Jake Guentzel reveals why he didn't join Team USA at State of the Union
Not everyone on the Team USA men’s hockey team attended the 2026 State of the Union where President Donald Trump brought out players and celebrated their gold medal accomplishment at the 2026 Olympics.
Tampa Bay Lightning star Jake Guentzel didn’t go, and on Wednesday morning, he addressed it with reporters. He said it was due to “timing.”
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“I was definitely not denying the request to go,” he said. “It was a dream come true to go. I was fortunate to go in 2017 when Trump was in office.”
“We’ve got a lot of games coming up the rest of the year. It’s going to be be a tough schedule,” he added. “Two weeks of Olympic break, thought it good to come home, rest and recover, try to spend some time with my family before we get going.”
There you have it. It wasn’t related to politics.
This article originally appeared on For The Win: Jake Guentzel on why he didn’t join Team USA at State of the Union