Quinn Hughes Takes SNL Shot
Quinn Hughes of the US team celebrates after scoring the winning goal against Sweden during the overtime period of a men's ice hockey quarterfinal game at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan, Italy, on Feb. 18. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)
Quinn Hughes’ calendar over the next few days looks more like that of a Hollywood star on a press tour than a player grinding through the regular season with the Minnesota Wild.
Fresh off capturing Olympic gold with Team USA in Milan, the standout defenseman is set to appear on Saturday Night Live and The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, squeezing television commitments in between games on the National Hockey League schedule, according to The Athletic.
Hughes delivered one of the defining moments of the Olympic tournament, scoring the overtime winner against Sweden in the semifinal to send the Americans into the gold-medal showdown with Canada.
His SNL appearance carries a couple of fitting parallels. The show is returning from its Olympic hiatus just as Hughes transitions back to NHL play. This weekend’s host will be Connor Storrie, who stars in the hockey romance Heated Rivalry. Hughes’ brother, Jack Hughes—who netted the decisive goal in the Olympic final—plans to join him on The Tonight Show and could also make an appearance on SNL.
The travel itinerary is tight. After performing on SNL, Quinn Hughes is expected to fly to Minnesota for Sunday’s game, return to New York for Monday’s Tonight Show taping, then head back to Minnesota in time for another game Tuesday.
The whirlwind stretch follows the Olympic team’s appearance at the State of the Union address earlier in the week, along with Wild games on Thursday and Friday.
One teammate who shared both the Olympic and NHL stages with Hughes admitted he hadn’t fully grasped how demanding the schedule would be. “I thought I was maybe going to be practicing when I got back,” Brock Faber told the Minneapolis Star Tribune.
About Post Author
