Jack Hughes is proud to be an American, in part thanks to the country's "great dentists." The NHL player won gold at the Winter Olympics over Canada. But it resulted in him losing several teeth mid-game. So he'll need a good dentist when he gets home.
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"This is all about our country right now. I love the U.S.A. I love my teammates, it's unbelievable," Hughes told NBC. "The USA Hockey brotherhood, it's so strong. We had so much support from ex-players, and I'm so proud to be American today."
Hughes plays for the New Jersey Devils and represented America at the international competition. He praised U.S. goalie Connor Hellebuyck for helping to win.
"It's an unbelievable game by Hellebuyck. He was our best player tonight by a mile, unbelievable game, unreal game by our team," he said. "Just a ballsy, gutsy win. That's American hockey right there. That's a great Canadian team, but we're USA, we're so proud to be Americans. This night was all for our country."
When he gets home, he told reporters that he will be getting his smile fixed. The hockey player lost several teeth to secure the win.
Jack Hughes Is Proud
"I'm lucky I'm from the best country in the world, and we've got great dentists there too," he said. "So I'm lucky I'm American and they're going to fix me right up."
Meanwhile, President Donald Trump called Hughes and Team USA.
"The players just had the president on, I don't know what it was, what do you call it? FaceTime? Whatever. In the locker room," Head Coach Mike Sullivan said. "So he just spoke to the group, expressing how proud he was of the group and congratulating everybody on the win. Obviously, this game, in a lot of ways, was an inspiration to our country."
Team USA captain Auston Matthews said it was a huge moment for the team.
"We're all proud Americans, obviously, and I mean, this is a huge moment for us. It's a huge moment for the United States," Matthews said. "He called and just congratulated us."
"It's an honor to wear this jersey and to represent the USA and go home with the gold medal," he added. "You know how much that means to the guys in this room and how much it means to all the people watching and rooting us on, too."
