MIAMI INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT, FLA. (WSVN) - Florida Panthers star Matthew Tkachuk and Team USA arrived at the nation’s capital for a visit to the White House following a festive night at E11EVEN Miami in celebration of their epic win on the ice at the Winter Olympics.
7Skyforce captured the moment Air Force Two took off from Miami International Airport, late Tuesday morning, putting the Magic City in the U.S. men’s hockey team’s rearview mirror after they received a personal invitation from President Donald Trump himself to attend the State of the Union address.
Hours later, video captured the team arriving at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland as they greeted military members before boarding a bus to head to the White House.
Upon their arrival to the White House, the team sported matching USA Olympics sweaters and their gold medals in a group photo posted to social media. Afterwards, they walked through the White House colony and met Trump in the Oval Office.
7News spoke with team member Jack Hughes, whose picture with a bloody mouth and missing teeth, became one of the defining images of the 2026 Winter OIympics.
“Yeah, we have some time to pull ourselves together, but we’re excited for it, it’s gonna be awesome,” he said.
Hughes added the team’s DC visit is about patriotism, not politics.
“Everything is so political. We’re athletes, we’re so proud to represent the U.S. and when you get the chance to go to the White House, meet the president, we’re proud to be Americans and that’s so patriotic.
The American athletes brought home Olympic gold in men’s ice hockey for the first time in nearly 50 years. The 305 was not their intended destination, but Mother Nature had other plans.
South Florida is no stranger to winning hockey teams, and so, when severe storms changed the team’s flight route on Monday, Miami was more than happy to roll out the red carpet for them to revel in their gold medal win.
From chants of “USA” to champagne showers, the team took over E11EVEN, and the microphone, late Monday night.
Fans of the Panthers were overjoyed to see a few familiar faces at the nightclub, including Tkachuk, who showed the rest of their teammates how to celebrate Miami style.
The revelry comes hours after bad weather pummeling the Northeast laid the foundation for a memorable night out in the Magic City. At one point, clubgoers joined the victors in a heartfelt rendition of Queen’s “We Are the Champions.”
As soon as they touched down at Miami International Airport, the champs were honored with a hero salute — fresh off their 2-1 overtime win over Canada that secured the U.S. men’s hockey team Olympic gold for the first time in 46 years.
“It’s just incredible what this team was able to accomplish; representing the U.S., obviously, it’s an honor,” said Auston Matthews, the team’s captain.
“It’s been amazing. It’s a dream of ours. It was such an amazing way to unite the country,” said Tkachuk.
Fans showed up and showed out from the airport.
“Very exciting,” said a young fan.
“It was absolutely amazing, once-in-a-lifetime experience,” said another young fan.
From MIA, the players were shuttled off to the 1 Hotel South Beach along Collins Avenue.
After a disco nap, the Olympians emjoyed a celebratory dinner at COTE in the Design District before they headed to E11EVEN.
“We’re major Cats fans, and we were fortunate enough to come to this exact spot this year to celebrate their Stanley Cup win, and we’re so excited we could do it again, and this time, it gets to be for the entire country,” said a fan.
First they conquered the world. Then they came to conquer Miami.
Tuesday morning, the players were seen checking out from 1 Hotel. They were draped in red, white and blue as they boarded buses to MIA.
“I’m feeling great, I’m super excited,” said Tkachuk
Trump also invited the women’s gold medal-winning Olympic hockey team, but they had some prior commitments and declined to go.
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