Jack Hughes: Golden Boy | NOTEBOOK

The 2026 Winter Olympic Games are underway in Italy and several Devils are taking part, representing their countries in Men’s Ice Hockey: Nico Hischier, Timo Meier and Jonas Siegenthaler (Switzerland), Jack Hughes (USA), Jesper Bratt and Jacob Markstrom (Sweden) and Simon Nemec (Slovakia).

Stay tuned here for daily updates, recaps, videos and more on the Devils players and how they’re performing for their countries.

Gold Medal Game

Jack Hughes: American Olympic Hero.

It was going to take a pretty special player in a pretty special game to become a national hero, and you just knew Jack was big enough for this moment.

In a sudden-death, 3-on-3 overtime for Olympic gold between Canada and the United States, Jack Hughes sniped his signature shot past Jordan Binnington in the Canadian net to secure the United States its first gold medal in hockey at an Olympic Games since 1980.

With as close to a hockey smile as you can get, teeth knocked out in the front, both top and bottom, Hughes was embraced by his American teammates, scoring the biggest goal of his career to date.

Bronze Medal Game

It’s a tough ending for Slovakia and Simon Nemec, as the Devils defenseman and his national team saw their Olympic run come to a close with a 6-1 loss to Finland.

In the bronze medal game, Slovakia was unable to defend the medal it captured in 2022. Still, for a small nation, there is plenty to be proud of. In an Olympics featuring NHL talent, including Devils defenseman Nemec, a fourth-place finish marks the country’s best result in a Games that included NHL players, building on the bronze earned four years ago in a non-NHL tournament.

Nemec had a strong showing at the tournament, as part of Slovakia's to defensive pairing with Martin Fehevary. Again on Saturday, he had the team lead with 23:57 time on ice in the elimination game. Nemec consistently had the team-lead in time on ice, as he helps usher in a new generation of Slovak talent.

Feb. 20 Semifinals

Jack Hughes is going for gold! The Devils' superstar scored two goals to help propel the Americans past Slovakia in a decisive 6-2 victory.

Hughes his first goal of the game off a beautiful individual effort, weaving his way through the offensive zone, and deking out his former teammate Tomas Tatar, to rip a shot past Samuel Hlavaj for a 3-0 lead. Hughes would extend the U.S. lead to 3-0 midway through the second period with his second goal of the tournament, giving the Americans a 5-0 lead.

Dylan Larkin, Tage Thompson, Jack Eichel and Brady Tkachuk also scored for the U.S.

The victory sets up the ultimate gold-medal matchup between two storied rivals: the United States and Canada play for gold on Sunday morning at 8:10 a.m. ET.

On the other side of the ice, it was disappointment for Simon Nemec and Slovakia. The Devils defenseman played a team-high 22:28 for Slovakia against the Americans.

Slovakia will have an opportunity to defend it's bronze medal from the 2022 Games when they take on Finland on Saturday at 2:40 p.m.

Canada 3, Finland 2

Although no Devils were competing in this matchup, it will be Jack Hughes and his American squad that will face Canada in the gold medal game after Canada came from down 2-0 to Finland to advance to the Olympic final.

Canada's Nathan MacKinnon scored the go-ahead goal on the power play with just 35.2 seconds remaining in regulation to take the lead and send the Canadians into the gold medal game.

Feb. 18 Quarterfinals

USA 2, Sweden 1 (OT)

Jack Hughes and the Americans are headed to the semifinals at the Olympics in Milan after a 2-1 overtime victory. Hughes helped set up the Americans' regulation goal, dishing a puck through the slot to Dylan Larkin, whose tipped shot beat Swedish and Devil netminder Jacob Markstrom.

The US took its 1-0 lead just before the midway mark of the game at 11:03 of the second period, and it took until 1:31 remaining in regulation for the Swedes to find the equalizer. Mika Zibanejad tied the game, 1-1, with a one-timer blast to send the game to overtime.

At 3:27 of the 10-minute, 3-on-3 overtime, Quinn Hughes snapped a shot past Markstrom to end the tournament for the Swedes and send the American’s into the semis.

The USA will face Slovakia in semifinal play, pitting Jack Hughes against Simon Nemec.

Finland 3, Switzerland 2 (OT)

The Olympic dream has come to a close for Nico Hischier, Timo Meier and Jonas Siegenthaler as Switzerland was eliminated in the quarterfinal play by Finland.

The Swiss were leading, 2-0, with less than five minutes to play in regulation, before Finland struck back with two goals to send the game to overtime. Arturri Lehkonen scored for Finland 3:23 into the 10-minute 3-on-3 overtime.

