Inside Jack Hughes’ first month as USA Olympic hockey hero

NEWARK, NJ — Jack Hughes estimates that he has watched his extra time objective towards Canada about 50 instances, the one which delivered Olympic gold to the U.S. men’s hockey team for the first time since 1980. He notices new features of the play with every viewing, together with an undercurrent of existential dread.

“I just get nervous watching it. Like, what if it doesn’t go in this time?” he informed ESPN final week, seated inside a collection at Prudential Center, dwelling to his membership, the New Jersey Devils.

But on each viewing, the puck at all times flies previous goalie Jordan Binnington and will get wedged close to the in-net digicam. Hughes did not notice it was a objective till he noticed his longtime pal Dylan Larkin deliriously sprinting at him for a celebration 46 years within the making, the final time Team USA received Olympic gold.

In the deluge of congratulatory messages that Hughes obtained, one stood out as essentially the most surreal: actor Kurt Russell, who performed teaching legend Herb Brooks within the film “Miracle,” underscoring the 2026 group’s historic win.

“It changed all of our lives. We’re champions. We’re Olympic gold medalists. To break that streak and win a gold medal, it bonds us forever,” Hughes stated after getting back from Milan. “It’ll never be about one person. It’s all about the USA Hockey brotherhood. We’re just such a team.”

At each flip, Hughes has tried to redirect reward for his “golden goal” to his teammates. In the postgame interview instantly after the gold medal win over Canada, Hughes gushed concerning the “ballsy, gutsy” win by his teammates. The first participant he talked about was goalie Connor Hellebuyck, who made 41 saves, as “our best player tonight by a mile.”

“It’ll never be about the ‘golden goal.’ It’ll be about our three weeks at the Olympics, that we’re champions, and what a special time it was,” Hughes stated.

But strive as Hughes may, it has very a lot been concerning the “golden goal” because the group returned from Milan.

That’s unavoidable. Think concerning the “Miracle on Ice” 1980 team: Goalie Jim Craig is credited with being the spine for the win over Russia and subsequent gold medal victory towards Finland. But Mike Eruzione is the American sports activities legend for scoring the winner towards the Russians, his identify turning into synonymous with the “Miracle” and nonetheless incomes him look charges 46 years later.

People who do not speak about hockey are speaking about Jack Hughes. He has landed on morning speak exhibits and late-night comedy exhibits. His phrases carry considerably extra consequence, whether or not they’re concerning the controversies born out of Team USA’s gold medal celebrations or his desire to own the “golden goal” puck as an alternative of the Hockey Hall of Fame. In the NHL, he is getting cheers in locations the place he has been historically jeered. In one month, he has moved from hockey star to sports activities icon.

Look no additional than the photograph snapped by Elsa Garrison on the Olympics: Jack Hughes draped in an American flag, his proper fist raised in celebration, his jubilant smile dotted with blood-soaked damaged tooth. It’s an prompt poster. It’s a T-shirt worn by ESPN’s Pat McAfee whereas interviewing Hughes. New York Yankees star Aaron Judge stated the photograph was despatched across the World Baseball Classic group chat as shorthand for American athletic excellence.

“I don’t even like that photo. I just look like an idiot with no teeth,” Hughes stated, self-deprecatingly. “But obviously, it’s a really cool picture. I know it’s gotten a lot of love.”

The previous month because the “golden goal” has been quite a bit. Agent Pat Brisson believes nobody on Team USA was extra ready or keen about this star-making second than Jack Hughes.

“It couldn’t have been a better person, in that sense. He’s not just a hockey player. He’s very smart, well-read. Hockey is his passion, but he also has a lot of interest about the world, understanding different cultures and understanding his generation,” stated Brisson, who has recognized Hughes because the latter was 10 years previous.

“So, when this moment happened — I called it ‘the tsunami’ because no one expects it’s coming and then like boom it hits — Jack is equipped to handle it,” he stated. “Not everyone’s equipped. There’s a lot of great players who would’ve taken the moment and done a great job, but he’s taken it to another level.”

Look no additional than the whirlwind tour of high-profile appearances Hughes made within the wake of the “golden goal.”

