‘Greatest Country In The World’: USA Hockey Player Promotes Patriotism After OT Win

Some American athletes may be predisposed to trash their country on the world stage while competing in the 2026 Winter Olympics. But the same can’t be said for Team USA hockey player Quinn Hughes.

The 26-year-old defenseman wasn’t shy about voicing his love for America following his game-winning goal in Team USA’s overtime win against Sweden on Wednesday. The moment came when a reporter asked Hughes in a post-game press gaggle about what it was like playing in an atmosphere with fans displaying American flags all throughout the arena.

“It’s special. … I love the U.S.,” Hughes said. “It’s the greatest country in the world, so [I’m] happy to represent it here with these guys. … It’s really special.”

Wednesday’s game was by no means an easy win (2-1) for the Americans.

Following a scoreless first period, Team USA’s Dylan Larkin scored midway through the second period to put his team up 1-0. While America seemed poised for victory as the clock ticked closer to zero, Sweden’s decision to pull its goalie with roughly two minutes left in the third period gave the team the extra attacker needed to tie the game and send it to overtime.

Lucky for Team USA, Hughes pulled through when it mattered most and helped his team advance to the semifinals.

When asked what his team can take from its game against Sweden, Hughes expressed uncertainty but noted that “you just want to move on and be ready to go, and get your feet up the next 24 hours and then be ready to go.”

Team USA will play Slovakia on Friday, with the winner advancing to compete for the gold on Sunday. The loser will compete for the bronze against either Canada or Finland, who will play one another on Friday.

Quinn Hughes, who scored the game winning goal for the U.S. against Sweden after being on the ice for over 3 minutes in overtime:

“It’s the greatest country in the world. Happy to represent it here with these guys and it’s really special.” 🇺🇸
pic.twitter.com/s74wkF8vBL

— Greg Price (@greg_price11) February 19, 2026

Hughes’ public display of patriotism is a breath of fresh air for Americans subject to incessant America-bashing from their nation’s athletes.

As The Federalist recently reported, rather than expressing gratitude for being given the opportunity to compete at such an event, multiple U.S. competitors have spent their time attacking ICE for upholding America’s immigration laws. Team USA skier Hunter Hess took his criticisms a step further by saying he has “mixed emotions” about representing his home country at the Olympics.

“It brings up mixed emotions to represent the U.S. right now, I think. It’s a little hard. There’s obviously a lot going on that I’m not the biggest fan of, and I think a lot of people aren’t,” Hess said. “I think, for me, it’s more I’m representing my friends and family back home, the people that represented it before me, all the things that I believe are good about the U.S. If it aligns with my moral values, I feel like I’m representing it. Just because I’m wearing the flag doesn’t mean I represent everything that’s going on in the U.S.”

91K likes, 12K comments - hunterhess10 on February 9, 2026: "I love my country 🇺🇸 There is so much that is great about America, but there are always things that could be better.  One of the many...

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[READ: Rooting Against Anti-American Olympians Is The Patriotic Thing To Do]

Such anti-American rhetoric doesn’t even include the fawning media coverage devoted to skier Eileen Gu, a San Francisco native and daughter of a Chinese immigrant mother who abandoned her birth country to compete on behalf of Beijing.

[READ: Globalism And America-Hating Destroy All The Fun Of Watching The Olympics]