OAN Staff Brooke Mallory
9:29 PM – Tuesday, February 24, 2026
Near the outset of President Donald Trump’s State of the Union (SOTU) address on Tuesday night, he invoked a memorable promise going all the way back to his 2016 campaign — that the country would experience so much winning under his leadership that people would eventually become tired of it.
“Our country is winning again,” Trump said with a smile. “In fact, we’re winning so much that we really don’t know what to do about it.”
As striking proof of America’s winning streak, President Trump then welcomed the U.S. men’s national hockey team into the House chamber — fresh off their dramatic 2-1 overtime victory over Canada in the 2026 Winter Olympics final in Milan on Sunday.
“You’re going to win bigger than ever and to prove that point, here with us tonight is a group of winners who just made the entire nation proud: the men’s gold-medal Olympic hockey team,” the president declared.
After introducing 20 members of the gold-medal squad, who were seated in the gallery as guests of honor, a rare two-minute bipartisan standing ovation, accompanied by thunderous chants of “U-S-A!”, echoed throughout the House chamber.
President Trump then paused his prepared remarks to offer a singular tribute to the man he called the “anchor of the American defense,” highlighting a sequence of acrobatic saves that shifted the momentum of the gold medal game.
“I’ve never seen a goalie play as well as Connor Hellebuyck,” President Trump remarked, gesturing toward the netminder. “The members of this hockey squad will be very happy to hear that, based on their vote and my vote — and in this case, my vote was more important — I will soon be presenting Connor with our highest civilian honor.”
Trump proudly announced that Hellebuyck will be awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
Hellebuyck, the 32-year-old Michigan native and star for the NHL’s Winnipeg Jets, responded by tapping his heart and pumping his fist as the room continued to cheer him on. Hellebuyck’s path to the nation’s highest civilian honor was paved by what Trump described as an “animal-like” performance in Milan, where he successfully stopped 41 of 42 shots in the final.
The president also specifically highlighted a logic-defying save Hellebuyck made in the third period, stretching his stick behind his back to deny a point-blank shot from Canada’s Devon Toews.
“I asked him, the one shot, the one where you put your stick in the back and it hit the neck of your stick and bounced off, do you practice that?” Trump asked jokingly. “Or was that a little lucky?”
Hellebuyck coyly shrugged as the president addressed him.
“He refused to answer that question,” Trump added, recalling an earlier meeting with members of the team.
Hellebuyck reportedly finished the Olympic tournament with a 5-0-0 record, a staggering .956 save percentage, and he was also named the tournament’s Top Goaltender.
The SOTU announcement capped a whirlwind day for the team. Earlier Tuesday, the players visited the Oval Office, where they posed for photos and showed off their gold medals.
President Trump also acknowledged the U.S. Women’s Hockey team, who similarly defeated Canada to secure gold last week. While the women’s team declined the invitation to the SOTU, citing scheduling conflicts, Trump later confirmed that they would be honored at the White House at a later date.
Hellebuyck joins an elite list of athletes who have received the Presidential Medal of Freedom from Donald Trump, including:
- Roger Staubach – Football
- Mariano Rivera – Baseball
- Babe Ruth – Posthumous, Baseball
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