Captain of the U.S. women’s ice hockey team, Hilary Knight, responded to comments U.S. President Donald Trump made to the men’s team after both won gold at the Winter Olympics, saying his wisecrack about also having to invite the women to the White House to celebrate their achievement is “overshadowing” the success of both teams.

While celebrating its gold medal win against Canada on Sunday, the men’s team received a call from Trump, who invited the team to Tuesday’s State of the Union speech.

1:37
Milano-Cortina Olympics: Canada heartbroken after losing gold to U.S. in women’s hockey

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

A video of the interaction, which shows some of the players on the men’s team laughing at the remark, went viral shortly after.

Knight, a five-time Olympic medallist, shared her perspective on Trump’s comment during a SportsCenter interview on Wednesday.

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“I thought it was sort of a distasteful joke, and unfortunately, that is overshadowing a lot of the success, the success of just women at the Olympics carrying for Team USA and having amazing gold medal feats,” she said.

“We’re just focusing on celebrating the women in our room, the extraordinary efforts, and continue to celebrate three gold medals in program history as well as the double gold for both men’s and women’s at the same time, and really not detract from that with a distasteful joke,” Knight continued.

“I think the guys were in a tough spot, so I think it’s a shame this storyline and narrative has kind of blown up and overshadowing that connection and genuine interest in one another and cheering each other on,” she added.

Trump’s remarks and the reaction from the men’s team prompted a wave of criticism, which Jack Hughes, who scored the game-winning goal in overtime against Canada to clinch gold, addressed during an appearance on Good Morning America on Tuesday.

“People are so negative about things,” he said. “I think everyone in that locker room knows how much we support … how proud we are of them [the women’s team]. The same way we feel about them, they feel about us.”

According to the New York Times, in a separate interview outside of a Miami nightclub on Monday night, Hughes told reporters, “Everything is so political, we’re athletes, we’re so proud to represent the U.S., and when you get the chance to go to the White House and meet the president … That’s so patriotic.”

The men’s team attended Trump’s address on Tuesday evening and was greeted by a standing ovation from Democrats and Republicans alike as they waved and raised their medals to the crowd.

Kelly Pannek, a two-time Olympic gold medallist, PWHL Minnesota Frost player and Knight’s Olympic teammate, told media on Wednesday that the rhetoric in Trump’s phone call did not come as a shock.

“The phone call, specifically, it’s not surprising, to be frank. I don’t know why we’d expect differently,” she said, but added that both teams were celebratory of the other’s achievements.

“I think that’s something we all know, being there, what it felt like to have their support throughout the tournament,” Pannek said.

“To support them, and how great a moment it was for everyone that was a fan of both teams to come together and say how great it was … It really was such a special feeling being there, even being able to spend the time with them after their win and the respect that they were showing us,” she continued.

The women’s team declined Trump’s invitation to the White House on Monday, citing timing and “previously scheduled academic and professional commitments.”

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Two Winnipeg Jets stars were at the opposite sides of the border Tuesday ahead of the team’s first game back from the Olympic break.

Kyle Connor returned to the Jets instead of joining his U.S. men’s hockey teammates at the White House, while goaltender Connor Hellebuyck stayed stateside and attended U.S. President Donald Trump’s state of the union address that night.

Trump announced that Hellebuyck, who stopped 41 shots in the 2-1 gold-medal victory against Canada Sunday, will receive the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian honour.

Hellebuyck, whose 41 saves included a crucial desperation paddle stop on defenceman Devon Toews, tapped his heart as those in the chamber applauded.

“Watching him have the game of his life was incredible,” said Connor, who only played two games during the Winter Olympics.

“He was fantastic, and being a part of it was an experience I’ll never forget.”

1:36
Why U.S. men’s hockey team is facing backlash for call with Trump

The 29-year-old forward told reporters after practice that he “just wanted to get back,” given that the team plays in Vancouver against the Canucks Wednesday night.

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Head coach Scott Arniel told reporters Monday that Connor was expected to be with his U.S. teammates Tuesday.

“It’s a big second half, so I wanted to make sure I was ready,” Connor said.

“It’s a quick turnaround. Obviously, I haven’t been playing, so I wanted to get a practice under me and be ready for that game.”

The U.S. men’s team chartered into Miami on a flight from Italy on Monday and dined together in Miami Beach before visiting a nightclub where hundreds of fans clamoured to get inside.

They then made their way to Washington Tuesday. Videos and photos shared on social media by Trump administration aides showed the hockey players posing for a photograph in front of the South Portico. They walked along the West Wing colonnade where Trump has posted portraits of every U.S. president just steps away from the Oval Office, where they were welcomed by Trump.

