hockey. A systemic mentality. There was not a better coach at moving the chess pieces than Coach Jackson. It opened up my eyes to what was possible playing as part of such a system.”

Coach Jackson remembers a young “Wrobo” as “one of my favorite players.  He just had a passion for the game, a hunger to improve and contribute, and understand the game.”

For the Fighting Irish in 1999-2003, Wroblewski went from netting four points as a freshman to a 17-goal, 33-point season as a senior in 2002-03, winning team MVP honors while serving as alternate captain.

“Notre Dame was the perfect fit for me,” said Wroblewski. “I felt at home. It had everything you would want as a player. I was very physically immature as a freshman, but learned perseverance. Always striving to be a better version of myself, is how I advanced.”

After playing four seasons in the East Coast Hockey League, Wroblewski got into coaching, gaining experience with the USA Hockey men’s development program, and as an assistant, then a head coach in the ECHL. He advanced to an assistant job with the Rochester Americans of the American Hockey League and later served as head coach of the AHL’s Ontario Reign.

In 2022, USA Hockey hired Wrobo to coach the women’s national team, and he led it the gold medal in the 2023 World Women’s Championship. That led to the head coaching position for the 2026 Winter Olympics.

In building his staff, Wroblewski had an opening for an assistant coach and turned to another former Irish skater, Josh Sciba. Their paths had previously crossed only briefly. When Wroblewski was an ND senior in 2003, he had given the prospect Sciba his tour of campus and the hockey program.

Sciba was a key part of two Notre Dame NCAA tournament teams in 2004 and 2007, as well as CCHA champions in 2007. He totaled 38 goals and 72 points with the Irish.

Sciba’s coaching career began with four seasons at Niagara University and four as a Colgate assistant, then an eight-year run as head coach at Union College. For the past two seasons, he has been an assistant with the New York Sirens of the Professional Women’s Hockey League. This May, the new Detroit franchise in the PWHL made Sciba its first head coach.

“Josh is a well-respected coach who has a lot of experience at every level on the women’s game,” Detroit general manager Manon Rheaume said. “More importantly, his character, his knowledge of the game and the way he communicates with his players — he’s a perfect fit.”

With Team USA, Wroblewski said, Sciba has “been great. He’s the connective tissue; he brings relentless positivity to the job.”

Team USA’s run through the 2026 Olympic Games was truly historic. In pool play, they outscored the opposition, 20-1, in four games, including a 5-0 blanking of archrival Canada. Two more shutouts in the quarterfinals and semifinals brought their totals to 31 goals to 1 heading into the Gold Medal game against Canada.

It was a gripping, fierce battle that set the record for the most-watched game in the history of women’s hockey. And Canada held the upper hand, taking a 1-0 lead into the final minutes. Wroblewski chose to pull his goalie early, and Knight’s tip-in goal with two minutes left tied it.

Megan Keller’s goal 4:04 into overtime gave Team USA the Gold Medal, only the third time in eight finals against Canada that Team USA had prevailed. The worldwide TV audience watched an emotional head coach Wroblewski on the bench.

“I think he’s done wonders for this group,” said Taylor Heise, one of the stars of Team USA, after the final. “We’re grateful for him. He’s a guy that deserves the world because he believed in all of us and gave all these young girls a chance to show up. I think he picked the right 23 girls to be here.”