Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew is praising Winnipeg Jets goalie Connor Hellebuyck for his performance in this year’s Winter Olympics, but says when it comes to promoting sport and respect, the entire U.S. men’s hockey team was way offside.
Kinew, speaking to reporters in Winnipeg, made the comment when asked about the American players celebrating in their dressing room after their gold medal win over Canada and laughing at disparaging comments about the gold medal-winning women’s team made by U.S. President Donald Trump.
“The women’s team, for America, deserved a lot better than they got, both from the men’s team but also from their president,” Kinew said Friday.
“With Hellebuyck, I’m a Winnipeg Jets fan, so I’m going to bite my tongue about the Trump stuff. But (to Hellebuyck), win a Stanley Cup for our city now.”
The Michigan-born Hellebuyck was considered the difference maker, as he fended off waves of Team Canada attacks en route to a 2-1 overtime victory Sunday. Days earlier, the U.S. women’s hockey team capped off a dominant Olympic tournament performance with a 2-1 gold medal overtime win over Canada.
Kinew said lucky bounces, upset wins and losses are part of sport, but the U.S. team missed the bigger picture.
“The reason I’m a hockey parent is because I want (my kids) to learn life lessons,” the premier said. “I want them to learn how to play on a team. I want them to learn how to overcome adversity. And I want them to learn how to be respectful.
“I think on that count, the Team USA men’s team failed us.”
After the men’s win, Trump dialed into the U.S. dressing room and invited them to attend his state of the union address two days later. The president added that he would have to invite the women’s team as well or he’d risk being impeached, which led to players laughing at the comment many saw as sexist.
A number of players, including Hellebuyck, joined Trump at the White House on Tuesday and were later cheered at the Capitol during his speech. The women’s team didn’t receive a congratulatory call from the president and politely declined the invitation to attend.
Trump also announced Hellebuyck would receive the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the country’s highest civilian honour.
The dressing room phone call got political on both sides of the border this week, as various Olympic players returned to their NHL teams. Many on the U.S. men’s hockey team said they were caught up in the celebration. Boston Bruins goalie Jeremy Swayman said they “should have reacted differently” to Trump’s remarks.
The Jets are on a California road swing and fighting for a playoff spot. Hellebuyck was expected to rejoin the team for a game Friday night against the Ducks in Anaheim.
In a team video interview posted Thursday, Hellebuyck addressed the controversy.
“We were so excited, on Cloud 9 coming into that (dressing) room, and then some things unfolded. And I’m sorry that that’s the way that they unfolded,” he said.
“It’s very unfortunate (with) the criticism that we’re taking for all this, because that’s not the way we intended it.
“We used the women’s gold medal game as a motivation for us to win gold.”
Hellebuyck said he went to the White House to celebrate a historic win in a historic place.
It still feels “surreal” to earn the Presidential Medal of Freedom, he said, and he was “shaking” after getting the news.
In Winnipeg, fans have found many ways to describe Hellebuyck’s Olympic-winning performance: spectacular, lights out, team-shouldering — but also heartbreaking.
“He had a tournament for the ages,” said Jeff Baquiran, a Jets superfan. “When the chips were down and everything was on the line, he came up when he had to and, yeah, wrong team.”
Michael Dubé said it stung to see the goaltender lead a charge to beat Canada. “We outplayed them throughout the whole game, basically,” he said.
Tony Ollenberger, a Jets fan from Saskatoon, said he hopes to see the same gold medal-level performance from Hellebuyck in an NHL jersey. “Why couldn’t you be that guy in the Jets uniform instead of just always in a Team USA uniform?” Ollenberger asked.
The Jets return home Tuesday for a game against the Chicago Blackhawks.
In the video interview, Hellebuyck said now comes the awkward part.
“Because I play in Winnipeg and I play in a Canadian city, where I’ve given my heart and soul for my entire career,” he said.
“To go into a moment like that where now I have to kind of break the hearts (of the fans) of where I play, it’s tough mentally.
“I want them to be just as happy as I am.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 27, 2026.
— With files from The Associated Press