Meier ends the tournament with a team-leading seven points with three goals and four assists while Hischier ended the tournament wtih four points, one goal and three assists, in his five games played.

Slovakia 6, Germany 2

Simon Nemec is the first of the Devils at the Olympic Games to make it through to the semifinals. Nemec and the Slovak's downing Germany in a dominant 6-2 victory. Nemec, who has been part of Slovakia’s top pairing with Martin Fehervary (Washington Capitals), played 21:51 with one shot on goal.

The Slovak’s opened the scoring early, less than two minutes into the game, taking the 1-0 lead off a goal by Pavol Regenda, and would quickly triple their lead early in the second. The Slovak’s scored two goals in 33 seconds to put Germany in a decisive hole.

Germany’s Lukas Reichel (Vancouver Canucks) scored at the tail end of the second period after Slovakia had stretched its lead with four straight goals.

Former Devil and Slovakia’s captain, Tomas Tatar, sealed his team's victory with an empty net goal.

Nemec and the Slovak’s are through to the semifinals, where they are now in contention to leave the Games with a medal. Slovakia is the bronze medal winner from the 2022 Games and has a chance to put themselves in a position to defend their bronze, or better.

Feb. 17 Games

Switzerland 3, Italy 0

The Devils' Swiss forward contingent delivered in the qualification playoff, helping Switzerland power past host Italy on Tuesday.

Nico Hischier led the way with a goal and two assists, while Timo Meier added two assists as Switzerland punched its ticket to the quarterfinals.

The two connected on two of Switzerland’s three goals. Hischier recorded the primary assist on Philipp Kurashev’s opening tally, with Meier earning the secondary assist. Later, Meier picked up another secondary helper on Hischier’s power-play goal, which came off a set play.

The goal marked Hischier’s first of the Olympics, as he was named the Third Star of the game. He also fired seven of Switzerland’s 51 shots on net, while goaltender Leonardo Genoni turned aside every attempt he faced for the shutout.

Switzerland now advances to the quarterfinals, where it will face Finland on Wednesday at 12:10 p.m. ET.

Sweden 5, Latvia 1

The Swedes are through to quarterfinal play after a dominant victory in their qualification playoff game against Latvia. Jacob Markstrom was handed the reins in net in the elimination game and made 20 saves on 21 Latvian shots.

Sweden's victory sets up a showdown with the United States in the quarterfinals on Wednesday at 3:10 p.m. ET. The matchup will pit Devils Markstrom and Jesper Bratt against the USA's Jack Hughes.

Feb. 15 Games

USA 5, Germany 1

Devils center Jack Hughes picked up three shots in 11:19 minutes of ice time as Team USA topped Germany, 5-1, to finish the preliminary round.

Auston Matthews (2), Brock Faber, Zach Werenski and Tage Thompson tallied for the U.S.

Tim Stutzle was the lone scorer for Germany.

Switzerland 4, Czechia 3 OT

Timo Meier scored his third goal of the tournament and added an assist for a two-point game as Switzerland finished round robin play with a 4-3 overtime victory against Czechia.

Meier also had five shots, a plus-2 and 20:09 minutes of ice time. Devils captain Nico Hischier also had five shots for the Swiss while picking up an assist, his first point of the tournament. He logged 21:45 minutes of play. Defenseman Jonas Siegenthaler played 18:04 while adding four penlaty minutes.

Dean Kukan scored at 1:49 of OT to lift the Swiss. Roman Josi and Pius Suter also tallied.

For Czechia, the club received goals from Martin Necas, Radim Simek and Filip Chaplik.

Feb. 14 Games

USA 6, Denmark 3

Devils center Jack Hughes scored his first goal as an Olympian to help Team USA defeat Denmark, 6-3. Hughes added two shots and was a plus-2 in 13:28 minutes of ice time. He was double shifted and even elevated into the top-6 during the course of the game.

Matt Boldy, Brady Tkachuk, Jack Eichel, Noah Hanafin and Jake Guentzel scored for the Americans.

Sweden 5, Slovakia 3

Devils goalie Jacob Markstrom made his first appearance of the Olympics and helped lift Sweden to a 5-3 victory against Slovakia.

Markstrom stopped 29 of 32 shots to earn the victory. Forward Jesper Bratt was scratched in the game. Joel Eriksson Ek, Andre Kempe, Elias Pettersson (2) and Lucas Raymond tallied goals for the Swedes.

