President Donald Trump lauded the gold medal-winning U.S. men’s hockey team, including some members from Massachusetts, during his State of the Union address Feb. 24.
After talking about how much “winning” the United States has been doing, Trump introduced the U.S. men’s hockey team, which entered to chants of “USA!”
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20 of the 25 members of the team, including two Boston Bruins players, Charlie McAvoy and Jeremy Swayman, as well as Millis, Massachusetts native Matt Boldy, were expected to appear at the speech.
Charlie McAvoy arrives for Donald Trump’s State of the Union address at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C.
Trump also announced that the team’s goaltender Connor Hellebuyck, who played for the University of Massachusetts Lowell, will be awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
Earlier in the day, the team had toured the White House.
The five players that are not in D.C., per various reports: Brock Nelson, Jake Guentzel, Kyle Connor, Jake Oettinger and Jackson LaCombe.
State of the Union honor follows viral Kash Patel locker room celebration, Trump call
Following the team’s 2-1 overtime victory over rivals Canada, the U.S. men’s hockey team began celebrating in their locker room. They even shared a few drinks with FBI director Kash Patel. In the midst of the celebration, the team received a call from the commander-in-chief himself.
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During the call, the president praised the team, calling them “unbelievable,” specifically shouting out goaltender Connor Hellebuyck. Toward the end of the call, Trump made a point to invite the players to Tuesday’s State of the Union address, and it appears most of the team took the president up on that offer.
Contributing: Jon Hoefling
This article originally appeared on Telegram & Gazette: Trump honors US men’s hockey team, including Bruins players, during State of the Union