A significant amount of excitement and controversy followed the United States men’s hockey team after its gold-medal-winning performance at the Olympics.
In the two-plus days after the Americans beat Canada to win gold, the players celebrated in Milan and Miami before most of them flew to Washington, D.C., for an Oval Office meeting with President Donald Trump and a rousing introduction during the State of the Union speech.
As the players trickled back to their NHL teams on Wednesday for the resumption of the season, they faced questions about the politicalization of their win and their association with Trump, including their reaction to the president’s comments — widely viewed as derisive — about inviting the gold-medal-winning U.S. women’s team to the State of the Union.
Goalie Jeremy Swayman said the team “should have reacted differently” when Trump joked about being impeached if he didn’t invite the women’s team to the White House. Team captain Auston Matthews described the situation as “unfortunate,” but other players avoided saying they regretted the reaction while expressing support for the women.
In response to other blowback, Jack and Quinn Hughes initially responded that critics “are trying to find a reason to put people down.” Matthews said he doesn’t “like to get political or get into that kind of stuff” and said he and his teammates have “nothing but love and respect for the women’s team.”
Here’s a sampling of how other players responded when asked about various topics:
On laughing at Trump’s comment about inviting the women’s team
Kyle Connor: “Honestly, no, I don’t really have any thoughts on it. There’s so many things happening, where you just won the gold medal, and things are going on. So I don’t really remember what he said. It was such a whirlwind, just celebrating with teammates.”
Jackson LaCombe: “It was kind of (Trump) being funny and whatever it was. We just want to represent our country. I know (the women’s team) did, too. We’re really cool with them, too. It was really important to us and to them. That’s kind of the big thing.”
Matthews: “It was unfortunate. We love the women’s team. We support them. The night we won the gold medal, we were hanging out in the dining hall until like three, four in the morning. It’s unfortunate that occurred. We have nothing but love and respect for the women’s team and what they were able to accomplish. And it’s amazing that the men’s and women’s ice hockey teams are both bringing home gold medals for the United States of America. And I think that should be talked about more than the other. But we’re extremely proud of them and happy for them and we support them 100 percent.”
Swayman: “We should have reacted differently. We are so excited for the women’s team. We have so much respect for the women’s team. To share that gold medal with them is something we’re forever grateful for. Now that we’re home, we get to share that together forever and see the incredible support we have from the USA, and share this incredible gold medal.”
Tage Thompson: “I think, in the moment, you’re just in the locker room celebrating and you’re just excited that there’s people that are influential in this country that want to be a part of it, that are watching you play. You know, we’re all athletes, we love the country. The fact that there are people that are high up in the country that make decisions that are watching the game and want to be a part of it and celebrate, because that’s at the end of the day what it was, a celebration of the country. I think that’s why we were so excited.”
On the political discourse after the victory
J.T. Miller: “I don’t follow all the noise on the outside. I mean, I’m not even on — I don’t have the internet right now, basically. So, we just enjoyed ourselves. … We’re very proud to be Americans. We came back with a gold medal, and that’s the reason we went there. We feel really proud and lucky to have all the opportunities we’ve had over the last couple of days.”
Jaccob Slavin: “I think when you get invited to the White House, regardless of who the president is, not everyone gets that opportunity and the privilege to be able to go and take part in so much history that has taken part at the White House and in Washington, D.C. So it was a privilege to be able to go.”
Thompson: “I think maybe when you’re at the center, you might not know as much of the stuff that’s going on. You know, at the end of the day, we’re Americans and we set out to accomplish something that was very difficult to do and we did it. And you know, we’re obviously going to enjoy that. Like I said before, we’re very proud to represent this country. It’s a huge honor to wear those colors, and I don’t think anyone on that team’s going to shy away from any sort of criticism. Unfortunately, in today’s world, everyone has their own opinions, and I think that’s what makes this country so great is we can all have different opinions and live our lives and be different. So that’s kind of what I see there.”
Vincent Trocheck: “It’s sad that it’s getting politicized the way it is. We’re all very proud to be Americans, and we were all so proud to go over there and win a gold medal. We went over there with a job, and it was to win gold and do it for our country and for everybody back here, and we were able to do that. It’s sad that it automatically gets turned into something political when all we really wanted to do was represent everybody in here and everybody in our country as well as we could.”
On the White House visit and State of the Union
Slavin: “It was just a cool experience to be able to be in the White House. Not a lot of people get to do that, so to be able to be there and do it was really cool. … It’s cool to see the history and read some of the history about the presidents on the walls. It’s a really cool place to be.”
Swayman: “It was an incredible honor. We all were there to represent our country, celebrate a gold medal for the United States. That was something we really embodied and we were really grateful to be a part of.”
Thompson: “Everyone in that locker room is a patriot. We love the country. Anytime you put on that jersey, it’s the best feeling in the world representing your country and playing for the men and women who fought and serve for your country. We get to enjoy such great lives here, and it’s because of those men and women. I couldn’t be more proud to be an American and do it with the group of guys that we had. Obviously, going to the White House is such an honor. It was a very cool experience and something that I’ll probably never get to do again.”
On players skipping the Washington, D.C. trip or speech
Connor: “It’s a big second half (of the NHL season), so I just wanted to make sure I was ready.”
Jake Guentzel: “It was just kind of a timing thing for me and my family. (I was) definitely not denying the request to go. It was obviously a dream come true to go; I was fortunate to go in 2017 (with Pittsburgh) when Trump was in office. Just thought with the games, three in four (days), we’ve got a lot of games coming up the rest of the year, it’s gonna be a tough schedule. So, two weeks of Olympic break, thought it would be good just to kind of come home, rest and recover, and try to spend some time with my family before we get going. So that’s where I’m at with it.”
LaCombe: “Obviously, it was a huge honor to be invited there by our president. For me, it was just so special to love our country. I love whoever is in office. It was such an honor, but I just wanted to be back here for the game, and it was a tight window, so I couldn’t really make it work. That’s the only reason why. I just want to be ready to go back with these guys.”
Jake Oettinger: “I think, first of all, getting invited to go to the White House is a tremendous honor. I had basically been living in Italy for a month. I have a huge stretch run. I wasn’t playing much (at the Olympics). I wanted to come back and get my game ready to go, and I also have a 3-month-old baby at home. Been traveling the world. So that was kind of what went into that, but I think those guys had a great time there, and that was why I didn’t go.”