Defenseman Simon Nemec picked up an assist in 21:03 minutes of ice time in the losing effort for Slovakia. Juraj Slafkovsky, Martin Gernat and Dalibor Dvorsky picked up goals for the Slovaks.

Feb. 13 Games

Finland 4, Sweden 1

Devils forward Jesper Bratt was held off the scoresheet in Sweden's 4-1 loss to Finland. He finished with a minus-2 rating in 9:23 minutes of ice time. Goaltender Jacob Markstrom served as the backup for Sweden and did not see game action.
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Rasmus Dahlin scored the lone goal for Sweden on the power play. Finland received goals from Nikolas Matinpalo, Anton Lundell, Joel Armia, and Mikko Rantanen to secure the victory.

Slovakia 3, Italy 2

Devils defenseman Simon Nemec fired four shots on goal and logged 20:03 of ice time to help guide Slovakia to a hard-fought 3-2 victory over Italy. Nemec played a steady game on the blue line as the Slovakians improved to a perfect 2-0 record in Group B play.
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Libor Hudacek, Matus Sukel, and Adam Ruzicka provided the offense for Slovakia, building a 3-1 lead before holding off a late Italian push. Goaltender Stanislav Skorvanek made 20 saves to secure the win.
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Canada 5, Switzerland 1

Devils captain Nico Hischier, forward Timo Meier, and defenseman Jonas Siegenthaler could not hold off a potent Canadian offense as Switzerland fell 5-1 in Group A action. Meier was the most active offensively for the Swiss, recording a team-high five shots on goal in 19:21 of ice time. Hischier logged 21:28 but finished with a minus-3 rating, while Siegenthaler played 22:10 on the blue line.
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Pius Suter scored the lone goal for Switzerland on the power play in the first period. Canada’s star-studded roster overwhelmed the Swiss, with goals from Connor McDavid, Thomas Harley, Macklin Celebrini, Sidney Crosby, and Nathan MacKinnon. Goaltender Logan Thompson made 24 saves to earn the win for Canada

Feb. 12 Games

USA 5, Latvia 1

Devils center Jack Hughes recorded two assists in the United States' 5-1 victory over Latvia to open tournament play. He set up Brock Nelson for the game-winning goal in the second period and later initiated a play with his brother, Quinn Hughes, that led to Nelson's second tally. Hughes finished with a plus-2 rating in 11:14 of ice time.

Brock Nelson scored twice for the Americans, while Auston Matthews, Brady Tkachuk, and Tage Thompson also found the back of the net. Goaltender Connor Hellebuyck made 16 saves in the win.

Switzerland 4, France 0

Devils forward Timo Meier scored two goals in the third period to seal Switzerland's 4-0 victory over France in their tournament opener. He finished with a plus-3 rating and fired four shots on goal, while captain Nico Hischier and defenseman Jonas Siegenthaler helped shut down the French offense.

Damien Riat and J.J. Moser scored the opening goals for the Swiss. Goaltender Leonardo Genoni made 27 saves to earn the shutout.

Feb. 11 Games

Slovakia 4, Finland 1

Devils defenseman Simon Nemec logged a team-high 24:56 minutes of ice time and picked up an assist as his Slovakians defeated Finland, 4-1. He has also had four shots while shouldering the heavy workload.

Juraj Slafkovksy had two goals while Adam Ruzicka and Dalibor Dvorsky added tallies.

Sweden 5, Italy 2

Devils forward Jesper Bratt notched an assist in Sweden's 5-2 victory against Italy to open tournament play. He had three shots in 16:36 minutes of ice time. Goalie Jacob Markstrom backed up for the Swedes.

Gabriel Landeskog, Gustav Forsling, William Nylander, Mika Zibanejad and Victor Hedman scored for Sweden.

Pre-Tournament Roundup

10 TAKEAWAYS: OLYMPIC SEND OFF

The NHL has officially hit pause and the hockey world’s attention shifts to Milan for the next couple of weeks. While some of the league’s biggest stars are heading overseas for best-on-best Olympic competition, others (myself included!) are packing their bags for a different kind of trip, chasing some sun, grabbing a little relaxation, loading up on vitamin D, and resetting before the final stretch of the NHL season.

It’s definitely a little strange to have such a long break in February, but it’s the trade-off that comes with Olympic hockey. The players not participating will be back in action sooner than it feels, teams are allowed to start holding practices again on February 18, though some rosters will still be missing their Olympians. It’ll create a bit of a mini training camp vibe around the league. But before we start thinking about the stretch run, this is a good moment for everyone, players and fans alike, to take a breath and enjoy the break.

Full story here.