Zach Werenski Says Johnny Gaudreau ‘Deserves This Gold Medal More Than Anyone'
Zach Werenski had a great World Championship. He missed the first couple of games but it was no coincidence that the U.S. team got much better after he arrived. In seven games, Werenski had six points and was voted to the tournament all-star team by accredited media and named Top Defenseman by the tournament directorate.
But more importantly, the USA won the gold medal for the first time since 1933.
'We've put a lot of work in these past couple of weeks,' Werenski said after the game. 'It's a really close group and the U.S. hasn't done this in a long time, so we're just really happy that we're the group to do it and it feels amazing.'
With the final game against Switzerland scoreless after 60 minutes, Werenski said, 'I thought we had a quiet confidence in our room. We were focused, we knew someone was going to be the hero in that room, and it was Tage (Thompson) tonight.
'That's a really good hockey team over there, they didn't give us much, I felt like it was a pretty even game, Tage makes a great play in overtime, Sway (goaltender Jeremy Swayman) makes a lot of great saves to keep us in it all game and we came out on the right side.'
Zach Werenski: 'Olympics Still A Long Way Off' After initially declining an invitation to play at this year's IIHF World Championship, Zach Werenski had a change of heart and the US team is thankful for that. The
Columbus Blue Jackets' defenseman has four points in four games since joining the team, as the USA got progressively better throughout the group stage. The team finished second in Group B after a come-from-behind 5-2 win over Czechia on Tuesday.
Still holding the Johnny Gaudreau's No. 13 jersey, the one the U.S. players took with them to accept the championship trophy, Werenski was asked about that moment.
'Yeah, it was pretty emotional,' he said. 'I think he leads the U.S. in points here, he always came to this tournament with a smile on his face and I learned a lot from him, so I feel like he deserves this gold medal more than anyone, and he was with us the whole time.'
Gaudreau played in five World Championships for the USA, winning a bronze medal in 2018. He leads the USA all-time with 30 assists and 43 points – one more than Patrick Kane in each case.
Gaudreau and Werenski were Columbus Blue Jackets teammates for two seasons.
At around 11:30 PM local time in Sweden, Werenski was asked how he and his teammates were going to celebrate the win.
'We're going to have some fun tonight but I think I have a 3 AM taxi to the airport, so I'm running out of time here. We'll see what happens.'
Photo © Kirby Lee-Imagn Images: Johnny Gaudreau (left) and Zach Werenski playing together for the Columbus Blue Jackets in 2023-24.
Tage Thompson's OT Goal 'Didn't Feel Real; It Still Doesn't' Like a lot of the members of the team that represented the USA at this year's IIHF World Championship, Tage Thompson has had success at the U-18 and U-20 levels internationally, but gold had eluded him at this level.
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