SALT LAKE CITY (KUTV) — Utah Mammoth team captain Clayton Keller was getting ready to practice ahead of the 7-2 victory over the New York Islanders when he got the news that he would be an Olympian.

At the request of General Manager Bill Armstrong, Keller checked his phone to see that he had missed a call from Bill Guerin, the general manager for Team USA.

That’s when he learned he would be one of 25 players playing for the Stars and Stripes in the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic Games. He is also one of 23 Team USA players making their Olympic debut.

“I didn’t really know what to say,” said Keller. “It means so much to me, and I’ve worked tremendously hard. Anytime you can represent your country, it’s the best feeling ever.”

Keller said making the United States team means everything to him. He called the feeling of putting on the U.S. jersey “hard to describe” and not something he takes for granted. It’s also something he loves to do.

The 27-year-old forward has played on the international stage before in several major tournaments. Most recently, he helped the U.S. hockey team snap a 92-year gold medal drought in the IIHF World Championships. In the tournament’s final back in May, the United States, captained by Keller, beat Switzerland to take the gold.

That kind of performance can carry a lot of weight on the international stage, according to Mammoth Coach André Tourigny.

“You see what the guys can do on that kind of stage and what that means for him and it’s good for him to be rewarded,” said Tourigny, who joked that now he might have to root against his native Canada during the Olympic Games.

But even if the call-up to the national team comes with some conflict about who to root for, Tourigny said he couldn’t be happier for Keller. He described the Mammoth captain as a model of perseverance with model dedication to his craft and team. And opportunities like the Olympic Games can only build on that.

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“When you have the opportunity to play those high-end games – those elimination games – and play in those really meaningful games where the pressure is on, that builds you,” said Tourigny. “It builds your character. It builds who you are as a person.”

And Clayton Keller is excited to take on the Olympic-sized challenge.

“The competition is going to be unbelievable, and I couldn’t be more excited,” said Keller. “You want to play against the best players in the world.”

The Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic Games are scheduled to get underway on Feb. 6, 2026. The men’s competition for ice hockey is scheduled to start with preliminary rounds on Feb. 11.

Keller and Team USA start their fight for a gold medal on Feb. 12 against Latvia.

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