Team USA is scheduled to take on Canada on Friday, March 13, in the quarterfinals of the World Baseball Classic. After just beating Canada for the gold medal in hockey at the 2026 Winter Olympics, New Jersey Devils star Jack Hughes delivered an inspirational message to the WBC American team.

Mark DeRosa, who is the manager of Team USA, revealed that Hughes is pumping up the team for their matchup against Canada. DeRosa claims he shared that message via the team's group text and that hockey jerseys are seemingly being delivered to everyone.

“Jack Hughes sent the boys a nice little fire-up message that I put out on their group chat,” said DeRosa. “And I know there's talks of some hockey jerseys being sent in [on Friday] for the guys to wear during BP, or out and about the clubhouse.”

Article Continues Below

The Team USA hockey team defeated Canada 2-1 in overtime to win the gold medal. The victory was solidified thanks to a brilliant goal scored by Hughes. It was the first gold medal for the USA hockey team since 1980, ending a 46-year drought for the U.S.

Now, just a few weeks later, Team USA will have a chance to own the bragging rights in baseball, too. With an incredibly stacked lineup, the U.S. aims to defeat Canada in the World Baseball Classic and advance to the semi-finals. Logan Webb is expected to start on the mound for Team USA when they take on Canada at 8 p.m. EST. The game will be broadcast on Fox.