Feb. 27: “The Pat McAfee Show”

Pat McAfee was certainly one of Team USA’s greatest followers earlier than he grew to become the gamers’ rich benefactor.

When the gamers arrived again within the U.S., the gold medal celebration started in Miami. The gamers strolled a crimson carpet into E11EVEN, the all-night occasion spot that has hosted championship celebrations for the Florida Panthers and the Indiana Hoosiers soccer group.

During the festivities, McAfee appeared in a video in an American flag tank prime to inform the gamers that their drinks that evening have been on him, E11EVEN, and “the rest of the United States of America” — and contemplating that the champagne tab alone was $150,000, based on the membership, it was a major reward.

Hughes stated that McAfee had been in contact with the group all through its journey in Milan to supply assist.

“Then obviously after we won, he was probably on the FaceTime list for all the boys,” Hughes stated.

Hughes was booked on McAfee’s ESPN afternoon present at a geographically advantageous time. The Devils performed in Pittsburgh on Feb. 26 and have been headed to St. Louis for a sport on Feb. 28. The McAfee present was on web site on the NFL mix in Indianapolis.

The candid, half-hour dialog lined all the pieces from Hughes’ lacking tooth (“I don’t have a dental plan yet”) to the USA vs. Canada rivalry (“It’s very intense right now.”). At the top, McAfee stunned Hughes with a taking pictures problem: hearth a street-hockey ball into a big spherical gap on a trash-bin-sized pillar and get $100,000 for the charity of Hughes’ selection.

Easy, proper?

“That was the most nervous I’d been in the two weeks since the Olympics,” Hughes stated. “We were just hanging out and chopping it up and then the next thing you know … they never mentioned that to me, and then they’re like, ‘We’re doing a $100,000 shot.'”

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Jack Hughes at all times dreamed of his gold medal second

Jack Hughes tells Pat McAfee what it was like scoring the sport winner for the U.S. males’s hockey group.

Hughes had seen “a million” editions of McAfee’s soccer kicking problem on “ESPN College GameDay,” and now understood the emotional dynamics of these moments. “I’m on the ramp. It’s live TV. I was just like, ‘I’m nervous as hell,'” he stated.

It won’t have been taking a shot to win Olympic gold in extra time, however Hughes nonetheless got here by means of within the clutch, sinking the ball within the goal earlier than a celebratory embrace with McAfee.

One of the charities benefiting from Hughes’ shot: the Gaudreau Family Foundation, which honors the legacies of the late Johnny and Matthew Gaudreau.

Feb. 28: “Saturday Night Live”

The week main as much as a brand new episode of “Saturday Night Live” provides the solid and its visitor host time to get conversant in the fabric. That features a full costume rehearsal present in entrance of a reside viewers on the identical evening as the reside version that airs later at 11:30 p.m. ET.

Jack’s brother Quinn Hughes, the Minnesota Wild defenseman and Team USA star, attended “dress” and practiced the opening monologue bit that featured the Hughes brothers being joined on stage by U.S. girls’s Olympic gold medalists Megan Keller and Hilary Knight. Jack Hughes was enjoying for the Devils in St. Louis round that point, and barely made it to the reside present in a whirlwind of air journey.

Jack and Luke Hughes, his youthful brother and Devils teammate, got a police escort from Enterprise Center to a small airfield the place a non-public jet awaited them. Among the passengers have been Devils house owners David and Allison Blitzer. The flight landed at Teterboro Airport in New Jersey, then it was a helicopter journey throughout the river to Manhattan, adopted by a swift automobile journey with one other police escort to 30 Rockefeller Plaza, arriving on the SNL studios with lower than an hour earlier than the present went reside.

“I was just lucky I made it on time. The big winners were my owners, the Blitzer family. They were such beauties getting me there,” Jack Hughes stated. “It was unbelievable to travel from St. Louis to New York. I didn’t even think about the show until I was walking up on stage because I was just like, ‘I played a game, and I don’t know if I’m even going to get there on time.’

“Once we obtained there on time, we’re gearing as much as do it. I see my traces as soon as, after which that is it. But then, I simply go up, and there is cue playing cards. And I’m trying round, however I neglect that I’ve to have a look at the cue playing cards. It was so, so enjoyable.”

