US enters world championship eager to raise the women's hockey bar further after Olympic gold win

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 on Friday. “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.

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.

“With this group, it’s a really big opportunity for us to stamp everything that we did in Milan,” forward Kelly Pannek said, looking ahead to the next four-year Olympic cycle. “With such great continuity, we have the opportunity to not just scrape by. No, let’s keep pushing it. Let’s make everyone feel like they have to chase what we’re doing.”

The rest of the world may well be playing catch-up, including traditional global power Canada.

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.

“It’s a really great opportunity to dip into a little bit of what our foundation looks like as a team, as a program,” said Cheverie, who coached Montreal to a PWHL Walter Cup championship in May. “And I believe in doing so, we will see a different Team Canada.”

Just don’t call it a rebuild, defender Renata Fast said.

“I truly believe we’re not taking a step back. We’re taking a step forward,” Fast said.

“Obviously that loss (to the U.S.) sits with you and you have to wait four long years. But if anything, that brings so much motivation,” she added. “I think this group is really hungry.”

The Canadians got off on the right foot by opening a two-game exhibition series with a 5-3 win, ending an eight-game losing streak against the U.S. The Americans bounced back with a 4-0 win two days later.

Wroblewski played down the loss to having minimal preparation time.

“There's no reason to make a big deal out of an opener,” he wrote The AP in a text from Denmark, where the U.S. opens against Switzerland on Friday. “Before that, we'd won 18 straight games since February of 2025, including eight wins against Canada. A country that proud was going to win soon.”

— 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 nations in a tournament featuring a change in format: Rather than having the top five teams grouped together, the field has been split based on rankings, with U.S. leading one group and Canada the other. The switch means the U.S. and Canada won't face off unless they meet in the playoff round, with the final set for Nov. 16.

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.

See AP’s full women’s hockey coverage here