President Donald Trump welcomed members of the U.S. men’s Olympic hockey team to his State of the Union address this week after their dramatic overtime victory over Canada secured America’s first Olympic gold medal in men’s hockey since 1980.
Ahead of the State of the Union address, Trump met with players in the Oval Office and posted a celebratory video praising the team’s accomplishment. In the clip, the president singled out Hellebuyck, leaning into a nickname that had already begun trending online.
“These are the U.S. players who won the gold medal — and I got myself one great Secretary of Defense, the goalie!” Trump said. “Pete Hegseth is not happy to hear this!”
The remark was a playful reference to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, who has himself embraced the moniker circulating on social media in the aftermath of Hellebuyck’s dominant showing against Canada.
The nickname gained traction immediately after the gold medal game, when clips of Hellebuyck’s sprawling third-period stick save on Canada’s Devon Toews went viral. The save prevented a go-ahead goal and shifted momentum back to the Americans. Social media users quickly dubbed him “America’s Secretary of Defense,” a title that teammates fully embraced.
On the team’s Air Force flight to Washington, captain Dylan Larkin posted a photo showing Hellebuyck holding a light-blue plaque adorned with a bald eagle and the words “Secretary of Defense” emblazoned across the top. Hellebuyck, smiling broadly, held the plaque in one hand and his Olympic gold medal in the other.
Hegseth responded publicly to the trend, writing online, “Now we have a Secretary of War… and a Secretary of Defense!” — a nod to the recent renaming of the agency he leads.
“It’s a dream come true,” Hellebuyck said following the game. “We grinded, we battled, and this was some of the best and most fun hockey that I’ve ever played.”
The Americans defeated Canada 2-1 in overtime at the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Games, with Jack Hughes scoring the golden goal and goaltender Connor Hellebuyck delivering a masterclass performance in net. Hellebuyck stopped 41 shots, including several high-danger scoring chances late in regulation, preserving a 1-1 tie and forcing overtime.
The win marked the first U.S. men’s Olympic hockey gold since the famed 1980 “Miracle on Ice” team defeated the Soviet Union and went on to claim gold in Lake Placid — a benchmark moment in American sports history that has defined U.S. Olympic hockey for decades.
The men’s victory came just days after the U.S. women’s hockey team also captured gold in overtime against Canada. Megan Keller scored the decisive goal in that contest. While the women’s team declined Trump’s invitation to attend the State of the Union due to scheduling conflicts, members of the men’s team were present for the women’s gold medal win in Milan.
Hughes later said that Keller’s overtime heroics were on his mind when he scored his own game-winner.
Celebrations in Milan were marked by overt displays of patriotism. After the final buzzer, Hellebuyck skated around the rink draped in an American flag as fans chanted and waved red, white and blue banners. Teammates mobbed Hughes at center ice before posing for photos with the flag and their medals.
In media appearances following the win, players spoke about what it meant to represent the country on the Olympic stage. Larkin and Zach Werenski appeared on “Fox & Friends,” discussing their development at the U.S. National Team Development Program and the pride instilled in them from wearing the American jersey.
“You get reminded of how great the United States of America is when you get back here,” Werenski said. “We love representing our country, we love wearing those colors.”
And for Connor Hellebuyck, the breakout Olympic heroics have earned him more than just hardware — they’ve earned him a nickname now endorsed from the Oval Office: America’s “Secretary of Defense.”