A.J. Mleczko ’90 to Receive New Canaan Country School’s Alumni Award
New Canaan Country School is pleased to announce that Olympic gold-medal winning athlete and an ESPN and MSG ice hockey analyst A.J. Mleczko ’90 will be presented with the 2021 Alumni Award. A.J. will accept the honor and share highlights of her career with students, alumni and guests during the 2021-2022 school year.
“Trailblazer, world-class athlete, accomplished team leader, talented analyst, respected on-air sports professional and dedicated wife, daughter and mother, it gives me great pride to recognize A.J. Mleczko for her numerous accomplishments,” said Head of School Aaron Cooper. The Alumni Award is presented each year to honor an alumna or alumnus who has had “the courage and confidence to make a positive contribution to the world.”
During her eight-year international hockey career, Mleczko led the U.S. women’s hockey team to a historic gold medal at the 1998 Nagano Olympics, and a silver medal at the Salt Lake Games in 2002. She competed in all six games during the women’s inaugural hockey tournament at the 1998 Nagano Olympics, contributing two goals and two assists on the way to Team USA’s gold medal.
In 2018, she made broadcasting history when she became the first woman to work as an in-booth analyst for an NHL postseason game on NBC Sports. Mleczko had served as an analyst for NBC Sports’ hockey coverage and since 2006, has covered five Olympic Games, including the Winter Olympics in PyeongChang. In addition, she has covered hockey for Turner, New England Sports Network (NESN), Universal Sports and the NHL Network. Currently, she is a ice hockey analyst for ESPN and MSG Networks.
Mleczko is a daughter of Bambi and former Country School Science Teacher and Coach Tom Mleczko, and a sibling of Wink Mleczko van Ogtrop ’88 and Jason Mleczko ’95.
Following graduation from Country School, she attended The Taft School and Harvard University where she led Crimson women’s ice hockey team to a national title in 1999. That same year, she became the second winner of the Patty Kazmaier Award, which is awarded annually to the best female college ice hockey player in the United States. In 2002 she was inducted into the New England Women's Hall of Fame and in 2019, into the National Polish-American Sports Hall of Fame.
Mleczko and her husband, Jason Griswold, have four children, Finley, Jaime, Sam and Oliver, and reside in Concord, MA.
New Canaan Country School
New Canaan Country School admits students of any race, color, national and ethnic origin and are afforded all the rights, privileges, programs, and activities generally accorded or made available to students at the school and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, age, sex, sexual orientation, national origin or ancestry, or disability in administration of its educational policies, admissions policies, financial aid policies or any other school-administered programs.
