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Dallas Stars goaltender Jake Oettinger, a member of the U.S. men’s hockey team, was asked about President Donald Trump’s comments about the U.S. women’s hockey team, making light of their gold medal run.
In the locker room after the U.S. team’s gold medal win over Canada, Trump invited the men’s team to the State of the Union address via phone call. He told the male players that he “should” invite the women’s team, otherwise “I’d probably be removed”, and the players laughed.
Trump’s comments and the men’s team’s reactions went viral and sparked criticism from fans. Oettinger was asked about his thoughts on Trump’s phone call and his comments.
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Jake Oettinger (30) of Team USA warms up before the Men’s Group C Preliminary match between the United States and Germany on the ninth day of the Milan Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic Games at the Milan Santagiulia Ice Hockey Arena in Milan, Italy, February 15, 2026. (Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)
“My opinion on it is there’s no one who supports women’s hockey more than me. I know a lot of these girls personally. I think if you had been at the bar watching the game with me, watching women’s hockey, no one was as excited as I was when she won the gold medal,” Oettinger told reporters Wednesday.
“They’re amazing, and they deserve all the credit in the world. They’re dominant. I was so happy for these girls. Getting to know a few of them personally made it even cooler. It’s pretty cool in the fact that the men and women both have gold right now, it’s pretty cool.”
Oettinger said he watched the women’s hockey team win against Canada in the preliminary rounds.
Jake Oettinger of the United States warms up before a men’s ice hockey semifinal match between the United States and Slovakia at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan, Italy, February 20, 2026. (Hassan Ammar/AP Photo)
The women’s hockey team initially declined Trump’s invitation to the White House, but the president announced during the State of the Union address that the players would be visiting.
Oettinger supported Team USA’s star goaltender Connor Hellebuyck during the tournament, but did not appear on the ice during the Olympics.
The 27-year-old goalie was one of five players who did not go to the White House to visit Trump. Oettinger said being invited was a huge honor, but cited family and the Stars’ next move as reasons for not going.
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Jake Oettinger, Connor Hellebuyck and Jeremy Swayman of the United States celebrate after winning the gold medal match in men’s ice hockey during the Milan Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic Games at the Santagiulia Ice Hockey Arena in Milan, Italy, February 22, 2026. (James Lang/Imagn Images)
“First of all, being invited to the White House is a huge honor. I think for me, I’ve been living in Italy for a month. I have a long way to go. I wasn’t playing much,” Oettinger said.
“I wanted to come back and get my game ready, and I also have a three-month-old baby at home, and we’ve been traveling the world. So that’s kind of what happened. I think those guys had a good time there, but that’s why I didn’t go.”
Brock Nelson, Jackson LaCombe, Jake Guentzel and Kyle Connor were the other members of the U.S. team who were not present at the White House on Tuesday.
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