U.S. men's hockey proves male professional ice hockey has gone MAGA - The Quinnipiac Chronicle

“Hockey is for everyone.”

The initiative, started by the NHL in 2017, is meant to be the pinnacle of inclusivity in a sport, erasing the history of ice hockey as a “boys club” by demonstrating how there is a spot in this wonderful game for everyone.

That inclusivity was on full display for Team USA. Twenty-three athletes of varying backgrounds played their hearts out in Milan, securing a historic gold medal for the U.S. in an overtime victory versus Canada. It was an incredible performance that unified the country under one patriotic roof.

Megan Keller is definitely an American hero.

Wait. Sorry, did that give you pause? Did you assume that I was talking about the men’s national team?

Because frankly, I’m not sure they would know inclusivity and diversity if it hit them in the face.

I’m getting ahead of myself. Where is this disconnect between the sport that I love, the country that I love, and this 2026 Olympic squad that makes me want to quit watching professional men’s ice hockey for good?

Well, it started before the Olympic roster was even selected. Just over a year ago, the NHL debuted an in-season best-on-best hockey tournament as a teaser for the long awaited return of professional players to the Olympic Games: Four Nations Face-Off.

In an event that pitted the four “best” hockey nations against one another, the world got to view some of the most spirited international hockey ever seen on American soil. Safe to say as a hockey fan, it was incredible.

But the final matchup of the contest, showcasing the storied rivalry between Canada and the U.S., also previewed something more sour that would hang over the NHL’s return to Olympic ice.

How willing President Donald Trump was to commandeer Team USA’s success and turn it into a sinister victory for his own political agenda. The worst part of it is that the U.S. all but invited that presence in, previewing what the nation would be privy to the following year.

The parallels are striking now that I can look back at the two events clearly. Highlighted in bright red, white and blue marker.

Coming into the contest, a vague haze surrounded this iteration of Team USA men’s hockey because of that loss to Canada in the Four Nations Face-Off. Certain individuals, primarily brothers Matthew Tkachuk of the Florida Panthers and Brady Tkachuk of the Ottawa Senators, made their political opinions more than clear. Vegas Golden Knights forward Jack Eichel was seen at a Vegas MAGA rally.

It’s a quiet reality of watching professional men’s sports, particularly one that lacks the diversity ice hockey does. These are young, rich, white men who were given the world at 18. A good majority are going to be conservative.

That being said, there’s a stark difference between preferring conservative policy and making yourself a Trump groupie.

Further warning signs that this ship was going to go sideways into a political cesspool could be seen in the selection of the team itself. Bill Guerin, general manager of Team USA for both the Four Nations Tournament and the Olympics, was one of the first to put Trump’s name in the same breath as the men’s national ice hockey team during the Four Nations Face-Off.

“We would love it if President Trump was in attendance,” Guerin said to FOX News. “We’re just trying to represent our country the best way we can.”

Frankly, I could write a whole separate article about why that statement within itself is incorrect, but I’ll leave it at this. Nothing about bringing in a polarizing political figure to a game with this much pent-up geopolitical tension swirling is representing an entire nation. 50.2% of the voting public did not cast a ballot in favor of him retaking the mantle of president. There’s no representation of the country there.

Guerin, as the general manager, was in charge of selecting who represented the U.S. in Milan. A decision that, given the NHL’s return, should realistically consist of the best players available, hence the mantra of “best-on-best” hockey that has been thrown around since the news was announced.

Yet, that isn’t exactly what the U.S. did.

Now, blaming the team selections on cultivating a certain locker room culture is not something provable. If Guerin had an agenda to make a political statement, the public will almost certainly never find out without some sort of career-ending press leak.

However, what I can say is this. Dallas Stars forward Jason Robertson leads all American-born players in goals this season, tied with Minnesota Wild forward Matt Boldy. He is also second in the league in points for American-born players, trailing only Eichel.

Eichel and Boldy were given the call from Guerin to go to Milan. Robertson was not.

On an unrelated note, Robertson is Filipino-American.

But going into the Olympics, it seemed like the controversy had died down. Canada’s win at the Four Nations Face-Off mitigated the impact of Trump’s endorsement, and besides the Robertson controversy, there appeared to be plausible deniability for Team USA.