Being a part of the present gave Hughes entry to certainly one of New York’s most unique traditions: the SNL afterparty, which The Athletic reported was held at Mermaid Oyster Bar. Jack, Quinn, Luke and their household spent a lot of it hanging out with SNL creator Lorne Michaels.

“He’s from Toronto. Big sports fan. Big hockey fan,” Hughes stated of Michaels. “The three of us were kind of grilling him because he’s been a part of the New York scene for forever, and he just had so many amazing stories for us.”

That episode of SNL introduced collectively two of essentially the most well-known hockey gamers in popular culture: Jack Hughes of Olympic heroism and Ilya Rozanov of “Heated Rivalry,” aka host Connor Storrie. The HBO Max sensation was inevitably going to be a subject within the monologue.

Jack Hughes: “I got my teeth knocked out in the finals. Does that happen on your show?”

Connor Storrie: “Metaphorically.”

Hughes nonetheless hasn’t seen “Heated Rivalry,” however was left impressed by its star.

“He was a super nice guy. I was really impressed with him. Just a really cool, normal, gracious guy,” he stated of Storrie.

March 3: “The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon”

It was introduced earlier than the sudden SNL drop-in that Jack, Quinn and Hilary Knight would all seem on “The Tonight Show” collectively to have fun Team USA’s double gold. A surreal month obtained much more surreal when host Jimmy Fallon introduced actress — and famous Nashville Predators supporter — Nicole Kidman to satisfy the Hughes brothers of their dressing room earlier than the present.

Jack Hughes stated it was a much less intense environment than SNL, thanks partly to the host.

“We were just a small part of SNL. It’s a skit, and it’s so cool to be a part of that,” he stated. “And then you’re on this other legendary show with Fallon doing a sit-down interview. And he’s such an easy guy. So much energy, and he makes it really easy for us.”

Even if the host of “The Tonight Show” is a fan of the Devils’ most hated rival.

“I think he is a big Rangers fan. That’s fine, though. He’s a New York legend, so that was cool to be a part of,” Hughes stated.

Of course, Hughes and Rangers followers have a unique relationship due to Olympic gold. The similar might be stated for lots of different hockey followers, whose views on Hughes have modified — for higher or worse.

DEVILS HOME GAMES towards the Rangers are at all times a home divided: crimson jerseys subsequent to blue jerseys, with each groups getting cheered and booed.

But when Jack Hughes scored the second objective of his hat trick towards New York on March 7, the Prudential Center crowd erupted with a “U-S-A!” chant to honor him.

“After the Olympics, I’ve got Rangers fans cheering for me,” he stated. “It’s an unbelievable fan base, but in the past, they used to say something nice and then say, ‘Go Rangers!’ Now, we’re all Americans. It’s really cool that that happened.”

In the Devils’ first sport towards the Rangers at Madison Square Garden after the Olympic break, a big signal dotted the stands close to the Devils’ bench that learn “RED, WHITE AND HUGHES.” When New Jersey visited the Pittsburgh Penguins, Hughes heard cheers.

“I always felt like when I go on the road that I see a ton of Hughes jerseys on the glass for warmups and stuff, but it’s definitely at a different level now. And it’s really fun for me getting cheered by Rangers fans, just because the Devils-Rangers rivalry is so unreal,” he stated.

“So many Devils fans live in New York. So many Rangers fans live in New Jersey. So you’re always bumping into people and you don’t know if they’re going to say ‘Go Rangers!’ or ‘Go Devils!’ but it doesn’t matter who it’s been. They’ve all been pretty fired up as of late.”

Of course, some individuals have been “fired up” about Hughes and his teammates for dramatically completely different causes after they received gold.

During the group’s locker room celebration in Milan, which featured FBI director Kash Patel as a visitor, President Donald Trump invited the gamers to go to the White House and attend the State of the Union handle.

As Patel held the telephone, Trump stated, “I must tell you, we’re going to have to bring the women’s team, you do know that,” including jokingly that if he did not additionally invite the ladies’s group, “I do believe I probably would be impeached.”

