Worlds give US women’s hockey chance to raise bar higher
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Coach John Wroblewski has set a new objective by seeking to push the envelope further eight months after the United States raised the women’s hockey bar with its up-tempo, attacking style to win Olympic gold in Milan.
With a newly signed four-year contract running through the 2030 Games in France, Wroblewski eagerly accepted the challenge of demanding even more from a roster brimming with players entering their prime.
“There is a lot left to do,” Wroblewski told The Associated Press before the U.S. left for Denmark to compete in the 10-nation world championship tournament opening today. “My job isn’t to coach this team. It’s to uphold the integrity of what this program has in place and build on that.”
It’s a steep but attainable goal for the Americans, who enter the two-week tournament as defending Olympic and world champions.
With 37-year-old captain Hilary Knight making her 17th world championship appearance, the U.S. returns a majority of the team that rolled through the Olympics by outscoring opponents by a combined 33-2 margin, capped by a thrilling 2-1 overtime gold-medal win against archrival Canada. The U.S. never trailed before overcoming a 1-0 deficit against Canada in the final.
US roster
The U.S. roster features 19 players 27 or younger in a star-studded group that includes Olympic MVP and IIHF female player of the year Caroline Harvey, PWHL rookie of the year Haley Winn, defender Laila Edwards and PWHL MVP goalie Aerin Frankel.
And the team has continuity behind the bench, with Wroblewski’s entering his fifth season following a stretch in which the U.S. went through four coaches over eight years.
The rest of the world may well be playing catch-up, including traditional global power Canada.
Canada youth
The Canadians are retooling with youth, and new coach and management teams. Canada enters the tournament with seven players in position to make their world championship debuts, including 18-year-old forwards Rosalie Tremblay and Hayley McDonald.
And they headed overseas minus the veteran presence of captain Marie-Philip Poulin, who is recovering from knee surgery, as well as Brianne Jenner, Blayre Turnbull and Jocelyne Larocque. Assistant Kori Cheverie takes over as head coach, and Danièle Sauvageau as GM in replacing Troy Ryan and Gina Kingsbury, who stepped down after the Olympics.
U.S. forward Taylor Heise, front, skates with the puck in the final against Canada at the IIHF Women’s World Hockey Championships in Utica, N.Y., on April 14, 2024. (AP file photo)
Rest of field
• Switzerland is among the contenders after beating Sweden in the Olympic bronze medal game.
• The Swedes are on the rise with a young and talented roster, and former national team player Erika Holst making her debut as coach.
• Czechia changed coaches, with Brian Idalski taking over for Carla MacLeod, who continues her recovery from breast cancer.
• Finland is seeking to bounce back from an Olympic tournament in which its roster was depleted by a stomach virus and led the team getting shut out in four of five outings.
Germany, Austria, Japan and Denmark round out the field.
Canada leads the tournament with 13 titles, followed by the U.S. with 11. Though the two have split the past four tournaments since Canada won gold at the 2022 Beijing Games, the Americans have won 10 of the past 14 worlds.