Jack Hughes made history at the 2026 Olympics, and he didn’t need teeth to do it.

The Team USA hockey player—who scored the winning goal against Canada—shared what went through his head the moment he got his teeth knocked out during the Feb. 22 game. 

“My first thought was, ‘draw the penalty,’” Jack said at the USA Men’s Hockey Gold Medal Press Conference. “Actually, my first thought was, I looked on the ice and saw my teeth.”

“Like, ‘here we go again,’” he recalled. “Because I know the last time that happened it wasn’t very fun.”

But losing teeth is just the name of the game. So, after Canadian forward Sam Bennett took out at least three of Jack’s with a high stick to the mouth, the New Jersey Devils player wasn’t too phased. 

“It sounds definitely crazy for you guys because it’s just a different profession, but in hockey, if you lose your teeth, it’s not even a question of coming back and playing,” he said in an interview with NBC Chicago. “That’s like automatic.”

However, frustration did eventually set in.