Rangers’ J.T. Miller delighted President Trump called Team USA before 4 Nations Final: ‘awesome to get his support’
President Donald Trump couldn’t take up Team USA general manager Bill Guerin’s suggestion that he attend the United States-Canada championship game of the 4 Nations Face-Off in Boston on Thursday night. But the President did call Team USA on Thursday morning to wish them luck and offer some words of encouragement – much to the delight of New York Rangers forward J.T. Miller.
“It was so awesome to get his support,” Miller said. “It’s a pretty big deal for him to take time out of his schedule to talk to us for five minutes. It’s just another one of those things where we’re kind of pinching ourselves this tournament.”
Trump spoke to the entire team for quite a while right before the morning skate, Guerin told Michael Russo of The Athletic.
“Just wanted to wish us luck,” Guerin said.
In a Truth Social post earlier Thursday, Trump also wished the Team USA good luck.
“I’ll be calling our great American Hockey Team this morning to spur them on towards victory tonight against Canada,” he said, adding that he would not be able to attend the game because he’ll speaking with governors in Washington D.C.
“We will all be watching, and if Governor Trudeau would like to join us, he would be most welcome,” Trump said, referring to Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and the President’s suggestion that Canada become the 51st U.S. state.
Trudeau attended the round-robin game between the teams in Montreal last Saturday, where the crowd at Bell Centre booed the Star Spangled Banner prior to the Americans’ 3-1 victory.
More than 10 million people across North America tuned in for that game, which was shown on ABC in the United States. More are expected to watch the title game, which will be aired on ESPN but not on over-the-air TV in the United States.
New York Islanders forward Brock Nelson, a Minnesota native who has been playing on a line with Rangers center Vincent Trocheck for much of the tournament, told the New York Post he was thrilled to hear from President Trump.
“Pretty incredible. … For him to take time out of his day, wish us luck and talking about just enjoying the moment … it’s pretty special and something I’ll remember forever.”
Emotions will be high for USA-Canada 4 Nations title game
The 4 Nations event might have been designed to be an exhibition tournament in advance of the NHL return to the Winter Olympics next year. Instead, it has turned into a must-watch event on both sides of the border.
Canadian sports fans have responded to the tensions by booing the U.S. national anthem at several sporting events, including the U.S. win on Saturday – a game that saw three fights in the first nine seconds; the third one involved Miller, who battled with Canadian defenseman Colton Parayko.
That victory put the United States into the title game. Canada reached the final with a 5-3 win over Finland on Monday afternoon at TD Garden. A trickle of boos greeted the Canadian national anthem at TD Garden – don’t be surprised if there’s a much louder response before the championship game.
Guerin suggested Tuesday that Trump, who attended the Super Bowl and NASCAR’s Daytona 500 this month, should also attend the championship game.
“We have a room full of proud American players and coaches and staff. Listen, we’re just trying to represent our country the best way we can,” he said, adding that his players are using the political fire “as an inspiration.”
The NHL committed to allowing its players to participate at the 2026 Milan and Cortina Olympics in Italy after sitting out the past two Winter Olympics. The last best-on-best event before the 4 Nations was the World Cup of Hockey in 2016, which was won by Canada, as were the 2010 and 2014 Winter Olympics.
More About:New York Rangers News