“I feel like USA Hockey is probably the best it’s ever been right now,” he said. “There’s so many good players in the world that are American, and you’re coming up on Canada territory where you could probably field two teams and go over there and have a chance to medal. I think it speaks volumes to how far USA Hockey has come.
“Obviously, we want to be the team that brings back the gold, but we’re going to have our hands full.”
The Americans will be on the short list of favorites for the 12-team tournament, and that’s in part because of the growth of such players as Werenski. A veteran of U.S. national teams as well as one of the top players in the sport at his position, Werenski has taken part in three World Championships and two World Juniors squads, and the laurels have followed.
Werenski was named the tournament’s Best Defenseman when the U.S. won gold at the Worlds this past summer, just as he was back in 2016 when he served as captain of Team USA’s World Juniors squad. And the last time the NHL’s top players went best-on-best, Werenski led all players in scoring at last February’s 4 Nations tournament with six assists in four games.
The Grosse Pointe, Michigan, native can add that to a sterling resume at the NHL level, as a season ago, he became just the ninth NHL defenseman since 1996-97 to post at least 80 points in a season and finished second in the Norris Trophy voting. He’ll likely be in the Norris mix again this year as he leads all NHL defensemen with 14 multipoint games and is second in goals (14) and tied for second in points (40).
“It’s an incredible feeling,” Werenski said of being one of eight defensemen selected for Team USA. “It’s an incredible honor. I guess I hoped I would make the team based on play the last few years and how I’ve played in the USA events and all that, but until you actually get the phone call and hear from (USA GM) Billy (Guerin) and it’s official, nothing can really prepare you for that feeling.”
“The two goals every kid dreams of are a Stanley Cup and a gold medal. Every year, you get a chance to try to play for the Stanley Cup. Every year starts fresh. You get a chance to play for the playoffs and hopefully you get there and then hopefully you win a Stanley Cup, where(as) the Olympics, it’s every four years. And in this case, it’s been 12 years, so this is at the top of my list of accomplishments as a hockey player.”
Indeed, as Werenski noted, this will be the first Olympic Games with full NHL player participation since 2014, as league players did not take part in 2018 and were set to do so in 2022 before an outbreak of COVID-19 cases shuffled the NHL schedule. NHLers took part in each Olympics from 1998-2014, with Team USA earning silver medals in 2002 and 2010, losing to Canada in the gold medal game each time.
Werenski now has his first chance to take part in the Olympics in his 10-year career, and he believes the Americans have the group that can bring gold back from Italy. No matter how it goes, though, he’s excited to take part in an event unlike any other to this point in his career.
“I feel like the one thing that was eye-opening to me this summer at the orientation is the way they described it,” Werenski said. “It’s not a hockey event. Every tournament I’ve been to with USA Hockey has been a strict hockey event. This is the Olympics, and it’s an Olympic event. You’re part of Team USA, not just the hockey team, and I think that was really cool.
“It’s something I’ve never really experienced before, right? You think you’re going over there to just be part of another hockey tournament, but you’re not. It’s a totally different tournament and feel and vibe, and I’m just really excited to be a part of it.”
CBJ goaltender Elvis Merzlikins was named to Latvia’s initial roster over the summer and is expected to join Werenski at the event.