As they approached the Oval Office, some of the players popped into the press office’s open door to flash their medals. It was the Americans’ first gold medal in men’s hockey since the “Miracle on Ice” in Lake Placid, N.Y., in 1980.

0:31
U.S. Olympic women’s hockey team declines Trump’s invite to attend State of the Union

With the Olympics in the rearview mirror, the Jets must now pivot back to the reality of the NHL’s stretch run.

Winnipeg is currently 11 points out of the final wild-card spot in the Western Conference. The Jets have 26 games remaining on their regular-season schedule, which will be played over a stretch of just 51 days.

Backup goalie Eric Comrie is expected to start Wednesday’s road game against the Canucks, with Hellebuyck slated to return to the crease on Friday when the Jets visit the Anaheim Ducks.

The Jets will also be without defenceman Josh Morrissey Wednesday as he returns from Italy to be evaluated by team doctors after suffering an undisclosed injury in Canada’s opening game.

When Hellebuyck does return, the Jets are hoping his Olympic high will provide a much-needed spark for a team trying to string together wins.

“The confidence that he has in himself doesn’t waver,” captain Adam Lowry said Monday.

“To know his game is at an elite level at the world stage, I’d expect he can carry that over coming back to us.”

— with files from The Canadian Press and The Associated Press

&copy 2026 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.

Now that the 2026 Milan-Cortina Olympic Games have come and gone, Canada ended up finishing lower in the medal count than in previous years.

At the 2022 Beijing Olympics, Canada secured 26 medals, and at the PyeongChang Olympics in 2018, the country won 29, marking these Games as the most successful Canadian performance in terms of overall medals at the Winter Olympics.

Canada also took home 25 medals at the 2014 Sochi Olympics and 26 medals at the 2010 Vancouver Olympics.

With Canada waving goodbye to the 2026 Olympic Games with just 21 medals, many Canadians may be wondering what was different this year.

Canadian Olympic Committee chief executive David Shoemaker spoke at a press conference on Sunday, emphasizing the need for increased funding.

“Core funding for national sports organizations has not increased in 20 years,” Shoemaker said. “It needs to.”

“It’s the money these organizations count on to fund operations, athletes, coaches and support staff. They safeguard the pathway from playground to podium.”

Ann Rucklinger, CEO of Own the Podium, a non-profit organization that “assists national sports bodies in Canada with their investment and training strategies,” said to Global News last week that Canada usually starts off the Winter Olympics slowly.

“We didn’t set a real specific medal target. We’re always trying to improve on our previous performance, but we knew that our athlete pool was pretty shallow compared to previous games coming into Milan-Cortina, so that was certainly a concern for us,” she said

However, Rucklinger cites the real “challenge” for the decrease in medals this Olympics to be federal funding.

The Canadian Olympic and Paralympic committees have pressed the federal government on behalf of national sport organizations (NSOs) for an increase in core funding, with the latest ask a $144-million raise in 2025. However, the federal budget had not allocated new money for sport.

Core funding is money all NSOs count on to fund operations, athletes, coaches and support staff, and they say it hasn’t increased since 2005. The four revenue pillars for NSOs are registration fees, corporate sponsorship, hosting events and government funding.

Two Canadian federal budgets have passed without an increase, although athletes did see a $410 raise in their monthly athlete assistance cheques in the 2024 budget.

1:37
Milano-Cortina Olympics: Canada heartbroken after losing gold to U.S. in women’s hockey

Looking ahead to the 2030 French Alps Olympics, Rucklinger believes that NSOs will feel the strain.

“When it comes time to 2030, they’re [national sport organizations] really challenged to be able to invest sufficient financial resources in coaching, daily training, environments, daily competition, opportunities for athletes as they gear up for 2030.”

When it comes to the correlation between funding and athletic results, Rucklinger said it is “very direct.”

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“For the national sport organizations, they have not had an increase in their core support funding for 15 to 20 years,” she said.

“So just layer that up against inflation and so they are having to do more with the same amount of money — and in fact it’s less money because the cost of doing business in the high-performance program is higher.“

Added with other competing nations investing more than Canada, Rucklinger called this “a huge financial gap.”

“What that means for a national sport organization is they have not been able to focus on the development part of their high-performance programs.”

0:59
Reflecting on the 2026 Winter Olympics

Bruce Kidd, a professor emeritus in sport and public policy at the University of Toronto, says that there are many expenses at large that athletes need to think about, among them “living expenses, child care, tuition money for those in university.”

