Two Ottawa Senators faced some tough questions in the locker room Wednesday about the backlash against the U.S. men’s hockey team they were part of over their behaviour after winning Olympic gold.
The U.S. men’s team has come under fire due to a video showing several of the male players laughing while on a call with U.S. President Donald Trump where he joked that he’d “have to” invite the women’s team to the White House, too.
Ahead of their first game back on Canadian soil, Brady Tkachuk and Jake Sanderson each told reporters they had nothing but respect for the women’s team — who also won Olympic gold against Canada — but said they got caught up in the moment after their win.
“I think, you know, looking back at it now, I think it was a mistake,” Sanderson said when asked about how the men’s team acted on the call, which happened in the men’s locker room as the team was celebrating their win.
“But I think things got blown out of proportion a little bit. You know we have nothing but the utmost respect for the women.”
Tkachuk made similar comments when asked about the call, saying some of his best memories from the Olympics were hanging out with the women’s team and cheering them on in their tournament.
“They know that we supported them throughout the whole tournament.”
When pressed about why, then, players were laughing at Trump’s comments on the call, Tkachuk said: “I don’t really have an answer.”
“Honestly, it was just a whirlwind of a moment that you can’t really control what somebody says,” he said.
“I guess I was caught off guard a little bit.”
Tkachuk, Sanderson face tough questions about Trump’s locker room call with team, AI video
The Senators captain spoke Thursday ahead of the team’s home game against the Detroit Red Wings at the Canadian Tire Centre, where the Senators were also hosting women in sport night.
Both players said they hadn’t spoken with any of the U.S. women’s team players about the video.
Winnipeg Jets goaltender Connor Hellebuyck, the U.S. team’s goalie who made 41 saves during the gold medal game, apologized for what “unfolded” during the locker room call in an interview posted to the team’s YouTube page Thursday.
“We were so excited, like on cloud nine coming into that room. And then some things unfolded and I’m very sorry that that’s the way that they unfolded,” he said.
“It’s very unfortunate … the criticism that we’re taking for this because that was not the way that we intended it.”
Hellebuyck said he felt it was unfortunate the women’s team’s gold medal win “is getting overshadowed right now, because what they did was incredible.”
“If I could go back and change the things that transpired, I would. But at the end of the day, I am so proud of them, and they know that.”
In an interview with ESPN’s SportsCenter on Wednesday, women’s team captain Hilary Knight said she found Trump’s comment distasteful.
“And unfortunately that is overshadowing a lot of the success — the success of just women at the Olympics, carrying for Team USA and having amazing gold medal feats.”
She added that the men’s and women’s teams have a genuine level of support and respect for each other that’s “being overshadowed by a quick lapse.”
Team USA women’s hockey players asked if they felt ‘disrespected’ by Trump phone call
Tkachuk also said he did not appreciate an AI-doctored video shared by the White House that made it appear he was disparaging Canadians, calling it fake and not something he would ever say.
The altered clip, shared by the White House’s TikTok account, inserted fabricated audio of Tkachuk referring to Canadians as “maple syrup eating f—s,” with the expletive bleeped in the video.
“I would never say that. That’s not who I am.”
He also denied being the voice heard shouting “close the northern border” during Team USA’s congratulatory phone call with Trump.
“I’ve been seeing stuff where people think it’s me. If you watch the video, it’s not my voice and it’s something that I never say,” Tkachuk said.
“I play here and I’ve given everything I have here.”
The Olympic gold medal-winning U.S. men’s hockey team visited U.S. President Donald Trump at the White House on Tuesday afternoon and later received about a two-minute bipartisan standing ovation during his state of the union address that night.
The women’s team were also invited to the White House, but declined the invitation, citing scheduling issues.
