What does it mean to be part of a dynasty and how does it begin? This month’s cover is riding a major moment that although he struck the Golden Goal, when asked about it, he will always reflect on the fact that the win is a culmination of a team win and one that could only take place with the combined efforts of them working together to break the dry spell since Team USA Hockey back in 1980 while pushing the sport as a whole further here in the US as both the Men’s and Women’s team swept Gold! We sat down last month with Jack Hughes and interviewed him days ahead of him heading to Milano Cortina for our JAN ISSUE #121 where we talked about his passion and love for Hockey, how he trains for the sport, his Olympic debut and how he prepares for game day. It was clear from our interview with him last month that he is someone that we will continue to talk about for years to come.
As we all watched copious hours of Olympics coverage, Hockey was always top of mind for us to watch at Athleisure Media. For him to debut in the Olympics and to play alongside his brother Quinn was amazing. We know that the Hughes brothers are dynamic as a trio as they all play in the NHL and Jack plays for the NJ Devils alongside his brother Luke! If we look at the concept of team, as Jack always says when talking about the success, we have to look at a major team element – his family.
This family affair doesn’t stop there as his mom, Ellen Weinberg-Hughes is a former ice hockey player who competed internationally for the US Women’s National Team at the ’92 Women’s World Championship, where she obtained Silver while being named to the tournament’s All-Star Team. When she stopped playing professionally, she was an advisor to Norway’s Women’s Hockey Team in ’94, she has reported on Women’s Hockey at various Winter Olympics, as well as for ESPN and she was has been a consultant most recently at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milano Cortina where the US Women’s team took home Gold. Although she never had the chance to play in the Olympics, as Women’s Hockey was introduced in 1998 for the first time, the US Women’s Hockey team has medalled at every single Winter Games since it debuted! His father, Jim Hughes is a former Hockey player who worked at Toronto Marlies and Toronto Maple Leafs. His family and love for this sport is such a life line to Jack and how he looks at the sport!
Jack Hughes is this month’s cover for our FEB ISSUE #122 and as the Golden Goal took place, we were thrilled to know that we would be seeing him at the first home opener post the Olympic win! We made our way to the Prudential Center in Newark, home of the NJ Devils. After the whirlwind of activity that he has been on, watching him during the celebration toasting his win once again solidified his team mentality; and the Sport! As the entire stadium cheered him on, when he hopped on the mic, he accepted all the love that was being given to him while also making sure that Tage Thompson of the Buffalo Padres who played that night at this home game also shared the spotlight with him as well! This camaraderie is what we love to see in the sport and makes us understand his greater vision, it’s about growing the sport and highlighting the efforts of the elite men that have the privilege to play it.
We spent a number of hours at the stadium for the first home game post the Olympics from the celebratory portion of the program, the game, heading to the locker room, and continuing to the post game conference to hear from Coach Sheldon Keefe and Jack himself on the epic moments that led to the Golden Goal, celebrating, coming home to NJ, and looking ahead!
Coach Keefe shared with us that even in the midst of Jack coming back from the Olympics and the festivities, upon his arrival, “he just got here before the game – right before pregame. He began with our different meetings, going through preparations to play, and media obligations.” Even with everything that has been going on, “he made some good plays and posts that put us in some good spots.”
He even reflected on the tribute to the Team USA Hockey and the fact that Jack highlighted Tage Thompson who was also on Team USA and played for that night’s opposing team, “I thought it was tremendous and I think it’s a good sign of his character to do that. It’s acknowledging that it’s not all about him and obviously, there’s a lot of things that go into him having the moment that he had, score the goal that he had and for his teammates to be here for that tonight, I thought it was appropriate. I don’t think he was planning to say that necessarily, I think it was Jack in the moment, but I mean, I thought it was a tremendous gesture by Jack for sure!”
Much like Jack’s focus on the team, Coach Keefe also acknowledged the efforts of the organization, “I think all the way around that the tribute was exceptionally done. I thought our organization and our operations team pulled that off on short notice! To have the fans there was amazing! Coming out to the ice tonight, it was very clear that there was an extra buzz in the building. It was a wonderful reception all the way around!” He continued by letting us know that the win as a whole was well deserved for Jack, Team USA, the state of NJ and the country as a whole. “This moment is well deserved and it’s not just for Jack, he’s representing his country, he’s representing our organization, and he’s representing the sport of Hockey.”
Hearing from Coach Keefe, we were excited to sit down with Jack to dig deeper into his Olympic experience. Although the game was on 2.22.26, the final day of the Winter Games, the past few days leading up to the home game we attened had a number of celebrations that he got to share with his Olympic team. He laughed while reflecting that, “it’s been some of the best 3 days in my life probably. I’ve had so much fun with this group of guys!” As much as he had an amazing time, he’s also very present in the moment as he acknowledged that, “it’s nice to get here with the team and get back with my teammates,” at the NJ Devils.
For days we have been talking about the Golden Goal and have seen the videos as it’s an epic moment. For those that may not be familiar with Hockey, the Golden Goal is a sudden-death winning goal during overtime to instantly end a tied game. It denotes a Championship winning goal and was last done by Sidney Crosby in 2010 and now by our Cover Star, Jack Hughes!
