{"id":482654,"date":"2026-03-03T12:20:18","date_gmt":"2026-03-03T12:20:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/482654\/"},"modified":"2026-03-03T12:20:18","modified_gmt":"2026-03-03T12:20:18","slug":"behind-the-scenes-with-jack-and-quinn-hughes-for-tonight-show-and-snl","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/482654\/","title":{"rendered":"Behind the scenes with Jack and Quinn Hughes for \u2018Tonight Show\u2019 and \u2018SNL\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

NEW YORK \u2014 Years from now, when Jack and Quinn Hughes\u2019 NHL careers are over, they may have accumulated any number of individual and team accolades. But they\u2019ll never forget this whirlwind of a week.<\/p>\n

With gold medals around their necks, the Hughes brothers have made national television and media appearances that are rarely reserved for hockey players.<\/p>\n

They\u2019ve been on ABC\u2019s \u201cGood Morning America\u201d and NBC\u2019s \u201cToday Show\u201d together.<\/p>\n

Jack flew to Indianapolis to appear on ESPN\u2019s \u201cThe Pat McAfee Show,\u201d and Quinn did \u201cThe Steam Room\u201d podcast with \u201cInside the NBA\u2019s\u201d Ernie Johnson and Charles Barkley.<\/p>\n

On Monday night, they wrapped up the weeklong media tour by appearing on \u201cThe Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon,\u201d alongside fellow Olympic gold medalist and U.S. women\u2019s captain Hilary Knight, two days after all three appeared with U.S. women\u2019s gold-medal-game overtime hero Megan Keller on \u201cSaturday Night Live.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI mean, \u2018Saturday Night Live,\u2019 that\u2019s huge,\u201d the Hugheses\u2019 longtime agent and friend, Pat Brisson, said.<\/p>\n

Hockey players are almost trained to deflect attention. But for eight days since winning gold in Milan, the Hughes brothers, at the urging of their NHL teams \u2014 Jack\u2019s New Jersey Devils and Quinn\u2019s Minnesota Wild \u2014 and the league itself, have leaned into it.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was obviously a really fun first couple of days to celebrate with all the boys in Miami and Washington (after winning the gold medal) \u2014 all your friends and family, and just get to enjoy the moment,\u201d Jack said an hour before taping \u201cThe Tonight Show.\u201d \u201cAnd then we\u2019ve started playing hockey games. I\u2019ve played three. I think Quinn\u2019s played three. So it\u2019s been busy, just going back and forth between trying to be focused and locked in, but also enjoying this experience.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe fact that we were on \u2018SNL\u2019 and now \u2018The Tonight Show,\u2019 these are opportunities that don\u2019t come around often. So for us, we\u2019ve been super excited and thankful and grateful that we\u2019ve been able to do this.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\n Gold medalists Quinn Hughes, Megan Keller, Hilary Knight and Jack Hughes appeared on \u201cSaturday Night Live,\u201d hosted by actor Connor Storrie (center). (Photo courtesy of NBC)<\/p>\n

On Monday, the Wild, Devils, the NHL, NBC and the Hughes brothers granted The Athletic access to the taping of \u201cThe Tonight Show\u201d for a behind-the-scenes look at the conclusion to the Hughes brothers\u2019 exciting week.<\/p>\n

Backstage, after arriving from New Jersey, the brothers\u2019 first visit was from the star of the show, Jimmy Fallon. He then surprised Jack and Quinn, as well as Knight, minutes later by returning with Academy Award-winning actress Nicole Kidman.<\/p>\n

Jack greeted her with an extended right arm and an ear-to-ear, gap-toothed grin \u2014 a now-iconic smile courtesy of a high stick in the Olympic gold-medal game that came not long before he would score the game-winning goal.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\n Jack Hughes shakes hands with Academy Award-winning actress Nicole Kidman. (Photo courtesy of Todd\u00a0Owyoung \/ NBC)<\/p>\n

He\u2019s flashed that smile often<\/a> since the U.S. won gold.<\/p>\n

\u201cJack\u2019s very comfortable in these situations \u2014 more than me,\u201d Quinn said, smiling.<\/p>\n

