The U.S. women’s hockey team heading to the winter Olympics has deep ties to Wisconsin, with four current and two former Badgers on the roster and a Fox Valley-native serving as head coach.
The current Badgers to make the final Olympic roster are Laila Edwards, Caroline Harvey, Ava McNaughton and Kirsten Simms, while the former Badgers are Britta Curl-Salemme and Hilary Knight, according to University of Wisconsin-Madison Athletics.
UW-Madison’s six players are the most of any school in the country and the most for the Badgers since seven were on the 2010 Olympic team, according to UW-Madison Athletics. Edwards will be the first Black woman to compete for the U.S. women’s Olympic team.
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John Wroblewski, a Neenah native, will coach the team at the 2026 Olympic Winter Games in Italy.
Beyond players and coach, current UW-Madison athletic trainer Stefanie Arndt and former Wisconsin director of operations/equipment manager Sis Paulsen will join Team USA in staff roles, according to UW-Madison Athletics.
The 2026 Winter Olympics are scheduled to begin on Feb. 4, with the opening ceremony held on Feb. 6. The event will run until the closing ceremony on Feb. 22.
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