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Team USA men’s hockey gold medalists Dylan Larkin and Zach Werenski explained where their American pride comes from as they celebrated their Olympic accomplishment.
Larkin and Werenski appeared on PK Press Club Channel’s “Fox & Friends” Tuesday morning, hours after celebrating their gold medal win against Canada in Miami. Both men spoke about what it meant to them to represent the Stars and Stripes.
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Zach Werenski #8 and Dylan Larkin #21 of Team USA celebrate winning the gold medals after the team’s 2-1 overtime victory during the men’s gold medal game between Canada and the United States on day 16 of the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic Games at the Milan Santagiulia Ice Hockey Arena on February 22, 2026 in Milan, Italy. (Grégory Shamus/Getty Images)
“I think a lot of us went through the U.S. national team development program… When we were there, you could put on the jersey every day for two years, before you got drafted. We go through training. We’re not military by any means, but they put us through training and they definitely give you a certain pride,” Larkin said. “Once you get through that, you take the jersey off…and every time you take it off, at least for me, I don’t know the next time I’m going to put it on.
“So every time I get a chance to represent the United States of America, I put this jersey on, I’m all in. I love doing it and it’s just something special. I could talk all day about how great our country is. Just being home and seeing our friends and family, it’s just special.”
Auston Matthews (34) of the United States, Zach Werenski (8) of the United States and Matthew Tkachuk (19) of the United States hold up John Gaudreau’s jersey after defeating Canada in the men’s ice hockey gold medal game during the Milan Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games at the Milan Santagiulia Ice Hockey Arena on February 22, 2026. (Amber Searls/Imagn Images)
Werenski was asked if playing in other countries made him prouder to be an American.
“I think you’re right. I remember my first World Championships with him were in Slovakia. I went to Denmark, the Czech Republic. They’re all great countries and you play there and it’s a lot of fun. The Olympics were in Italy, which is an amazing country,” he said. “When you come back here, you remember how great the United States of America is. And we love representing our country, we love wearing these colors.
“Like Dylan said, we learn it from a young age. We’re allowed to live our dream because of the military – the people who serve, the first responders. It’s just an amazing country. It’s the best country in the world and we love wearing those colors and you’re definitely grateful for that when you go play overseas.”
The United States celebrates after winning the men’s ice hockey gold medal game during the Milano Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games at Milano Santagiulia Ice Hockey Arena. (James Lang/Imagn Images)
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The U.S. men’s hockey team is expected to travel to Washington, D.C., to attend President Donald Trump’s State of the Union address Tuesday evening.
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