Former Notre Dame hockey star showed all the emotion after Team USA's Golden win

Over the long, long history of the Olympics, there have been plenty of former Notre Dame Fighting Irish stars who have won gold. However, Team USA Women's Hockey team coach John Wroblewski's story is incredibly interesting, and in wearing his heart on his sleeve when his team took home the top prize, he showed why he and his squad did the US proud.

The Gold Medal game, between the USA and Canada, required overtime to determine the winner. For the first time since 2018, the US brings gold back from the Olympics thanks to a game-clinching goal by Megan Keller in overtime to get the 2-1 victory.

The victory was emotional for everyone, and as the players celebrated the big win on the ice, the camera cut to the former Notre Dame hockey player turned coach, who first appeared frozen in the moment. Then the camera caught more than a few tears rolling down his cheeks as the accomplishment really sank in.

John Wroblewski’s journey from Notre Dame hockey to Olympic champion reaches new peak

Wroblewski took over as head coach of Team USA women's hockey in 2022, just a few months after the team earned a silver medal in the Beijing Olympics. Now, just four years later, he's led the team to break an 8-year Gold Medal drought and already has his first as a coach.

He's been in coaching for a while now, but he got his hockey start with Notre Dame. He played four years for the Fighting Irish, posting good but not great numbers before going pro and playing four years for the ECHL.

Having never reached the NHL, Wroblewski decided to go into coaching in the ECHL, and then in the AHL, before starting to move toward national program gigs. It wasn't a long run up to the 2026 Gold Medal win and his accomplishment almost certainly means the program will do whatever it can to keep the Notre Dame Fighting Irish alum around as long as possible.