Quinn said that was evident in their \u201cSNL\u201d appearance two days earlier.<\/p>\n

Quinn showed up at the studio well in advance of the live show, so he got to rehearse and hang out for several hours with Knight and Keller. Jack came in hot, playing at 5 p.m. ET in St. Louis and arriving at 30 Rock 2 hours 59 minutes after the game ended, via private jet, helicopter and car.<\/p>\n

\u201cWalking up on stage, I was like, \u2018Wow, this is happening. I\u2019ve got to dial it in,\u2019\u201d Jack said.<\/p>\n

\u201cSaturday Night Live\u201d creator and producer Lorne Michaels is a big hockey fan. His team is the New York Rangers. His kids often go to Devils games and are big Jack Hughes fans. Michaels is from Toronto and, maybe not so coincidentally, left Toronto in 1967 \u2014 the last year the Maple Leafs won the Stanley Cup.<\/p>\n

He relayed all of this to Brisson and the Hugheses at the \u201cSaturday Night Live\u201d afterparty in the wee hours of Sunday morning, and Brisson joked, \u201cWell, you may have to go back to help the Leafs win another Cup.\u201d<\/p>\n

During the show, Michaels treated the Hughes family like royalty.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s an area backstage called Lorne\u2019s Station. It\u2019s basically a box where he produces the show and makes decisions. Special guests are invited, and on Saturday, that included NHL president of content and events Steve Mayer, Brisson and wife, Kim, Devils owners David and Allison Blitzer, Jack, Quinn, their parents, Knight and Keller.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re in a moment,\u201d Mayer said. \u201cAfter the gold medal game, and I give (NHL executive) Nirva (Milord) credit because she has great relationships at \u2018Saturday Night Live,\u2019 but \u2018SNL\u2019 immediately wanted NHLers to be part of their first show out of the Olympics. It started with Jack, and then it became Jack and Quinn, and then it became a matter of logistics. Quinn\u2019s in (Utah) the day before the show. Jack\u2019s got a 5 o\u2019clock game the day of the show. How can we get him there on time? Is it OK if he misses rehearsal? I mean, this is live television.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut CAA was amazing with all the logistics. And then, to add Hilary and Megan to the opening monologue was the suggestion from \u2018Saturday Night Live.\u2019 It was met with, of course, a billion percent the second it was suggested. I think Lorne had it in his mind exactly what took place.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\n On the \u201cSNL\u201d set, from left: Allison Blitzer, Luke Hughes, Kim Brisson, Ellen Hughes, Pat Brisson, Lorne Michaels, Jim Hughes, David Blitzer, Quinn Hughes, Steve Mayer and Jack Hughes. (Photo courtesy of Pat Brisson)<\/p>\n

The Hugheses said SNL\u2019s studio is truly old school, and you can feel it. The cameras. The lights. The smell. The show starts at 11:30 p.m., but there\u2019s so much life and so many people running around, it feels like it\u2019s 6 p.m.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s something special about that famous, smaller-than-you\u2019d expect studio. It\u2019s like walking into an old hockey rink and inhaling deeply. The history is unmistakable.<\/p>\n

\u201cVintage,\u201d Quinn said.<\/p>\n

\u201cTheatrical,\u201d Brisson said.<\/p>\n

\u201cVibrant,\u201d Jack said.<\/p>\n

What Jack loved most was getting to know Michaels, who, despite there being 400 people and several celebrities at the afterparty at Mermaid Oyster Bar, largely hung out with Jack, Quinn and younger brother Luke, a Devils defenseman, and their family.<\/p>\n

\u201cLorne\u2019s such a legend,\u201d Jack said. \u201cSo to have the chance to talk with him, and just hear some of the stories he has, he\u2019s truly unbelievable. So that was probably the highlight of my whole \u2018SNL\u2019 experience, was just being able to listen to him and get to talk to him. He\u2019s just so incredible, and I just had a blast getting to know him.\u201d<\/p>\n

Quinn\u2019s Wild and U.S. general manager Bill Guerin, for one, was jealous.<\/p>\n

