Team USA members are “pinching themselves” after President Donald Trump made a pre-game phone call to motivate the Americans before their 4 Nations Face-Off championship game against Canada.
“It was so awesome to get his support,” said J.T. Miller via The Athletic. “It’s a pretty big deal for him to take time out of his schedule to talk to us for five minutes. It’s just another one of those things where we’re kind of pinching ourselves this tournament.”
Trump promised to call the team in a Thursday afternoon social media post, in which he once again suggested Canada become the “51st state” and invited “Governor Trudeau” to watch the game with him.
After saying Trump referenced the “51st state” in his call to the team while in the locker room, Team USA head coach Bill Guerin tried to refocus on the game.
“But I would just try to focus on the message that he was giving us,” Guerin said. “I’ve said it before: We’re here to play hockey. This is not a political forum. This is a hockey tournament. And he’s just trying to be supportive in the best way that he could, and we appreciate it.”
“He was just very supportive and just said, ‘Hey, you guys are going to do great. It’s going to be a great game. Just relax and play.'”
Team USA star Brock Faber put the call in perspective.
“It’s the president of the United States,” Faber said. “When you’re a kid, you don’t ever think that’s going to be a possibility. It was really cool.”
“It’s pretty, pretty wild, and it’s an honor for all of us in here to represent your country and to get a call from the president,” said forward Brock Nelson. “Also, just goes to show, I think, it’s a big game not only for hockey, but for beyond the game. It’s something that we’ll remember.”
Forward Matt Bolday added, “Obviously, he’s a very influential person in the world. It’s special. I think it speaks to how good the tournament’s been for hockey and the exposure that’s been given to a new group of fans.”
Team USA’s 3-1 defeat of the Canadians on Saturday night ended the Canadians’ 13-game win streak in the lopsided rivalry.
Canada leads the series 13-4-1 in the best-on-best format. The Canadians also have two Olympic gold-medal victories (2002 and 2010).
