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Dallas Stars goaltender Jake Oettinger, a member of the U.S. men’s hockey team, was asked about comments President Donald Trump made about the U.S. women’s hockey team downplaying its gold medal.
In the locker room, after the U.S. team won the gold medal over Canada, Trump invited the men’s team to the State of the Union address via phone call. He told the male players that he would “have” to invite the women’s team, otherwise they would “probably dismiss me,” and the players laughed.
Trump’s comments and the men’s team’s reactions went viral and drew criticism from fans. Oettinger was asked what he thought about Trump’s phone call and his comments.
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Team USA’s Jake Oettinger (30) warms up before the men’s Group C preliminary match between the United States and Germany on the ninth day of the Milan Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games at the Milan Santagiulia Ice Hockey Arena in Milan, Italy, Feb. 15, 2026. (Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)
“My take on it is that there’s no one who supports women’s hockey more than me. I know a lot of those girls personally. I think if you had been in the bar watching the game with me, watching women’s hockey, there wouldn’t be anyone as excited as I was when they won the gold medal,” Oettinger told reporters Wednesday.
“They’re amazing and they deserve all the credit in the world. They’re dominant. I was so happy for those girls. Meeting some of them in person made it that much cooler. The fact that both the men and women have the gold medal right now is great.”
Oettinger said she attended the women’s hockey team’s victory over Canada during the preliminary rounds.
Jake Oettinger of the United States warms up before a men’s ice hockey semifinal match between the United States and Slovakia at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan, Italy, Feb. 20, 2026. (Hassan Ammar/AP Photo)
The women’s hockey team initially declined Trump’s invitation to the White House, but the president announced during the State of the Union that the players would be visiting.
Oettinger backed up Team USA’s star goaltender Connor Hellebuyck during the tournament, but did not appear on the ice during the Olympics.
The 27-year-old goalkeeper was one of five players who did not go to the White House to visit Trump. Oettinger said being invited was a tremendous honor, but cited family and the Stars’ upcoming home stretch as reasons for not attending.
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Jake Oettinger, Connor Hellebuyck and Jeremy Swayman of the United States celebrate after winning the men’s ice hockey gold medal game during the Milan Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games at the Milan Santagiulia Ice Hockey Stadium in Milan, Italy, Feb. 22, 2026. (James Lang/Image Images)
“First of all, being invited to go to the White House is a tremendous honor. I think, for me, I’ve been basically living in Italy for a month. I’m on a huge streak. I haven’t played much,” Oettinger said.
“I wanted to come back and prepare my game, and I also have a three-month-old baby at home, and we’ve been traveling the world. So that’s what happened. I think those guys had a great time there, but that’s why I didn’t go.”
Brock Nelson, Jackson LaCombe, Jake Guentzel and Kyle Connor were the other members of the US team who did not attend the White House on Tuesday.
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