Saturday Night Live is going for the Olympic gold with a surprise guest (or two) this weekend.
Quinn Hughes, the defenseman for the NHL’s Minnesota Wild who helped Team USA grab gold at this month’s Winter Olympics, is set to appear on NBC’s long-running sketch comedy series.
Connor Storrie, who plays a pro hockey player on the buzzy drama Heated Rivalry, is hosting the February 28 SNL.
Hughes’ SNL cameo—as well as his booking on this Monday’s The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon—was quietly revealed via a chyron during FanDuel Sports North’s Thursday-night presentation of the Wild’s game against the Colorado Avalanche.
NBC is not commenting on either booking, but Minnesota Wild general manager Bill Guerin told the New York Times that Hughes will fly to New York on Saturday for SNL, then jet back to Minnesota for a Sunday afternoon game vs. the St. Louis Blues. Hughes will return to the Big Apple on Monday for his Tonight Show taping, then hustle back to Minnesota for a Tuesday-night game against the Tampa Bay Lightning.
The Times is reporting that Jack Hughes, who plays for the New Jersey Devils and scored the “Golden Goal” for the men’s Olympic hockey team, will appear with his big brother Quinn on Monday’s Tonight Show. Jack might might also pop up on SNL—if he can get to Studio 8H in time following an early Saturday evening game.
The Hughes brothers’ assorted bookings cap an eventful week in which the men’s Olympic hockey team won the gold medal early Sunday morning, earning them an invite from President Trump to Tuesday night’s State of the Union Address. There, goaltender Connor Hellebuyck, who made 41 saves in the gold medal game, was presented with the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the U.S. government’s highest civilian honor.
Afterwards, the men’s hockey team had a late dinner at the White House, where they were treated to… McDonald’s cheeseburgers.
It’d be very generous to suggest that Trump was going for a “gold medal/Golden Arches” theme, but a precedent of sorts was set seven years ago. During Trump’s first term, the NDSU Bison college football team was invited to the White House to celebrate winning the FCS Championship… with a bountiful buffet of Mickey Ds and Chick-fil-A.
