Team USA's men's hockey team arrived at the White House on Tuesday, Feb. 24, two days after their gold medal win at the 2026 Winter Olympics
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The team was seen shaking hands with President Donald Trump, who personally invited them to attend his State of the Union address via phone call
Trump's invitation sparked some controversy, as he jokingly told the men's team that he would also have to invite the women's hockey team after their own gold-medal performance at the Games
A gold medal win is being celebrated at the White House ahead of PresidentDonald Trump's State of the Union address.
Team USA's men's hockey team arrived at the Oval Office on Tuesday, Feb. 24, after being personally invited by the president, 79, via a phone call followingtheir thrilling 2-1 win in overtime over Canadaat the2026 Winter Olympics.
Twenty members of the team made the trip to the White House, with Brock Nelson, Jackson LaCombe, Jake Oettinger, Jake Guentzel and Kyle Connor absent, perNBC News.
Local sports reporter Corey Masisak wrote onXthat Colorado Avalanche players who played at the Olympics were "back in Denver," adding, "Brock Nelson skipped the White House/DC trip to come back here with his family." Reporter Diandra Louxconfirmedthat Guentzel was "back in Tampa" ahead of a home game for the Tampa Bay Lightning the following day.
Margo Martin/X
The team, who all matched in navy sweaters emblazoned with "USA," the flag and the Olympic Rings, wore their gold medals around their necks and posed with their arms wrapped around each other while smiling in front of the White House in Washington D.C., as seen in anX photoshared by communications adviser Margo Martin.
In another post, Dan Scavino — deputy chief of staff at the White House and director of the presidential personnel office — shared avideo to Xof the hockey team shaking hands with the president in the Oval Office.
"Happening Now—President Trump welcomes the @USAHockey team to the Oval Office here at the @WhiteHouse. Congratulations TEAM USA!!!!!🥇🇺🇸🦅🚀," Scavino wrote.
Members of the U.S. men's hockey team are expected to attend Trump's State of the Union address Tuesday evening. The administration had been working through logistics so the players could attend the speech, NBC reported, citing White House officials.
The U.S. men's hockey team's arrival at the White House comes two days after the teamreceived a phone call from Trumpin the locker room after defeating Canada at the Milan Games. Their win marked the team's first Olympic gold since the 1980 Miracle on Ice.
The visit also comes shortly aftergolden goalscorerJack Hughes, 24, and his brotherQuinn Hughes, 26, addressed"backlash" they and the team have receivedfor accepting the invitation from the president.
When asked by theDaily Mailhow he felt about the visit and meeting the president, Jack replied that the team was "excited" about it.
"Everything is so political. We're athletes. We're so proud to represent the U.S. and we get the chance to go to the White House, meet the president. You know,we're proud to be Americans," he told the outlet. "No matter what your views are, we're super excited to go."
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The reporter asked Jack how he felt about the U.S. women's hockey team not going to the White House in the wake of their own gold medal win over Canada on Thursday, Feb. 19.
"They've got busy schedules, too," he replied. His response mirrored astatement previously shared by a spokesperson for USA Hockey, which cited "previously scheduled academic and professional commitments following the Games" as the reason why the women passed on the invite.
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"Everyone is giving us backlash for all the social media stuff today," the hockey player, who plays for the New Jersey Devils in the NHL, said, adding, "People are so negative out there and they are just trying to find a reason to put people down and make something out of almost nothing."
Jack concluded by praising the women's team and all that they've accomplished.
"I think everyone in that locker room knows how much we support them and how proud we are of them," he made clear, adding, "And we know the same way we feel about them, they feel about us."
Quinn — who also represented Team USA at the Games and plays for the NHL's Minnesota Wild — addressed the backlash while calling in toGood Morning Americaon Tuesday.
"Yeah, we're excited to go. It's something you don't get to do every Tuesday. It's going to be special for us, but I'm glad you mentioned the women's team again. We're really happy for them," Quinn said.
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"Obviously, a lot going on on social media surrounding our team and their team," he continued. "In the last couple [times] we've done a lot of training with them and got to know a lot of those girls really well. We're extremely happy to come."
Ellen Hughes, mom of the two Olympic men's hockey brothers and player development consultant for Team USA women's ice hockey, alsoshared her reaction to the video of Trumpcongratulating the men's team before joking about inviting the gold-medal winning women's team.
"These players, both the men and women, can bring so much unity to a group and to a country," Ellen toldToday,in part, on Tuesday. "They care about humanity, they care about unity and they care about the country," she added.
PEOPLE reached out to representatives for USA Hockey to ask about the members who weren't present for the White House visit.
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