President Donald Trump can’t make it to the championship game of the 4 Nations Face-Off on Thursday night in Boston. But he did the next best thing – calling Team USA after their morning skate to wish the team luck before the showdown with Canada at TD Garden.
New York Rangers forward J.T. Miller was delighted to get some words of encouragement from the President, a noted sports fan who has already attended the Super Bowl and Daytona 500 this month.
“It was so awesome to get his support,” Miller said. “It’s a pretty big deal for him to take time out of his schedule to talk to us for five minutes. It’s just another one of those things where we’re kind of pinching ourselves this tournament.”
Trump, who had a previously scheduled appointment in Washington D.C., spoke to the entire team Thursday, GM Bill Guerin told Michael Russo of The Athletic.
“Just wanted to wish us luck,” Guerin said.
In a Truth Social post earlier Thursday, Trump also wished Team USA good luck, and tweaked Canada Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in the process.
“I’ll be calling our great American Hockey Team this morning to spur them on towards victory tonight against Canada,” he said, adding that he would not be able to attend the game because he’ll speaking with governors in Washington.
“We will all be watching, and if Governor Trudeau would like to join us, he would be most welcome,” Trump said, referring to the President’s suggestion that Canada become the 51st U.S. state.
Trudeau attended the round-robin game between the teams in Montreal last Saturday, where the crowd at Bell Centre booed the Star Spangled Banner prior to the Americans’ 3-1 victory.
Minnesota Wild defenseman Brock Faber was thrilled by the call.
“It was cool, right? It’s the President of the United States,” Faber said. “When you’re a kid, you don’t really think that that’s ever going to be a possibility, but it’s really cool.’
Faber said Trump’s message was simple: “Just have fun, enjoy it. It was pretty quick, but just enjoy the pride of wearing the red, white and blue.”
New York Islanders forward Brock Nelson, a Minnesota native, also was thrilled to hear from President Trump.
“Pretty incredible. … For him to take time out of his day, wish us luck and talking about just enjoying the moment … it’s pretty special and something I’ll remember forever,” Nelson told the New York Post.
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Team USA GM asked President Trump to attend 4 Nations championship game
Guerin suggested Tuesday that Trump should attend the game.
“We have a room full of proud American players and coaches and staff. Listen, we’re just trying to represent our country the best way we can,” he said, adding that his players are using the political fire “as an inspiration.”
More than 10 million people across North America tuned in for the game Saturday, which was shown on ABC in the United States. Even more are expected to watch the title game, which will be televised on ESPN but not on over-the-air TV in the United States.
The 4 Nations event might have been designed to be an exhibition tournament in advance of the NHL return to the Winter Olympics next year. However, it has turned into a must-watch event on both sides of the border.
Canadian fans have responded to the tensions by booing the U.S. national anthem at several sporting events, including the U.S. win on Saturday – a game that saw three fights in the first nine seconds.
That victory put the United States into the title game. Canada reached the final with a 5-3 win over Finland on Monday afternoon at TD Garden. A trickle of boos greeted the Canadian national anthem at TD Garden – and don’t be surprised if there’s a much louder response before the championship game.