“You want to feel confident that you will be able to put bread on the table and a roof over your head,” he said.

Kidd also said that the competition aspect of training can also be costly and can include travel expenses, paying to train in facilities and equipment.

“In the case of winter sports, it involves the costs of summer training camps,” said Kidd. “Most of these sports are very specialized, so there are only so many places where they can train. That’s a huge area of costs.”

Part of this process is trying to attract top coaches and support staff to Canada.

“[It’s] tough [trying to] attract the quality of coaches and retain some of our top coaches because there’s not significant enough resources for us to be able to do that. Athletes are having to pay more fees in order for them to be able to fully commit to the high-performance program of their national sport organizations. So, all those things add up,” Rucklinger said.

Kidd said if he had to pick one area to invest in for ” high-performance development,” it would be coaching.

“Canada has been lucky as a country that attracts immigrants to be able to attract coaches from other countries, but it is also important for us to develop our own coaches,” said Kidd.

“At a time when sport is underfunded, it’s not a terrific time to encourage young Canadians to become high-performance coaches.”

2:11
Canada defends Olympic gold in women’s speedskating team pursuit

However, despite the financial setbacks, the desire to come out victorious in Milan was still palpable.

“It goes back to that core message, that this feeling of patriotism, pride in country, the aspiration to do great things on the world stage, to sing ‘O Canada,’” Shoemaker said.

Yet he said these Olympics also posed difficult questions.

“These Games brought us together, as they always do. In return, they provided an opportunity to ask ourselves, ‘How do we want to show up on the world stage? What kind of country do we want to represent? Who do we want to be?’” Shoemaker asked.

“In some ways, I think waiting eight days for a gold medal emphasized this point.”

LIVIGNO – Canadian Amy Fraser, still dealing with the after-effects of a nasty injury suffered in training last March at the FIS World Championships, just missed the podium Sunday in women’s freeski halfpipe at the Milan Cortina Olympics.

The 30-year-old from Calgary finished fourth, landing three clean runs with the best earning a score of 88.00.

“That’s some of my best skiing,” said Fraser. “I think there’s always some room for improvement clearly, being 4.5 points off the podium. Whatever. Someone’s got to come fourth.”

Fraser’s performance was all the more impressive given she broke her shoulder in last year’s crash at Engadin, Switzerland.

“Obviously fourth stings for us. It stings for her,” said Canadian halfpipe coach Trennon Paynter. “But really what she did today to ski her best in this situation, she needs to be super-proud.”

Paynter said the crash left Fraser “smashed up.”

“It was kind of a full-body beatdown. But the shoulder was definitely the worst of it and the one that lingered the longest and required the most management. Even now she’s still dealing with it somewhat.”

“I’m stoked I’m here,” Fraser said with a laugh.

Defending champion Eileen Gu of China won gold with a score of 94.75, adding to the two silvers she won earlier in the games in slopestyle and big air.

Chinese teammate Li Fanghui earned silver at 93.00, with reigning world champion Zoe Atkin of Britain taking bronze at 92.50.

The 22-year-old Gu won gold in both halfpipe and big air as well as silver in slopestyle four years go in Beijing, where she became the first freestyle skier to win three medals at a single Winter Games.

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Gu’s six career medals move her past Canadian moguls star Mikaël Kingsbury (two golds and three silvers) as the most decorated freestyle skier in Olympic history.

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Born in San Francisco, to an American father and Chinese mother, Gu began skiing at three years old.

A quantum physics student at Stanford University who is fluent in English and Mandarin, Gu has three million followers on Instagram and more than seven million on the Chinese social media platform Weibo.

In December, Forbes magazine listed her as the fourth-highest-earning female athlete in 2025 — behind tennis players Coco Gauff, Aryna Sabalenka and Iga Swiatek — with off-field income of US$23 million thanks to lucrative endorsements from the likes of Red Bull, Porsche, IWC Schaffhausen and addition, TCL electronics.

The competitors did three runs, with only their best effort counting.

Canadian Rachael Karker, a bronze medallist four years ago in Beijing, placed seventh at 79.50. A chronic knee injury limited her training and competition in advance of the games and two falls Sunday didn’t help.

The 28-year-old from Erin, Ont., who now makes her home in Calgary, required the help of two ski poles as she slowly left the competition site alongside fiancé Brendan Mackay, who won bronze in the men’s halfpipe final Friday.

“I’m quite sore, but I’ll be all right,” said Karker, fighting to control her emotion. “I can’t really handle that many heavy runs in a row. Nearing the end of training I was feeling pretty sore and then that first run, I couldn’t take that heavy landing.”