Some U.S. gamers laughed on the feedback, a response that drew harsh criticism when the video went viral.

“You’re in the moment, the president calls, we’re blaring the music. It is what it is now, but we have so much respect for the women’s team. They have so much respect for us. We’re all just proud Americans, and we’re happy we swept the Olympics,” Hughes said after getting back from the Olympics.

The U.S. girls’s hockey group, which received gold for the third time because the Olympics added the ladies’s competitors in 1998, declined an invitation from Trump to attend the State of the Union, citing logistics and scheduling considerations. The males’s group, apart from 5 gamers who cited scheduling concerns, met Trump and members of his administration on the White House. The majority of the group, together with Jack and Quinn Hughes, attended the State of the Union as honored friends.

Their determination was met with derision. ESPN radio host Peter Rosenberg referred to as the gamers “sad little pawns.” Said Mary Clarke of USA Today: “With hockey at the peak of its popularity in the pop culture zeitgeist, the United States men’s team failed to meet the moment.”

After attending the State of the Union, Hughes responded to the criticism by saying, “You got to remember we’re just hockey players,” and “we were so proud to be back in the U.S. and celebrating with our teammates.”

The weeks after the gold medal win have been overshadowed by these controversies. Jack and Quinn Hughes have been requested about them on “Good Morning America.” Jack Hughes addressed them on the crimson carpet at E11EVEN, saying, “No matter what your views are, we’re super excited to go to the White House and be a part of that.”

The Hughes brothers’ cameo on SNL was even impacted by the controversy. According to The Athletic, the unique plan was to have Jack and Quinn Hughes seem throughout the monologue, however within the wake of Trump’s joke and the backlash, SNL recommended that Keller and Knight be added, which everybody signed off on. Knight joked throughout the monologue that “It was going to be just us, but we thought we’d invite the guys, too.”

Social media was stuffed with harsh rebukes of Team USA gamers. Some of the sentiment round Hughes had shifted, too.

ESPN reported final week that Hughes wanted his “golden goal” puck to reward to his father, saying it was “bulls— that the Hockey Hall of Fame has it, in my opinion.” The Hall of Fame informed ESPN that “it was never Jack’s puck to own,” citing a preexisting agreement the place the International Ice Hockey Federation donates historic gadgets from the Olympic match to the Toronto-based Hall of Fame, a nonprofit.

Critics have been vocal on-line, with some calling Hughes “entitled” and citing Sidney Crosby having by no means sought his “golden goal” from the 2010 Olympics, a puck that can also be owned by the Hall of Fame, as some extent of comparability.

“I heard so many comments. People started attacking Jack,” stated Brisson, who stated Hughes is ok with the Hall of Fame proudly owning the puck now that he is conscious of the IIHF’s protocols.

Brisson stated the backlash towards Team USA and Hughes was indicative of “the world we’re navigating,” each politically and on social media.

“You’re never going to bat a thousand. Everything is magnified, a hundred miles an hour coming at you. Everyone’s a Monday morning quarterback,” he stated. “It’s how you deal with what’s presented in front of you. With the political climates, [Jack] stayed away from it. He’s very smart. He probably has opinions, but he’s a very intelligent, equipped ambassador.”

All of this illustrates the upper stage of consciousness Hughes has achieved, not simply up to now month however the previous a number of months. Hughes had develop into movie star tabloid fodder, having been photographed spending time with pop star Tate McRae round New York City and having her attend a Devils sport. But the “golden goal” despatched his fame into the stratosphere, as mirrored by the provides Brisson is receiving for Hughes post-Olympics.

“Jack always had the ‘it’ factor. Now, we have more options to do,” Brisson stated. “He gets to decide much quicker now how this painting’s going to look in a few years.”

Things have modified for Hughes off the ice after his Olympic heroism. What about on the ice?

“Have you ever found Jack to be short on swagger since the day he stepped in the league?” Devils coach Sheldon Keefe requested.

THE BIGGEST CHANGE for Jack Hughes from a hockey perspective has been his well being. He missed 18 video games for the Devils after what he called a “freak accident” at a Chicago restaurant through which he sliced his proper hand on damaged glass, leading to surgical procedure. He additionally battled a lower-body harm earlier than leaving for the Olympics.