\u201cI told (Quinn) he crushed my dreams, because (SNL\u2019s) always been like my show,\u201d Guerin said. \u201cI grew up, I had a Sunday paper route, and my sister had one, too. We had to get up really early to get them delivered. So we couldn\u2019t stay up and watch \u2018Saturday Night Live,\u2019 but we\u2019d put a VCR tape, a blank one, in, record it and then watch it after we did our paper routes.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019d watch it every day through the week, so I\u2019d memorize all the skits. Like Eddie Murphy as Gumby, just like the classic stuff. So I told him he crushed my dreams. \u2018Saturday Night Live\u2019 has got an incredible history of not just the actors, but the music side of it, too. My God, the people that have been on that stage over the 50-plus years it\u2019s been around are pretty remarkable. So for a Minnesota Wild player to be up there and to have four Olympic hockey players up there is pretty incredible.\u201d<\/p>\n

Brisson, too, loves that the NHL is taking advantage of the Olympic exposure.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019re hitting it while the iron is hot, and this is doing a lot for the league, for Jack and Quinn, for their brand,\u201d Brisson said. \u201cFor Quinn to score an overtime goal, for Jack to score the \u2018Golden Goal,\u2019 it\u2019s almost like the gold medal was scripted, like it was written by Hollywood producer Jerry Bruckheimer or something.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think it\u2019s extremely impactful for our game\u2019s exposure. I can\u2019t count how many people have come up to me that aren\u2019t really hockey fans, and they\u2019re so intrigued with the gold medal, and now they want to start following the NHL or following the Jack Hughes story, the Quinn Hughes story. Fans want to know the behind-the-scenes stories. They want to know the upbringing and whys and all that. And that\u2019s what\u2019s been the biggest issue with our game. Players are playing with a helmet and visor, and they want to see the personality.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\n Jimmy Fallon, Luke Hughes, Jack Hughes, Quinn Hughes and Nicole Kidman pose for a photo. (Photo courtesy of Todd Owyoung \/ NBC)<\/p>\n

That\u2019s why Guerin encouraged Quinn, the Wild\u2019s star defenseman, to do both shows. It required two round-trips to New York, for Saturday\u2019s and Monday\u2019s TV shows, scheduled around home games on Sunday and Tuesday.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re trying to take it in and just enjoy it,\u201d Quinn said. \u201cWe really enjoyed \u2018Saturday Night Live\u2019 and \u2018The Tonight Show,\u2019 and we\u2019re just doing it a day at a time here. It\u2019ll settle down for both of us now, and we\u2019ll focus on the hockey. But I think right now for these opportunities, it\u2019s been special, and we\u2019re really grateful. It\u2019s truly humbling.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd I think for Jack, the guys on both our teams have been unreal. They\u2019re happy we\u2019re getting this opportunity. Obviously, there\u2019s some ball busting, but they\u2019re happy for us. But I\u2019m looking forward to getting back to Minny and spending time with the boys because I haven\u2019t really seen them too much with all this and the Olympics. It\u2019ll be nice to just have some quiet time and focus in on what we need to focus in on.\u201d<\/p>\n

Guerin loves the humility of both Hughes brothers and believes one day they\u2019ll realize all this exposure was good not only for them but for the sport.<\/p>\n

\u201cThose boys, they\u2019re just so humble and together. The way they act, you wouldn\u2019t think they\u2019re these star hockey players,\u201d Guerin said. \u201cGetting all this attention now and the way they handle themselves is pretty amazing. They were raised right.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"NEW YORK \u2014 Years from now, when Jack and Quinn Hughes\u2019 NHL careers are over, they may have…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":482655,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[5118],"tags":[5,54125,161,38,5280,151,4,162],"class_list":{"0":"post-482654","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-minnesota-wild","8":"tag-hockey","9":"tag-mens-olympic-ice-hockey","10":"tag-minnesota","11":"tag-minnesota-wild","12":"tag-minnesotawild","13":"tag-new-jersey-devils","14":"tag-nhl","15":"tag-wild"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nhl\/116165216502602746","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/482654","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=482654"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/482654\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/482655"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=482654"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=482654"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=482654"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}