“I’m very proud I did everything I could with what I had today,” she added.

Paynter said it was heartbreaking to see Karker “in that much pain.”

“It’s also just so impressive that she was out there, going for it, putting it all on the line like that,” he said. “And she knows the risks. It’s what she wanted to do and we, of course, supported her through it.”

He marvelled at her performance.

“She wasn’t just skiing injured. She was charging as hard as she could injured.”

The final, rescheduled due to poor weather Saturday evening, was held late morning Sunday in glorious sunshine. It was 5 C with not a cloud in the sky, with some spectators stripping down to a T-shirt for the final event in Livigno.

Competitors soared high above the halfpipe, which measures some 198 metres long, 22 metres wide with walls 7.2 metres high.

Fraser led the first run with an 85.00 before Atkin, skiing last as the top qualifier, recorded a 90.50.

Karker’s second effort was clean, earning a 79.50 for the third-best score of the run. But Gu and Li stole the show with runs of 94.00 and 91.50, respectively, taking over the No. 1 and 2 spots with Atkin and Fraser — who did not improve their scores — dropping to third and fourth. Karker was seventh.

While Karker fell on her third run, Fraser improved her score to 88.00. But it was not enough to move up.

Gu also bettered her score, laying down a 94.75, with Li and Atkins still to come. Both improved their scores but remained in the same spot on the podium.

Fraser, who was eighth in Beijing, started skiing at age two but didn’t take up freestyle skiing until she was 21. Fraser, who holds a degree in biology from the University of Calgary, won bronze at the X Games in Aspen before the Olympics.

Canadian Cassie Sharpe, who won gold in 2018 in Pyeongchang and silver four years ago in Beijing, had to withdraw after a heavy crash in qualifying Thursday. The 33-year-old from Comox, B.C., was not cleared to compete, still dealing with a heavy concussion, facial contusion and some lingering dizziness after two nights in hospital.

Sharpe still qualified third with Fraser seventh and Karker ninth. Dillan Glennie of Courtenay, B.C., missed the final in qualifying 14th.

“I’m so proud of how she was skiing,” Fraser said of Sharpe. “I haven’t see her ski like that in years. And I’m glad she’s OK.”

—

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 22, 2026.

Coffee and beer were both flowing as bleary-eyed fans in Western Canada tuned in to the breakfast-time Olympic hockey semifinal against Finland.

The Games in northern Italy are taking place eight time zones ahead of Alberta and Saskatchewan, and nine hours ahead for folks in British Columbia.

It’s been a similar situation to other Olympic Games over the past decade, held halfway around the world in Paris, France (2024), Beijing, China (2022), Tokyo, Japan (2020) and Pyeongchang, South Korea (2018).

At the Shark Club Sports Bar and Grill in Vancouver, the 7:40 a.m. puck drop didn’t deter more than 100 fans from soaking up the action and watching Canada win the match 3-2.

There were servings of breakfast tacos, home fries, eggs and bacon, alongside coffee, Guinness and mimosas.

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Simon Marshall only arrived in Canada the night before from Australia but managed to pick up a Canada jersey to watch the match.

He was jet-lagged and admitted he was still learning the finer points of the game.

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“I watched ‘Mighty Ducks,’ 1, 2 and 3 for the second time recently, just to educate myself,” said Marshall, who noted he typically just follows the Summer Games.

“I’m just a sport lover, so I’m trying to embrace the Winter Olympics.”

Malik Dhami and John Cookson, who were sipping coffee, not beer, at the Vancouver bar said despite the early hour, it was important to share the fan experience.

“Sure, we could watch it in the four walls of our own homes,” explained Dhami. “As a Canadian, you’ve got to come out.”

“We were just looking for a place that would have the game on and would have it loud,” Cookson said.

General manager Murray Saunders said the city extended the bar’s liquor licence for the Olympics and it could be serving beer as early as 5:30 a.m. for Sunday’s pre-dawn men’s final.

“It’s cheering on Canada,” Saunders said about why people came to his bar so early on Friday.

He said the Vancouver Goldeneyes hockey team was in the packed bar on Thursday to watch the “amazing” Canada-U.S. women’s final, and the bar is already fully booked for the men’s final this weekend.

At Kelly’s Pub in downtown Edmonton, Amelia Carruthers said watching a game at home “doesn’t have the same camaraderie.”

“You have these fans here cheering and groaning and it’s fun,” she said, after ordering breakfast with her daughter Chloe Paré.

“The tater tots are amazing,” she added, saying she was a little taken aback that others were ordering beer.

