Team USA's gold medal win over Canada at the Milan Olympics accomplished two things: it established American hockey as a superpower and introduced the world to the legend of the Hughes brothers.
Jack scored the golden goal in the overtime win over Canada, securing just the third ever gold medal for USA hockey in the history of the Winter Olympics. His brother Quinn came in with a perfect, if not wholly unexpected, coda to the whole experience when he leaned all the way into the celebration phase of the victory.
It's hard to keep track of how many times Quinn went viral after the win, but it's pretty easy to spot the best moment.
Quinn Hughes was absolutely hammered during his interiew with Mike Tirico, and it was amazing
During the primetime recap of the final day of the Olympics, NBC's Mike Tirico interviewed the Hughes brothers, as well as Connor Hellebuyck. What could have been a routine segment instantly morphed into something even better, thanks to Quinn being unapologetically blitzed out of his mind the entire time.
A brief recap of the best moments:
- Quinn Hughes throws Hellebuyck a thumbs-up and a drunk smile after Jack mentioned the goalie's heroics in the game against Canada.
- At one point, Jack and Connor held up their mics to Quinn as he hung onto them and spoke drunkenly on national television
- He repeatedly thanked the troops for allowing them to play in the game
We've seen guys celebrate after winning championships or medals before, but it's the fact that it's the understated Hughes cut loose like this that makes it even better. This is a guy whose whole vibe is scoring goals while staring blankly off into the distance, so to see this other side of him only deepens a growing affection for him that Minnesota Wild fans already have.
Quinnestoa went global, and it contains multidudes.
Something that also makes this moment so fun is that it's so tremendously earned. Quinn was among the most important players on Team USA's gold medal journey, finishing his first Olympics by becoming the first American player to record a six-game point streak, breaking a tie with former Wild Zach Parise. He also finished as the leading defensive scorer among all players and ranked third in assists.
All joking aside about his lovely little interview with Tirico, but Quinn's biggest moment came two games before the gold medal showdown. He scored the game-winning goal in the quarterfinals against Sweden, a moment that is essential to Team USA winning gold.
If that doesn't happen, none of this does.
Wild fans have already fallen head over heels for Quinn ever since the team traded for him back in November, and his Olympic moments -- both on and off the ice -- have only helped deepen the appreciation.