Jon Hamm gets a reality check on U.S.–Canada hockey rivalry in locker room

Nbc reports that actor Jon Hamm recorded a locker-room pep talk for the U.S. men’s Olympic hockey team ahead of the 2026 Milan Cortina Winter Olympics, only to be promptly schooled by players about the intense rivalry with Canada.

In the joint featurette titled "The Speech: USA Hockey heads to the Milan Cortina Olympics," Hamm delivered a trope-filled address — "Team USA, listen up" made him get "chills" — but the moment hit a snag when Jack Eichel said he wanted to see "Canadian tears." Hamm replied, "Exactly! Wait, what?" and asked, "What did Canada do?" The players pointed to recent on-ice hostility: in February 2025, the two men's teams met in the 4 Nations Face-Off and three separate fights broke out in the first 9 seconds of the game.

Hamm even suggested, "Are we sure we can't just... hug it out?" which drew laughter from the locker room. The men's squad does not face Canada in the preliminary round, so any meeting would come in the elimination round; the women's U.S. team is scheduled to play Canada on Tuesday, February 10, at 2:10 p.m. ET, live on Peacock and USA Network. The women's tournament opens for Team USA on Thursday, February 5 against Czechia, and the men's team begins its preliminary games one week later.