6:11
Canada at the Olympics: A look back at a century of moments

At a nearby table, Schyla Courtorielle sat with a friend and her dad, who was working on a laptop.

“We can plug in and have the game on in the background while still working,” said Courtorielle, adding she had taken in a lot of early morning Olympic hockey so far.

“We start with breakfast and tea, and once we have some food in our system, then we’ll move to the booze,” she said.

Like watching hockey at a bar at night, the breakfast show had fans on their feet at times, with the Shark Club crowd singing a round of Stompin’ Tom Connor’s The Hockey Song after Canada’s win.

Hockey fans will do it all over again this weekend: the puck drops on Sunday’s gold medal match at 5 a.m. PT/8 a.m. ET.

— With files from Karen Bartko, Global News

&copy 2026 The Canadian Press

MILAN – Jordan Binnington arrived in Italy as a major question mark in Canada’s crease.

Whether the St. Louis Blues netminder — amid a miserable NHL season — was the right man for the Olympic job was already a national debate before the hockey powerhouse teetered on the brink of a catastrophic early exit.

Those doubts never crept into the dressing room. And on Wednesday night, he justified that belief.

Before Mitch Marner played overtime hero in a nerve-racking 4-3 quarterfinal win over Czechia at the Milan Cortina Games, Binnington stepped up for his country — again — with crucial saves to keep Canada breathing.

“That’s Binner for you,” said defenceman Drew Doughty. “Big saves, big times.”

Moments after Nick Suzuki equalized with a country-rocking deflection late in the third period, Binnington stood his ground as speedy Czech forward Martin Necas barrelled down on a breakaway with just over one minute remaining in regulation. Canadian fans — at Milano Santagiulia Ice Hockey Arena and back home — breathed a sigh of relief.

In overtime, he jumped out of his crease to cut the angle and thwart a slot-shot from Radim Simek after a defensive breakdown. Twenty seconds and a line change later, Marner danced through a cluster of Czech players and shovelled a backhand over Lukas Dostal’s shoulder.

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“So many moments in that game that were huge for our team,” Marner said. “Nick’s game-tying goal, Binnington’s save on Necas there late … some big plays in that game, and lucky enough, I was able to just make one that finished it.”

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Binnington said the quarterfinal scare after Canada cruised through the preliminary round could only help them moving forward.

“Hard-fought game,” he said. “They were ready and gave us a very tough game. It’s good for us to experience this at this point in the tournament.”

Binnington proved his might in big moments when he backstopped the Blues to a Stanley Cup in 2019.

The 32-year-old from Richmond Hill, Ont., did it again at last February’s 4 Nations Face-Off, denying American captain Auston Matthews with a desperation glove save before Connor McDavid sealed Canada’s victory in the Olympic appetizer. He also opened the Olympic tournament with a shutout in Canada’s 5-0 round-robin win over Czechia.

His play in the NHL this season, however, has made headlines for all the wrong reasons on a Blues team dwelling near the league’s basement.

Binnington has an 8-17-6 record with a 3.65 goals-against average and a .864 save percentage, ranking 67th out of 70 among goalies with at least 10 games played.

Logan Thompson, who stopped 24 of 25 in Canada’s 5-1 preliminary-round win over Switzerland, boasts a .912 save percentage. Third-stringer Darcy Kuemper, meanwhile, sits at .900.

But head coach Jon Cooper made his decision a year ago that Binnington — and his big-game chops — would have the opportunity to start between the pipes come puck drop in Italy.

“When the game got tight, and especially when they took the lead, he shut the door,” Cooper said. “He gave us a chance to come back. And so that’s what winners do. They give you that chance.”

His teammates also didn’t do him any favours on Wednesday.

Mark Stone’s ill-advised turnover led to Czechia’s opening goal from Lukas Sedlak. David Pastrnak then gave Czechia a 2-1 lead with a power-play rocket after Macklin Celebrini’s unnecessary interference penalty.

Ondrej Palat’s goal to put the underdogs up 3-2 in the third period, meanwhile, put the finishing touch on a well-executed 3-on-2. Czechia also had six players on the ice at the time, going unnoticed by the officials.

“Binner gave us a chance to win the game,” Cooper said. “I haven’t digested all the goals, but I will sit here and say they were more on guys in front of him than on him. This wasn’t ones that leaked through him; that was on us.”

Binnington struggled with rebound control at times. But he was there when it counted.

“That’s when we needed (the saves),” Celebrini said. “We needed him to make those saves and be there for us when we needed them. He did an outstanding job being the brick wall.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 18, 2026.

&copy 2026 The Canadian Press