A gold medal will be coming to Columbus after Zach Werenski assisted Jack Hughes’ overtime goal, leading the United States to a 2-1 victory over Canada in the Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026 men’s hockey final.
Werenski becomes only the second Columbus Blue Jackets (CBJ) player to earn an Olympic gold medal, following Rick Nash’s win with Team Canada in 2010. The U.S. men’s team had not won gold since their famous “Miracle on Ice” triumph in 1980.
Both Werenski and Latvian goaltender Elvis Merzlikins represented the Blue Jackets at this year’s Olympics. Werenski began his international career with the U.S. National Team Development Program at age 16, while Merzlikins has been a regular for Latvia since his teenage years.
Werenski entered the tournament as one of the NHL’s top defensemen, ranking second among his peers in goals and points this season. He previously played for Team USA at junior levels and was named best defenseman when the Americans won last year’s IIHF World Championships.
Merzlikins, who is in his seventh season with Columbus, has participated in six World Championships for Latvia and was recognized three times as a Top 3 Player for his country.
During group play, Team USA defeated Latvia, Denmark, and Germany to finish with a perfect record and secure a bye into the quarterfinals. In elimination rounds, they edged Sweden in overtime before beating Slovakia in the semifinals and finally overcoming Canada for gold.
Werenski set up several key plays throughout the tournament. In Friday’s semifinal against Slovakia, he recorded three primary assists—a first for an active CBJ player at an Olympic game—and tied Nash’s franchise record for most points by a Jackets player at a single Olympics. His performance culminated with his assist on Hughes’ decisive goal just 1:41 into overtime of the final.
Merzlikins started two games for Latvia but could not prevent their elimination by Sweden despite making several notable saves during the tournament.
On the women’s side, Ohio saw significant representation on both American and Canadian teams. Two Ohio natives—Laila Edwards from Cleveland Heights and Gwyneth Philips from Athens—became the first Ohio-born players to win Olympic gold with Team USA women’s hockey. Current Ohio State University (OSU) student Joy Dunne contributed two goals during her first Olympics; OSU alumni Hannah Bilka and Cayla Barnes also helped secure gold.
Team Canada included four OSU alumnae who earned silver medals after advancing past Germany and Switzerland before falling to Team USA in overtime. Swiss goalie Andrea Braendli—another OSU product—helped her team claim bronze with strong performances throughout her starts.
Other current OSU players contributed to Sweden reaching the bronze medal game while Finnish forward Sanni Vanhanen finished her run with one goal and one assist before Finland exited in quarterfinals.
