Guentzel also told reporters<\/a> he wanted to spend time with his family and to \u201crest and recover\u201d after the Olympics before playing NHL games again.<\/p>\n \u201cI was definitely not denying the request to go,\u201d Guentzel said.<\/p>\n Oettinger had a similar sentiment, telling WFAA<\/a> he \u201chad basically been living in Italy for a month\u201d and had a 3-month-old baby waiting for him at home.<\/p>\n In a locker room interview<\/a>, LaCombe blamed his schedule.<\/p>\n \u201cI love our country, and you know, I love whoever\u2019s in office, so 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\u2019t really make it work,\u201d LaCombe said.<\/p>\n Connor said he wanted to concentrate on the rest of the NHL season, which resumes on Wednesday.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m just getting ready. We play on Wednesday,\u201d he told The Sporting News<\/a>. \u201cIt\u2019s a big second half, so I just wanted to make sure I was ready.\u201d<\/p>\n Like Connor, Team USA goalie Connor Hellebuyck also plays for the Jets, and he attended the White House gathering and the State of the Union speech. <\/p>\n Trump said he will be giving Hellebuyck a Presidential Medal of Freedom for his exceptional performance at the Olympics.<\/p>\n None of the players who skipped the visit to the White House has specifically indicated that their decision has anything to do with political ideology.<\/p>\n However, a report from The Guardian<\/a> notes that Nelson, LaCombe, Guentzel and Oettinger were born in Minnesota or spent large parts of their upbringing there. The state has been the site of a severe immigration crackdown by the Trump administration.<\/p>\n But Team USA members who currently play for the Minnesota Wild \u2014 Quinn Hughes, Matt Boldy and Brock Faber \u2014 all attended the presidential events.<\/p>\n Jack Hughes of the New Jersey Devils and Charlie McAvoy of the Boston Bruins also attended the presidential events, though they have previously voiced support<\/a> for social causes<\/a> that the Trump administration has pushed back on.<\/p>\n The U.S. men\u2019s hockey team had been invited by Trump to meet with him at the White House and to attend the State of the Union address after the team\u2019s gold-medal win in Milan.<\/p>\n The team has received backlash on social media for partying with FBI Director Kash Patel in the locker room after their big win and for speaking with Trump over a phone call.<\/p>\n In videos posted<\/a> on social media, Trump can be heard on speakerphone inviting the men\u2019s hockey team to the White House and then making a joke about \u201chaving to\u201d invite the gold\u2011medal\u2011winning U.S. women\u2019s hockey team.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat would really be cool, and we\u2019ll do the White House next time, we\u2019ll just have some fun, we have medals for you guys. And we have to, I must tell you, we\u2019re gonna have to bring the women\u2019s team, you do know that?\u201d Trump said with a laugh.<\/p>\n The team erupted in laughter.<\/p>\n \u201cI do believe that I would probably be impeached [if the women\u2019s team were not invited],\u201d Trump said.<\/p>\n Since the videos of the phone call went viral on social media, the men\u2019s team has received criticism.<\/p>\n After the men\u2019s team arrived back home on U.S. soil, Hughes told The Daily Mail<\/a> he felt that people were \u201cmaking something out of almost nothing,\u201d referring to Trump\u2019s joke about inviting the women\u2019s team.<\/p>\n \u201cEveryone\u2019s giving us backlash for all the social media stuff today, but people are so negative out there and they are just trying to find a reason to put people down and make something out of almost nothing,\u201d Hughes told The Daily Mail.<\/p>\n He added, \u201cPeople are so negative about things. I think everyone in that locker room knows how much we support them [the women\u2019s team], how proud we are of them, and we know the same way we feel about them, they feel about us.\u201d<\/p>\n When asked whether he was excited to meet Trump, Hughes said, \u201cYeah, we\u2019re excited. Everything is so political. We\u2019re athletes. We\u2019re so proud to represent the U.S. and when you get the chance to go to White House and meet the president, we\u2019re proud to be Americans and that\u2019s so patriotic. No matter what your views are, we\u2019re super excited to go to the White House tomorrow and be a part of that.\u201d<\/p>\n The women\u2019s team declined Trump\u2019s invitation to the State of the Union address scheduled for Tuesday night. It\u2019s unclear whether they will attend any future events at the White House.<\/p>\n \u201cWe are sincerely grateful for the invitation extended to our gold medal\u2013winning U.S. Women\u2019s Hockey Team and deeply appreciate the recognition of their extraordinary achievement,” a USA Hockey spokesperson told NBC News<\/a>. \u201cDue to the timing and previously scheduled academic and professional commitments following the Games, the athletes are unable to participate.\u201d<\/p>\n![\"Members](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/NOLRWZVIKVC4RJZWEC45BQK3OQ.jpg\")
Members of the United States’ Olympic gold medal hockey team enter the gallery as President Donald Trump delivers the State of the Union address to a joint session of Congress in the House chamber of the U.S. Capitol in Washington, Tuesday, Feb. 24, 2026.(Kenny Holston\/The New York Times via AP, Pool)<\/p>\n![\"Members](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/7TYKZOAMM5H7TPG5W22H2X26JM.jpg\")
Members of the United States’ hockey team attend as President Donald Trump delivers the State of the Union address to a joint session of Congress in the House chamber at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, Tuesday, Feb. 24, 2026.(Matt Rourke | AP Photo\/Matt Rourke)<\/p>\n![\"Team](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/XDECCIU2L5DDVMSP4LJBKKAQNM.jpg\")
Team USA poses for a group photo after defeating Canada in the men’s ice hockey gold medal game at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Milan, Italy, Sunday, Feb. 22, 2026. (AP Photo\/Luca Bruno)(Luca Bruno | AP)<\/p>\n![\"Team](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/1772063715_274_VW5S2NOFFZHBBFN4ZX7IHIOJZM.jpg\")
Team United States players pose together after receiving their gold medals after the women’s ice hockey gold medal game at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Milan, Italy, Thursday, Feb. 19, 2026. (AP Photo\/Carolyn Kaster)(Carolyn Kaster | AP)<\/p>\n