Team USA goalie Jake Oettinger reacts to Trump's locker room comments about the women's hockey team

Dallas Stars goalie Jake Oettinger, and subordinate of the U.S. men’s hockey team, was asked astir comments President Donald Trump made astir the U.S. women’s hockey team, making airy of their golden medal win.

In the locker country aft Team USA’s golden medal triumph implicit Canada, Trump invited the men’s squad to the State of the Union code via a telephone call. He told the men’s players that he’d "have" to invitation the women’s team, different "I astir apt would beryllium impeached," and the players laughed.

Trump’s comments and the men’s team’s reactions went viral and drew disapproval from fans. Oettinger was asked astir his thoughts connected Trump’s telephone telephone and his comments.

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Jake Oettinger (30) of Team United States warms up earlier the men's preliminary Group C lucifer betwixt the United States and Germany connected time 9 of the Milan Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic Games astatine Milan Santagiulia Ice Hockey Arena successful Milan, Italy, connected Feb. 15, 2026. (Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)

"My sentiment connected that is there's nary 1 that supports women's hockey much than me. I cognize a batch of those girls personally. I deliberation if you would've been astatine the barroom watching the crippled with maine wherever I was, watching the women's hockey, determination was nary 1 arsenic excited arsenic maine erstwhile they won the golden medal," Oettinger told reporters connected Wednesday.

"They're incredible, and they merit each the recognition successful the world. They're dominant. I was conscionable truthful blessed for those girls. To get to cognize a fewer of them personally made it that overmuch cooler. It’s beauteous chill successful the information that the men and the women some person the golden medal close present is beauteous cool."

Oettinger said helium attended the women's hockey team's triumph implicit Canada during the preliminary rounds.

United States' Jake Oettinger warms up earlier a men's crystal hockey semifinal crippled betwixt the United States and Slovakia astatine the 2026 Winter Olympics successful Milan, Italy, connected Feb. 20, 2026. (Hassan Ammar/AP Photo)

The women’s hockey squad initially declined Trump’s invitation to the White House, but the President announced during the State of the Union that the players would beryllium visiting.

Oettinger backed up Team USA’s prima goalie, Connor Hellebuyck, during the tourney but did not look connected the crystal passim the Olympic Games.

The 27-year-old goaltender was 1 of 5 players who did not spell to the White House to sojourn Trump. Oettinger said getting invited was a tremendous grant but cited household and the Stars’ upcoming agelong tally arsenic reasons for not going.

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Jake Oettinger, Connor Hellebuyck and Jeremy Swayman of the United States observe aft winning the men's crystal hockey golden medal crippled during the Milan Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games astatine Milan Santagiulia Ice Hockey Arena successful Milan, Italy, connected Feb. 22, 2026. (James Lang/Imagn Images)

"First of all, getting invited to spell to the White House is simply a tremendous honor. I think, for me, I've been fundamentally surviving successful Italy for a month. I person a immense agelong run. I wasn't playing much," Oettinger said.

"I wanted to travel backmost and get my crippled acceptable to go, and I besides person a three-month-old babe astatine home, and we've been traveling the world. So that was benignant of what went into that. I deliberation those guys had a large clip there, but that's wherefore I didn't go."

Brock Nelson, Jackson LaCombe, Jake Guentzel and Kyle Connor were the different members of Team USA who did not be the White House connected Tuesday.

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