ADM Kids

 Zach Werenski can’t help but smile when asked about this past year.

The 27-year-old Michigan native got married this offseason and helped end a 92-year gold medal drought for Team USA at the World Championships in May after falling just short with the U.S. in the 4 Nations Face-Off in February.

On the National Hockey scene, the Columbus Blue Jackets defenseman was also a Norris Trophy finalist, coming off a breakout season with 23 goals and 82 points in 81 games, good for second in the NHL in goals and points.

“Yeah I guess you could say it was a pretty good year,” Werenski said with a laugh. “The Blue Jackets didn’t end the season like we would have wanted to, but we definitely came close, and I think that prepared us to have an even stronger year and bigger taste for the playoffs this season.”

We caught up with Werenski to talk two-way hockey, the Olympics and the importance of a team.

USA Hockey: What brought you into hockey?

Zach Werenski: My parents never played, but I had an older cousin who played, and my parents’ friends were putting their kids in hockey so they kind of just threw me and my brother in it. No real rhyme or reason, just an ad in the paper and hearing about it from other friends. And from there I just kind of got hooked.

USA Hockey: What hooked it for you?

Werenski: My friends and playing youth hockey was just so fun. I played locally for Grosse Pointe, and just playing for your hometown team is really cool.

And for me, it was really just that team aspect of hockey. I think the camaraderie of being around your buddies, whether that’s playing street hockey or roller hockey or practice, games, tournaments – whatever it is, you’re always around your friends. You’re always doing it together. The only way to succeed in hockey is to play as a team and be close. And I always valued that. A lot of my youth teammates are still really good friends of mine today. And I think that’s just from competing together, battling together. It teaches you life lessons, and I just always had fun going to the rink because of my friends. So that’s a big, big reason why.

USA Hockey: How many of those buddies were playing other sports besides hockey, too?

Werenski: Oh 100 percent. We played baseball, a little bit of soccer. I actually played lacrosse for six or seven years in the summer as an attack. So, I think I’ve always felt it’s really important to get a break from hockey. Nowadays kids sometimes treat it like it’s a 12-month spot, but I definitely do think you need to get out, take a break from it – not just mentally but also to learn other athletic abilities. You get coordinated in other sports, and even helps you find out what sports or things you just truly love.

Then, I always felt like every year when hockey started back up, I was really excited to get back at it. I wasn’t burnt out from it. I wasn’t at the rink four or five times in the summer. I got ice every now and then, but I really just played with my buddies outside. My focus was on other sports all summer. And I think that’s how it should be.

USA Hockey: How much did that offensive component in lacrosse translate to defensive skills in hockey?

Werenski: Lacrosse is very similar to hockey in the sense of a team game. Obviously, your hands are similar. It’s stick and ball, and you get to hit people, and the game itself is just very similar. It’s a great sport, and it kept me competitive. Again, for me in lacrosse, I loved the team aspect and team sports. Playing attack, it definitely gave me that scoring mentality and kind of that aggressive offensive mindset that I always tried to translate into playing defense on the ice, too.

USA Hockey: So how did you settle on defense for hockey? Was it always the go-to position?

Werenski: (Laughs) It’s funny, I’d always play defense during the year, and then in the spring tournaments I’d always play forward, so it was a little bit different. That’s kind of why I have the offensive mind, because in the spring I would always go up there and play forward. I think it was good to dabble in both a little bit. I think I pride myself a little more on bringing offense to the defensive side. The older I’ve gotten now, I definitely take pride in being more of a two-way defenseman. There’s value in both, and you need both of them.

USA Hockey: That two-way ability has certainly put you on the radar for the 2026 Olympics. What are your thoughts on that?

Werenski: That’d be awesome. I’m really excited for the chance to hopefully get to represent USA. Obviously, I have to do a lot of things right this year and play well, but it’s a once in a lifetime opportunity. It’s the first time since I’ve been in the league that the best on best has been at the Olympics. And I know how rare these opportunities are, and they don’t come around often. So, I’m trying not to think about it too much. I am just going out there to play and help my team here and see what happens.

At the end of the day, I love playing for USA Hockey. It’s some of the most fun hockey you can play.