Quinn Hughes has become a household name after winning gold at the Winter Olympics with Team USA. As his fame has continued to grow, Hughes has been making the rounds on TV, appearing on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon and SNL.
Now, he has spoken out about the post-Olympic experience and returning to the NHL with Charles Barkley and Ernie Johnson on The Steam Room podcast.
“I mean, kind of what you said with the dream team is how electric the practices were and how fun it was just getting to, you know, know those guys and be around superstars like that, and the camaraderie. That's what I enjoyed so much about this experience,” Hughes said of the experience before turning his focus to getting back to the NHL.
“As far as trying to reset and come back to the Wild, I think it’s a little bit easier for me just because I know we have a chance to win this year, but I’m not going to lie to you, we had a crazy three days, like I was in no shape to play last night probably. When you win a gold medal, you know how it is, Chuck?” Hughes added.
Hughes had a successful Olympics, scoring a goal and adding seven assists in six games, including scoring the overtime winner in the quarterfinals against Sweden. He has also returned to the Minnesota Wild and has been successful. In three games since the Olympic break, he has two assists. That includes putting up a helper in his first game back on the ice since returning from Milan. Still, Hughes just wanted to keep celebrating.
“We celebrated, we had a great time. We were all depressed, man. We didn’t want it to end. We didn’t want to stop hanging out with each other,” the gold medal-winning blueliner concluded.
While Hughes is disappointed to be ending his Olympic celebration, he could be celebrating again come summertime. The Wild are 35-16-10, which places them in third in the Central Division. While the team is third in their division, they have one of the best records in the NHL and could be looking to make a run come playoff time. Until then, they focus on the next game, which for Minnesota is on Tuesday night against the Tampa Bay Lightning.