Maybe, I naively hoped, the sport and team I care about wouldn’t become a public MAGA circus.

Oh, how innocent I was.

The U. S. won gold on a golden overtime goal, securing the U. S. a 2-1 victory over rival Canada Feb. 22, on the final day of the 2026 Olympic Games.

After a tournament characterized by limited lip service from the President, a few weeks worth of patriotism and good will was wiped away in a single evening.

It started where much of the pristine, polished public relations of professional hockey go to die: the locker room.

An Instagram Live from forward Dylan Larkin displayed a pretty normal locker room celebration. Larkin, with his gold medal in his hand, hair still wet from the game, jamming along to vaguely patriotic music in the background.

So, who would you expect him to be celebrating with? Perhaps teammates like forward Jack Hughes, who scored the game-winning goal while Larkin was on the ice. Maybe a member of the coaching staff, who made the call to put Hughes, Larkin and defenseman Zach Werenski on the ice together in that game-sealing moment.

Whatever answer you’d assume is wrong. Because Larkin is bumping shoulders with the Director of the FBI, Kash Patel.

My question is, what did Patel do for this team? Did he make 41 saves to will the Americans to overtime against one of the most lethal offenses in Olympic hockey history? No, that was starting goaltender Connor Hellebuyck. Did he make a crucial goal-line stop to keep the Canadian’s from going up a goal? Nope, that was defenseman Charlie McAvoy. He didn’t make a single decision to get Team USA to this point.

So why is he celebrating with the team?

But I could almost forgive this. I could almost forgive the possible use of taxpayer dollars for Patel to fly to Italy on the FBI Gulfstream G550 to party in the U.S. locker room if the team had just shut their mouths for once. I could’ve played this off as the conservative undertone to the “boys club” of hockey.

But then another video dropped.

For those who haven’t seen it, Team USA huddles around Patel, beers still in hand from the party that is momentarily on pause. On the phone with Patel is the U.S. president.

This isn’t new. Like I said, the parallels to the Four Nations Tournament are haunting. Trump called that team before the championship game. This time, it was after.

For a call from Trump, it was pretty innocuous at first. Did I wish he was not buzzed into the locker room at all? Absolutely, but again, my standards for these men and this sport are practically in the center of the Earth, especially after the Four Nations fiasco.

But then, in true Trump fashion, the President went from boastful congratulations to straight-up misogyny in a single breath.

“I must tell you, we’re going to have to bring the women’s team. You do know that?” Trump said. “I do believe I probably would be impeached.”

Raucous laughter followed the jab by the president. As if there is anything funny about the Team USA women’s hockey.

For those unaware of USA women’s hockey, that term “historic” is a bit of an understatement. Not only do they have diversity — forward/defenseman Laila Edwards is the first Black woman to compete for Team USA in Olympic women’s ice hockey and there are multiple out members of the LGBTQ+ community on the roster — they have some serious fucking talent.

In seven straight wins, the squad only allowed two goals total. Goaltender Aerin Frankel saved 97 shots over a five-game span, and set the record as the first goaltender in Olympic women’s hockey history to have three shutouts in a single Games.

That’s historic. A lot more historic than breaking a 46-year-long curse that frankly, shouldn’t have gone on for this long. The men’s team has had ample chances to repeat as gold medalists. The women’s team was able to win two Olympic gold medals in that span and have only attended the Winter Games since 1998.

On a purely hockey level, that is a yikes.

But on a personal and political level?

For a league that prides itself on its inclusivity, a group of men readily laughing with a misogynistic figure that is demeaning their equals — if not superiors — in this Olympics is a huge step back.

If the U.S. men’s national ice hockey team cannot support the U.S. women’s national ice hockey team behind closed doors, what are the chances they support women’s hockey as a whole? What about hockey players of different races, sexualities or physical capabilities?

Because accepting the President’s offer for a private flight to the U.S. Capitol for the State of the Union address is damning enough. Not to pick favorites, but the U.S. women turned down Trump’s half-hearted offer to them the following day.

So no, hockey isn’t for everyone. No matter how much marketing and PR the NHL and USA Hockey tries to spin this situation with, that conclusion is as clear as that locker room footage. As it stands now, the “boys club” remains just that, solidified by the boys — not men — who won the U.S. an Olympic gold medal in ice hockey.