With host Connor Storrie’s breakout role rooted in hockey, Saturday Night Live leaned into the theme Saturday night—welcoming four freshly minted Olympic gold medalists from Team USA to join him during his monologue.
U.S. men’s hockey stars Jack Hughes and Quinn Hughes took the stage alongside Hilary Knight and Megan Keller of the women’s team, turning the segment into a mini Olympic celebration.
Knight—who previously cameoed on SNL in 2018 after the U.S. women’s team took gold in PyeongChang—landed the biggest laugh by lightly flipping the narrative on the men: “It was just going to be us, but we thought we’d invite the guys too.” “Yeah,” added Keller, “We thought we’d give them a little moment to shine.”
Team USA hockey champs Jack and Quinn Hughes, Hilary Knight and Megan Keller joined Connor Storrie for his SNL monologue pic.twitter.com/QRmCAIOf9L
— LateNighter (@latenightercom) March 1, 2026
The line was a nod to the heightened spotlight surrounding the men’s team after footage emerged of FBI Director Kash Patel partying with the players in their locker room following their gold medal win, as well as the team’s appearance at President Trump’s State of the Union address and subsequent visit to the White House.
As we’ve reported, the men’s team’s proximity to Trump led to an online backlash after word leaked Friday that men’s alternate captain Quinn Hughes would be making a cameo on the episode. It was not known at the time that his brother or members of the women’s team would also be appearing.
Hughes himself has not publicly taken political positions, and Saturday’s monologue made no direct reference to the controversy.
Instead, the show framed the moment as a shared Team USA victory lap.
That lap will continue quickly. Quinn and Jack Hughes, along with Knight, are set to return to 30 Rock in less than 48 hours for a Monday night appearance on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.
Going to Trump’s State of the union is a political opinion. What are you on about? Laughing while a divisive President mocks women athletes is political.
Tacky, rude, and classless! All of which describes Drumpf to a tee!