The United States men’s national ice hockey team celebrated a historic victory Sunday with a call from Donald Trump and an in-person visit from Kash Patel after defeating Canada men’s national ice hockey team 2–1 in overtime to capture Olympic gold.
You can hear the genuine pride in Donald Trumps voice when he called the Team USA Hockey Team pic.twitter.com/ch6GbXShwh
— Harrison Krank (@HarrisonKrank) February 23, 2026
Roughly an hour after securing their first Olympic gold medal since 1980, head coach Mike Sullivan told reporters that the president had joined the team via FaceTime in the locker room.
“The players just had the President on, I don’t know what it was, what do you call it, FaceTime, whatever, in the locker room,” Sullivan said, according to USA Today. “He just spoke to the group, expressing how proud he was of the group and congratulating everybody on the win.”
Sullivan described the championship as a unifying moment for the country.
“Clinching the medal was an inspiration to our country,” he continued. “I can’t tell you how many texts I’ve received over the last day or so about watch parties at 8 o’clock in the morning. I think from a viewership standpoint, the United States, there were a lot of people paying attention, the President included.”
Video from inside the locker room showed Patel holding up his phone while Trump addressed the players, telling them, “You were all unbelievable.”
During the call, the president invited the team to attend his State of the Union address on Tuesday. Players responded enthusiastically, with several answering, “We’re in!” One player asked about assistance traveling to Washington, D.C., prompting Trump to reply, “We’ll get Kash or we’ll get the military to get you guys over,” drawing additional cheers.
Before ending the call, Trump added, “We love you guys. Congratulations … I’m going to shake hands with everybody, but I got to shake hands with that goalie!”
Team captain Auston Matthews reflected on the moment after the overtime victory.
“We’re all proud Americans, obviously,” Matthews said. “This is a huge moment for us, a huge moment for the United States. [Trump] called. Just congratulated us … It’s an honor to wear this jersey and represent the U.S. To go home with a gold medal, you know how much that means to guys in this room, to people watching and rooting us on, too.”
Matthews added that travel logistics were still being worked out but reiterated the significance of the achievement for both the team and its supporters.
Following the game, Patel shared post-game photos on social media, celebrating the players as “legends standing on the shoulders of giants,” as the team marked a milestone victory over their longtime rival.
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Great stuff.