The victory lap for America’s Olympic hockey champions quietly shed politics from the celebration
NEW YORK (AP) — It took until noon on Saturday, less than 12 hours before showtime, for the script to arrive.
The opening monologue for “Saturday Night Live,” of all things, was about to become a turning point in a national celebration that had somehow gone sideways in the week after the U.S. won Olympic gold in men’s and women’s hockey. Instead of basking in the glory of twice beating rival Canada in overtime, players like Hilary Knight and Megan Keller on the women’s side and Jack and Quinn Hughes on the men’s side were fielding questions about politics and sexism.
Executive producer Lorne Michaels told the players the show was going to have some fun with the situation.
President Donald Trump joking on a call with the men that he’d get impeached if he didn’t also invite the women to the White House drew laughter from some of the players and plenty of criticism. Their appearance at the State of the Union address — after the women’s team declined for logistical reasons — also derailed the headlines and conversation further into politics.
The celebration limped along to the weekend, where “Heated Rivalry” star Connor Storrie was hosting “SNL.” Late in the monologue, he told the hockey stars how cool it was that they were all there together and Knight delivered a line for the ages:
“It was going to be just us,” Knight said, “but we thought we’d invite the guys, too.”
Applause and laughter lit up the studio along with wide smiles — Jack’s gap-toothed version, too — from those on stage. Two nights later, the Hughes brothers and Knight shared a couple of fist-bumps on “The Tonight Show” after Jimmy Fallon reminded them they all just won gold at the Olympics.
The good humor helped reset a national narrative that had threatened to taint the milestone moment as the U.S. celebrated its first twin hockey golds in history.
Getting from awkwardness to relief took a lot of work, according to interviews by The Associated Press, with dozens of people at multiple agencies, leagues and networks coordinating a a plan to put the focus back on the teams’ accomplishments in Milan.
The path to prime time started long before gold was assured
On Feb. 19, a couple of hours after Keller’s overtime goal beat Canada, employees with the Professional Women’s Hockey League reached out to NBC — the major rights holder for the Olympics in the United States, to gauge possibilities for a well-deserved victory lap. USA Hockey, the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee and Wasserman, the agency that represents Knight, quickly got involved.
One night later, when the U.S. and Canada reached the men’s final, NHL VP of corporate communications Nirva Milord finalized a grid of every player on the two teams and his schedule for the following two weeks. While the Games were ongoing in Italy, Milord was plotting out how to move fast after Sunday’s gold medal game with the NHL schedule resuming on Wednesday back in North America.
“We had to know when they were going to be off because obviously they’re not going miss a game,” NHL president of content and events Steve Mayer said.
Jack Hughes’ OT goal came just before 11 a.m. Eastern Sunday. Pat Brisson, who represents all three Hughes brothers as a key agent for Creative Arts Agency, was swamped with requests.
“When Jack scored the goal, we got so many calls,” Brisson said, estimating somewhere between 50 and 75 requests for appearances.
Among them on that busy day was an ask from “Saturday Night Live,” which wanted the golden goal-scorer. Jack Hughes alongside brother Quinn was a perfect fit, and so was the combination of Knight and Keller.
“Nirva had the relationship at ‘Saturday Night Live’ and immediately put it into action because we knew right off the bat, ‘Hey, let’s take this and run with it,’” Mayer said. “These are moments that when you have those opportunities, you seize on them.”
There were plenty of unforeseen roadblocks along the way
Before flying home, men’s and women’s players enjoyed a moment back in the dining hall at the athletes’ village following the closing ceremony, with gold medals hanging around all their necks.
“We’re telling stories, have a few drinks and just countless laughs,” forward Matthew Tkachuk said. “It’s been unbelievable, celebrating with them — them winning first was a great motivator for us — and just becoming close with a lot of the girls on the team.”
The plan all along was for everyone to fly from Milan to New York, the perfect place for mainstream media attention for a sport that often takes a back seat to the NFL and NBA in the U.S.
Mother Nature had other plans, with a blizzard bearing down on parts of the East Coast. The U.S. women were diverted to Atlanta and a decision was made to shift the destination of the charter flights carrying the NHL players to Miami. By then, Trump’s comment had become a talking point along with his invite to Tuesday night’s State of the Union speech.
A majority of the U.S. men’s team decided to go to Washington for a visit to the White House and the speech, throwing another wrench into the post-party planning. The women had long made plans to head home and were not going. Suddenly, scheduling was more complicated than anyone anticipated.
How it all went down
After Trump’s speech, the players scattered to their teams with games to play, but the stars also had to keep some attention on media obligations.
Keller and Jack Hughes each did “The Pat McAfee Show” on ESPN, with their agencies working to get them booked. Knight appeared on “CBS Mornings,” along with llona Maher’s podcast, “House of Maher.”
NBC had agreed quickly about “SNL” and “The Tonight Show.” It was just a matter of making sure it could happen.
Quinn Hughes and the Minnesota Wild played Friday night in Utah, so he had some breathing room. Knight was on the injured list after tearing a ligament in one of her knees during the Olympics, but she still wanted to be there Friday night for the return of her PWHL team, the Seattle Torrent, after the break, so she took a red eye to New York.
Jack Hughes and the New Jersey Devils played Saturday afternoon in St. Louis, then was whisked out of the arena and on to owner David Blitzer’s private plane for a flight to Teterboro Airport in New Jersey. Then came a helicopter ride into the city and a ride to Rockefeller Center.
Keller and the Boston Fleet were playing in Ottawa. She managed to make it in time, thanks to some transportation fortune.
Lights, camera and a spectacular save of hockey’s moment on the global stage followed. Knight and Keller did a costume change for the end of the show from “USA” to their PWHL jerseys, the Hughes family got to spend time with Michaels, and much of the angst melted away.
“The best couple weeks of my life,” Jack said. “To be on that and share it with the women’s team, the men’s team was just a pretty cool moment.”
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AP Winter Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/milan-cortina-2026-winter-olympics