Quinn Hughes was arguably Team USA's best player at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan, recording eight points in six games and scoring the overtime winner against Team Sweden in the quarterfinal.
After a busy few days that included a trip to Miami to celebrate a first gold medal since 1980, a visit to the White House at the invitation of US President Donald Trump, and a 5-2 Minnesota Wild victory over the NHL-best Colorado Avalanche on Thursday night, the show is going on for the 26-year-old.
Hughes will appear on ‘Saturday Night Live' on Saturday and ‘The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon' on Monday, as first reported by The Athletic's Michael Russo and Joe Smith on Friday morning.
It's an absolutely insane schedule overall for the American superstar, which Russo and Smith laid out:
“He won the gold medal Sunday. On Monday, he chartered with his United States teammates from Milan to Miami for a party at the ultraclub E11EVEN. On Tuesday, he flew from Miami to Washington, D.C., to visit the White House and be honored during the State of the Union with his USA teammates,” wrote the hockey insiders.
“On Wednesday, he boarded Wild owner Craig Leipold’s private jet in Washington and flew to Minneapolis, where he met up with his Wild teammates and flew to Denver via charter to play the Avalanche on Thursday night. After the game — a 5-2 win — he was to fly to Salt Lake City to play the Utah Mammoth on Friday night. After that game, he’ll return to Minnesota and land Saturday morning. On Saturday, he’ll fly to New York for SNL. On Sunday, he’ll return to Minnesota to play the Blues. On Monday, he’ll fly back to New York to do Fallon. On Tuesday, he’ll fly back to Minnesota to play the Lightning.
“On Wednesday, he’ll hopefully be able to sleep.”
Quinn Hughes has completely transformed Wild
That is a whirlwind for probably the best defenseman in the National Hockey League right now.
Hughes has turned the Wild from a solid playoff team to a legitimate Stanley Cup contender in 2025-26. Minnesota has scored more goals than any other NHL team since he was acquired from the Vancouver Canucks in mid-December, per Russo and Smith.
He's also on a league-best 11-game point streak after recording an assist on one of Joel Eriksson Ek's goals on Thursday night. He's managed 35 points in 27 games in the State of Hockey, and is quickly adding the label of fan favorite to his status of American hero.
While it's unclear who will be joining Hughes on SNL, brother Jack Hughes, who scored the golden goal in overtime against Team Canada, along with women's team gold medalist Hilary Knight, will join him for The Tonight Show, per USA Today's Meghan L. Hall.
It's been quite the ride for the Hughes brothers since making America golden for the first time in 46 years, and it doesn't look like the hype is going to be dying down anytime soon.