“Even as he came back, for the stretch of games leading into the Olympics, he’s playing essentially with one hand. He’s not himself,” Keefe stated. “And just prior to the Olympics, the brace comes off and he’s getting full use of his hand, and he gets that experience that he has in the Olympics, and he comes back and just keeps building his game.”

Expectations weren’t excessive for Hughes in Milan. He had what many felt was an underwhelming 4 Nations Face-Off for Team USA, producing one help whereas enjoying out of place on the wing — though Hughes believes that criticism was misplaced.

“Honestly, I loved my game at 4 Nations. I stand by that. I think a lot of people don’t watch the games that closely. It’s easy to look at the stats. I fall for it, too,” he stated. “I was never wavering in my [belief] that I could play in those monster games and make a big impact.”

In the Olympics, Hughes had 4 targets and three assists in six video games, skating to a plus-8. He started on the wing of the group’s fourth line and performed his manner up the lineup, ultimately ending the match along with his extra time objective towards Canada.

“He’s a very special player,” stated J.T. Miller, the New York Rangers captain who received gold with Hughes on Team USA.

Miller knew Quinn Hughes from their days collectively on the Vancouver Canucks and obtained to know Jack in Milan.

“I have a lot of respect for him as a player. Now, I have more respect for him as a person,” Miller stated. “I spent a lot of time with him over there. He’s got a great heart. He loves America and loves his team.”

In his first 12 video games with the Devils after the Olympics, Hughes had 19 factors (six targets, 13 assists), serving to New Jersey to seven wins. But his group observed one thing had modified for Hughes attitudinally.

“I think he’s definitely sure of himself and maybe a bit more assertive in the way he feels that we should play,” stated Connor Brown, Hughes’ linemate. “He’s a leader in this room. I think when you have a guy like that, it can be inspiring down the lineup. And I think that’s kind of what you’re seeing.”

Hughes was surrounded by stars, leaders and captains on Team USA. He stated the expertise had a substantial affect on him.

“I know I’m a great leader in my own right, but when you get to pick people’s brains, you want to bring it back here and just establish that in our room,” he stated.

Keefe acknowledged that Hughes has been extra vocal and assertive after the Olympics. Keefe has been most impressed with how his younger star dealt with essentially the most surreal month of his life.

“He went through a gauntlet when he came back here from the Olympics in terms of our schedule combined with his media obligations that he fulfilled, but he still really helped get our team feeling good and rolling,” Keefe stated. “Capitalizing on that good energy that he brought back.”

No matter what Hughes does down the stretch, the Devils are doubtless in one other misplaced season — as of Sunday, that they had a 0.1% probability of constructing the playoffs, per Money Puck. He has appeared within the playoffs as soon as throughout his seven-year NHL profession, having missed their collection towards the Carolina Hurricanes final postseason due to harm.

His professional profession has been outlined by unimaginable offensive achievement — his 0.98 points-per-game common ranks nineteenth amongst energetic gamers (min. 400 video games) — and sadly, an endless parade of accidents, as Hughes has performed over 70 video games simply as soon as in his profession.

“He’s an unbelievable player. He’s had a lot of adversity these past couple of years,” Luke Hughes stated.

The “golden goal” gave Jack Hughes a number of issues — some wished, some undesirable — however maybe most of all, it gave him one thing his profession wanted badly: a win.

“I feel like pro sports are so funny. People are so hot on you and then they’re so cold on you. It’s like the constant game where they’re all about you, then they’re off on you, then they’re back on you. Obviously, I’ve had some big years. Then, I’ve had a bunch of injuries,” Hughes stated.

“A gold medal, in general, just establishes you as a winner. So, for every guy on our team to win, it just changes USA Hockey. And then, on a personal note, I’m on the fourth line. I have to play through things — different role, different minutes. I’m only playing 10 minutes a night and still having to find a way to produce and do my thing. So, looking back at that whole experience, if I just look at what I’m most proud of for myself, what I did with what I was given. The amount I accomplished is something I’m proud of.”