We wanted to know more about what led up to the moment during overtime. Listening to Jack share these moments was like being in a film reel and seeing the moments through his eyes. “Obviously, by the time you’re in that locker room, there are so many alphas in one room. We all believed in ourselves as well as who we were as a group.” He explained that they all felt that it didn’t matter who got it, but that someone from there team did, “we were just happy to get it done and the belief in that room was what was going to carry us.”
In terms of the actual moment, this was the play-by-play that we really wanted to know about. Seeing the video and hearing all the think pieces are great, but listening to Jack share it with us as if it was happening in that moment was something that was inspiring to hear. “You know, I get goose bumps watching the video now just because the emotions are so raw, and it means so much to every single one of those guys! I just remember that the goalie shot out at me hard and I couldn’t really see the puck go in initially, and the puck didn’t even shoot out of the net. It hit behind the camera so I just turned the corner, and I saw Dylan Larkin – the first guy I saw, just sprinting up the ice and I just couldn’t believe and I was so proud of our group!”
Once again, it’s worth noting that even when we were talking about his moment and how he felt, he always incorporated the importance of team and what it meant to everyone involved. That feeling that is so intrinsic to his core syncs up to him talking about Tage during the pre-game ceremony on the ice. “When I was told that they were going to do a little celebration before the game you know, I was laying in bed before my nap (Editor’s Note: last month Jack shared his THE 9LIST STORI3S GAM3DAY routine with us and we know how important his naps are) and I was thinking about Tage. I will never be about one person and it’s always about the team and that group of guys. To share that moment with Tage, I hope that when he has his first home game in Buffalo, they do something for him and I really hope he’s playing one of his American teammates and he does the same thing! It’s all about the USA Hockey Brotherhood – that’s what we are.”
As we know, the game took place on the most global of stages – the Olympics and on the home opener of the restart of the 2025-2026 season, you could see that there were so many emotions and the fans in Jersey got the chance to feel close to that kind of win. We wanted to know what coming back to where he plays means and how that moment has that extra layer.
“I really do love living in New Jersey and playing in New Jersey. I got drafted as their first overall pick and I just feel like they accepted me so deeply - I’m their, guy. I come to these games and every time I drive in, all I think about is when I see people walking at 4:30pm with huge jerseys on and I’m unrolling my window and screaming at them and they love that you know? To represent New Jersey and our fans, I’m so proud to be a Devil. I’m so proud to play for the Blitzer family, the Harris family, and the Fitzgeralds. These people, they mean so much to me, so to represent them through all this - New Jersey means so much to me!”
While many are focused on the activities that took place during the overtime goal and what it means in terms of how his life will change, Jack always looks at the bigger picture! “A lot of cool people have been reaching out and that’s important, and they have supported me. But the fact that I’m on a USA Hockey Championship Olympic Gold Medal Team it changes all of our lives – all of the teammates. We’re Champions and we’re Olympic medalists and we’re the team that broke the run of not being able to win! To break that streak and win a Gold medal, it bonds us forever as Olympic Gold medalists. As Hockey players, we did our job. We went over to the Olympics and won a Gold battle. We also have so much respect for the Women’s Hockey Team and they have so much respect for us and we’re all just proud Americans and we’re happy that we both swept the Olympics.”
Going back to the ideology that Jack is steeped in the concept of the power of the team the propulsion that takes place when you have a village that facilitates and supports you, we brought it back to family. Coming from the Hughes Dynasty and the dynamics that are involved, how does this Championship win play into that portion of his life? “First of all, just bringing that Gold medal home - my parents have put in so much work with us. They’ve been everything to us and the 3 of us, we have everything to thank towards them. We’re just so proud to represent them and represent the Hughes family name. Obviously, everyone’s parents mean so much to them and the support, love, care - we’re just so proud that we could celebrate that moment with them. One of my favorite things is my dad’s reaction. I don’t even know if he was kissing Keith Tkachuk or what was going on up there, but they were all so excited for us and we celebrated in Milan with them afterwards. It’s just unbelievable to share that moment with my family and my brother, and so many people that helped us get to this point.”
As we enjoyed spending time with Jack post game and look ahead to the back half of the season, there are a number of great moments from Mike Eruzione who scored the iconic game winning goal for the US Hockey Team in the 1980 Winter Games, Sidney Crosby who achieved the Golden Goal for Canada against the US at the 2010 Vancouver Games, many feel that this Golden Goal will also be talked about for generations to come and even studied by those coming up in the game! But for Jack, “It’s just a moment. It’s an unbelievable moment of my life, but It’s all about the team. I’m looking forward to the times we’re going to enjoy. Hopefully, every year we get together and enjoy that moment but for me it’ll never be about the Golden Goal, it will always be about 3 weeks at the Olympics, that we’re Champions, and what a special group that it was!” He also noted that the Tkachucks said, “It Takes a Village. It Takes a Village,” with the equipment department in the locker room, “from every guy in the group to friends and family that have supported us. Representing your country is the best and this is something that you dream of, but when it happens, you can’t even describe what it feels like. I’ve said it a million times, I’m so proud to be American and so happy that we could get the job done!”
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PHOTOGRAPHY COURTESY | FRONT COVER + PG 31 NJ Devils | BACK COVER + PG 16 -47 Paul Farkas shot with SONY Alpha |
Read the FEB ISSUE #122 of Athleisure Mag and see THE ICE KING | Jack Hughes in mag.
