Dylan Strome with his daughter Eme, Dylan Strome
Credit: Tayler Strome/Instagram; Scott Taetsch/Getty
NEED TO KNOW
Washington Capitals center Dylan Strome was wrapped up in controversy online after the NHL described him as the “ultimate girl dad” in a post on social media
The NHL deleted the post after it received negative comments incorrectly associating Strome with Team USA’s men’s hockey team and their decision to attend the State of the Union after being invited by Trump, who laughed about also including the winning women’s team
Strome, a Canadian, did not represent the United States at the 2026 Winter Olympics and did not visit the White House with the American NHL players on Feb. 24
The NHL shared and then subsequently deleted a post about Washington Capitals player Dylan Strome after commenters incorrectly linked him to a controversy involving Team USA’s men’s hockey team.
The 28-year-old center is a dad to three daughters, which the league celebrated in a since-deleted post on X that labeled him the “ultimate girl dad.” The message was accompanied by a photo of the Canadian hockey player with his 2-year-old daughter, Eme, at the Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique in Walt Disney World.
In the picture, Eme was dressed up as Sleeping Beauty in a pink princess costume while sitting on the floor with her dad in what appears to be a candid snapshot from a recent trip to the theme park in Orlando, Fla.
Some commenters slammed Strome and the NHL after seeing the post, falsely implying that he was in the locker room with Team USA’s men’s hockey team at the 2026 Winter Olympics. The team sparked a heated debate when they were invited to attend the annual State of the Union address on Tuesday, Feb. 24, by Donald Trump, who laughed as he extended an invite to the women’s team, as well.
After the men’s team won the gold medal in their game against Canada on Sunday, Feb. 22, Trump, 79, called them while they were celebrating their victory. During the call, he invited them to visit him at the White House in Washington, D.C. and told them that they should watch his speech.
Dylan Strome in October 2025
Credit: John McCreary/NHLI via Getty
Trump added that he’d “have to” invite the women’s hockey team, who also won a gold medal at the Olympics. He implied that he “probably would be impeached” if he did not extend the invitation to the women while members of the team laughed.
Some people online perceived the joke as a backhanded comment about the women’s team, who declined the president’s invitation.
Commenters on the NHL’s post slammed Strome after mistakenly assuming he was a member of Team USA and had been in the locker room to hear Trump’s comments, despite the fact that he did not represent the U.S. at the 2026 Games.
After the NHL deleted their post, Strome’s wife, Tayler Strome, issued a statement for the family on her Instagram Stories.
“We were placed into a narrative that we have absolutely nothing to do with, and we certainly did not choose to have our family used in it,” she wrote. “You can debate adults all you want, but dragging my husband and especially my toddler into something that has nothing to do with us is beyond unacceptable.”
Tayler continued, “The comments and messages about my TWO YEAR OLD DAUGHTER are some of the most vile and disgusting things I have ever read in my life. This isn’t about politics. She is a child. Full stop. Do better.”
Dylan Strome with his daughters
Credit: Tayler Strome/Instagram
The wife of the NHL star also thanked users who “reached out or addressed this situation with more than a single brain cell.”
The NHL did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment about the incident.
Members of the U.S. men’s hockey team at Donald Trump’s State of the Union speech on Feb. 24, 2026
Credit: Andrew Harnik/Getty
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Despite the controversy, all but five members of Team USA’s men’s hockey team traveled to the White House on Tuesday. They shook hands with the president before watching him speak at the U.S. Capitol.
During his speech, Trump said that he would invite the women’s team to the White House at a later date. He also announced plans to award team goalie Connor Hellebuyck the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
Dylan does not appear to have publicly commented on the incident himself.
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