MILAN - John Wroblewski laughed when talking about how he likely would not have made it to USA Hockey’s National Team Development Program if he was a modern-day teenage hockey player.

However, Wroblewski’s journey to his current role as head coach of the U.S. Olympic Women’s Ice Hockey Team is very much tied to his time with the NTDP.

Wroblewski received what would a life-changing phone call from Scott Monaghan, assistant executive director of the NTDP, in the summer of 2007.

The NTDP was looking for an intern / assistant coach to work with each of the program’s teams, so Monaghan decided to reach out to Wroblewski, who was a player on the inaugural NTDP roster in 1997.

“I was living in Southern California at the time and wanted to stay in hockey, but I was thinking maybe I would get into a front office with a team,” Wroblewski, who played four seasons of professional hockey, said. “This ended up being a perfect opportunity.”

The internship connected Wroblewski with three coaching mentors—John Hynes, Ron Rolston and Tim Taylor.

“There's just a lot of inspiration at the program for a young individual who was trying to make his way in hockey,” Wroblewski recalled. “Everything sort of met at the right place for me. The artistry behind coaching and seeing the different avenues that you could take to a final decision. There were three strong methodologies between those coaches.”

Wroblewski would remain at the NTDP from 2008-10 before taking various coaching roles in the USHL, AHL and ECHL. He returned to the NTDP as the program’s head coach for four seasons (2016-2020) before taking a head coaching job with the Ontario Reign.

The Neenah, Wisconsin, native was then named head coach of the U.S. Women’s National Team in August 2022, and Wroblewski has since led the U.S. Women’s National Team to two gold medals at the IIHF Women’s World Championship (2023, 2025).

Goaltender Aerin Frankel had a breakout tournament at the 2023 Women’s World Championship and has won two gold medals with Wroblewski. Frankel credited Wroblewski for his high-energy personality and his continued preparation.

“He is just awesome and believes in our group so much,” Frankel said after practice Tuesday at Milano Rho Hockey Arena. “He brings energy to the rink every day and gives us a plan. Everyone is on the same page and knows exactly what we all need to be doing. We have such a close group in the locker room and he knows that and feels that and brought this group together for a reason. We all have a trust in him and respect for the messaging he’s bringing to our team.”

Wroblewski’s passion and high-energy was on full display Tuesday during not only the team’s photoshoot, but also during the team’s third practice since arriving on Jan. 30.

Now, Wroblewski has the team poised to make a run at Olympic gold later this month in what is the latest chapter of the 44-year-old’s USA Hockey homecoming.

The U.S. begins its pursuit of gold Thursday against Czechia (10:40 a.m. ET | USA Network | Peacock) at Milano Rho Hockey Arena.

“It's been a pretty steady progression for me,” Wroblewski said. “And luckily enough, at the age of 16, you get indoctrinated into USA Hockey at the NTDP as a player. It’s definitely been like, ‘This is where you are supposed to be. This is home for you.’

“USA Hockey has always been a staple in my life, and now it’s a stabilizing force.”

A version of this story originally appeared in the 2026 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games USA Hockey Magazine preview issue