The past week has been a whirlwind for USA hockey and the Minnesota Wild, but not all of it was for great reasons. Both the men's and women's teams won gold at the Milan Olympics, although the celebratory mood was quickly overshadowed by some unfortunate events.
First, the men's team celebrated in their locker room with Kash Patel -- the FBI director who had absolutely nothing to do with the win -- which instantly devalued the cultural currency they had just earned. Then came the controversial call from President Trump, in which he used the moment to make an objectively lazy and overtly sexist joke at the expense of the women's team.
The men's team laughing along with that joke sparked a week of discourse that culminated in a cameo appearance on Saturday Night Live by four of the most important figures from both teams. Whether or not Quinn Hughes and Jack Hughes getting roasted by Hillary Knight and Megan Keller defuses the situation is up to the individual, but it's impossible to deny that the moment has instantly become an iconic SNL clip.
Quinn Hughes got roasted on SNL by Hillary Knight and Megan Keller over controversial Trump call
Heated Rivalry star Connor Storrie hosted the show and mentioned having watched the Olympics in his opening monologue. This cued both Quinn and Jack to make their appearance and play along with a bit about what Heated Rivalry is about -- a show that is less about hockey and more about steamy gay romance.
This then prompted both Knight and Keller to appear, at which point the hammer was dropped and the elephant that had been in the room all week was brilliantly addressed.
“It was going to be just us," Knight said. "But we thought we’d invite the guys, too."
Hell yeah.
Keller also got to get a shot in as well. After Knight's jab, Keller joked, "Yeah, we thought we'd give them a little moment to shine," as she elbowed Quinn.
The crowd erupted with laughter, and the Hughes brothers also joined in, taking the joke on the chin and clapping along encouragingly.
Connor Storrie’s monologue! pic.twitter.com/j3b9QkrcWB
— Saturday Night Live (@nbcsnl) March 1, 2026
The jokes don't solve the core issue of why everyone was so hurt, offended, and upset at the joke Trump made, or the disappointing reaction from the mens team in the moment. Accomplishments in omens sports aren't a punchline, something SNL helped point out by turning the joke around on the men.
Quinn and Jack have caught a fair -- and justified -- amount of heat for their role in the whole mess, specifically because they're thought so highly of as trusted allies and champions of underrepresented segments of hockey fandom. This little cameo doesn't excuse any of the unfortunate behavior they engaged in, but watching them take their medicine on national television at least shows they're aware of what happened and the magnitude of the fallout.
Beyond the obvious, it's also worth stepping back to appreciate Quinn showing up on SNL for another reason. It's not often that Minnesota sports is nationally relevant, and it's even less often that it's the Wild in the spotlight.
How awesome is that?
Expectations have never been higher for the Wild, and that all started with trading for Hughes back in November. Not only were the stakes raised, but the State of Hockey is under the bright lights in ways we've never seen before, and it's hopefully the start of a magical era that Wild fans have been waiting decades to finally experience.