Like every American hockey player over the past 45 years, the NHL stars on the United States 4 Nations Face-Off roster are obsessed with the Miracle on Ice.
More to the point, they're obsessed with the movie "Miracle," which chronicled that seminal moment in sports history when the U.S. upset the Soviets in the 1980 Lake Placid Olympics before eventually winning the gold medal.
After the U.S. beat Canada in Montreal, cameras caught Jack Hughes singing along to Aerosmith's "Dream On," which was featured in the movie. When Matthew Tkachuk declared that Team USA wanted to send a message that "it's our time," it echoed Kurt Russell's epic speech as coach Herb Brooks before playing the Soviets: "This is your time. Their time is done. It's over."
The Miracle on Ice still resonates because it's the greatest moment in U.S. hockey history, precisely because it remains the last time the men's team captured gold. The next four decades featured promising teams and talented players with the potential for Olympic glory, but all fell short of the ultimate goal.
The 2026 Olympic men's hockey team feels like the culmination of those years chasing gold. Generations inspired by the Miracle. NHL expansion into "non-traditional" markets, which created an unprecedented spike in elite talent. The slow, steady domination of Team USA at other levels of hockey -- such as world juniors, where the U.S. has won back-to-back titles.
"Our player pool is second to none. Over the last 20 years, USA Hockey has done a terrific job, with the overall focus on development of players at a young age," U.S. general manager Bill Guerin said last year. "But we're going to have to play the game and find out on the ice."