New Jersey Devils forward and Team USA hero Jack Hughes has been sporting a toothless grin since his gold medal success at the Winter Olympics in Milan. He has now revealed when he’ll be getting his chompers fixed.
Hughes and fellow Team USA gold medal winner Caroline Harvey made a stop at the Times Square location of the popular fast food spot Raising Cane’s and fielded questions from the media just weeks after bringing home the top prize for their country.
But with the NHL playoffs just around the corner, Hughes says he does plan to fix his ‘chiclets’ soon.
‘Yeah, the amount of dentists that have reached out, man, it’s too many,’ Hughes answered in response to a question asked by Daily Mail.
‘But I’m going to get them fixed, hopefully this week.’
The 24-year-old star also admitted, ‘I think people will be pissed if I do get them fixed.’
Team USA hockey star Jack Hughes says he plans to get his teeth fixed ‘this week’
Hughes scored the goal that gave the American men their first medal since 1980
Both stars remarked about the growth of the sport in the country and the prospects for the future of hockey in the aftermath of Olympic glory.
‘It’s a super exciting time,’ Harvey said when asked by Daily Mail about the growth of women’s hockey in the US.
‘I think, obviously, the Olympics brought a lot of attention around that and a lot of eyeballs, especially women’s hockey, just women and just hockey in general.’
The University of Wisconsin star added, ‘It’s super special to be a part of it at this time and going into the league next chapter ahead. But yeah, I’m just enjoying the ride and just trying to keep growing that.’
As for Hughes, he hopes the next generation of athletes simply enjoys the game rather than only focusing on reaching the top.
‘The thing about sports is, at least when we were kids… it’s all about having fun, enjoying it,’ he told reporters.
‘I know it’s so cliché, but when you’re eight years old, it’s all about enjoying the sport, having fun, loving it, having a passion. Not like, “How am I going to make the NHL?” when you’re eight years old.
‘So I think as you grow up… obviously, you focus in more, work hard, but the key base is always enjoying it, having fun. If you don’t enjoy what you do, you’re not going to be successful.’
Fellow gold medalist Caroline Harvey praised this as an ‘exciting time’ for women’s hockey
Harvey, who is still a student at the University of Wisconsin, will enter the PWHL soon
The Devils star also went through his emotions while watching the women’s team beat Canada for the gold alongside his older brother, Quinn Hughes.
‘Me and Quinn were at that full game. We [were] going to leave after the second period. Then they were down 1-0,’ Jack recalled.
‘You get nervous for your own game sometimes, but man, we were stressed so big for these guys up in the crowd. Because I think they beat the Canadian women’s team seven times in a row leading up to the gold medal game.
‘Sports are weird where you can be better than them and you can lose the big one. We were so nervous for the girls because we knew that they were the better team.
‘Obviously, they score one late and then they end overtime. We were just so relieved, so pumped up for them. We were just worried about… we played Slovakia the next night. We sprinted out of it. We were like, “We got to get home.”‘
But in the end, Hughes was thrilled for the nation’s double victory: ‘We just wanted to get it done with them. I don’t think the men’s and women’s team have ever won together.
‘For us to do that with them, pretty special. Take home two golds, that’s a leap for USA Hockey right there.’
