The United States men’s hockey team did not have much time to let the gold medal moment settle in before the next invitation arrived.
After the Americans beat Canada 2-1 in overtime on Sunday at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan, President Donald Trump called the team during its locker room celebration and invited the players to attend Tuesday night’s State of the Union address in Washington. The call took place with FBI Director Kash Patel in the room holding a phone on speaker so Trump could address the players directly.
The team had just finished one of the biggest wins in modern U.S. men’s hockey history. The victory gave the United States its first Olympic men’s hockey gold medal since 1980, and the final came against Canada in a rivalry game that went to sudden death overtime. United States players celebrated on the ice in Milan before heading to the locker room, where the call came in during the postgame celebration.
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Trump’s invitation was direct and immediate. In the call played over speaker, he told the team he had just been talking with his staff about the State of the Union speech and then offered to bring the players to Washington.
“I’ll tell you what. I just told my people two minutes ago, I didn’t know they’d be calling, I said we’re giving the State of the Union speech on Tuesday night,” Trump said. “I can send a military plane or something, but if you would like to, it’s the coolest night, it’s the biggest speech …”
One player interrupted the president during the call and answered, “We’re in.”
Trump continued by telling the group the trip logistics would be handled for them.
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“We’ll get Kash and we’ll get the military to get you guys over,” Trump continued. “You won’t have to worry about the weather or landing. We don’t care if it’s snowing or if it’s the worst blizzard – we’ll be sailing through like you did on the ice.”
The timing of the invite added another layer to a day that was already packed with headlines. The State of the Union speech is scheduled for 9 p.m. ET on Tuesday, which gives the players a short turnaround from the Olympic final in Italy to a possible appearance in Washington. The call also came while the team was still in celebration mode after the overtime win.
Trump also singled out goaltender Connor Hellebuyck during the call. Hellebuyck was one of the central reasons the U.S. got through regulation and into overtime, finishing with 41 saves in the gold medal game. The Americans needed that performance to survive long stretches of Canadian pressure before the overtime winner.
Trump’s line for Hellebuyck drew a reaction in the room as he praised the U.S. goalie’s game.
“By the way, your goalie played not bad. … I’ve seen hockey goalies have slightly worse games. Unbelievable and you were all unbelievable. The team is pretty good, you played,” he said.
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The call was not limited to the men’s team. Trump also said he would honor the group again the following day and noted that the women’s team would be included as well. The mention came as part of the same postgame conversation after the men’s final.
The result on the ice remains the main story for the team: a 2-1 overtime win over Canada in Milan and the first U.S. men’s Olympic hockey gold since 1980. But the postgame sequence added a second headline, with the players getting a national invitation while they were still in the locker room.
For Team USA, the day moved quickly from gold medal celebration to travel talk. One moment the players were closing out an overtime final in Milan. The next, they were fielding an invite to one of the biggest political stage events in Washington just two days later.
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