Quinn Hughes didn't get to play in last year's 4 Nations Face-Off, when Team USA beat Canada in Montreal, and the Canadians won the final. Now, he and his teammates get the opportunity they wanted to face Canada in Milan.
MILAN, Italy - Like most hockey fans, Quinn Hughes was hoping that it would be USA playing against Canada in the gold medal game at the Olympics.
Not because the American defenseman believes Canada is a beatable opponent.
But rather, because Canada provides the biggest test.
"If you're going to win, you want to go through the best. We have that opportunity there," Hughes said following a 6-2 win against Slovakia in the semifinal on Friday. "They're regarded probably now as the best hockey nation after 4 Nations. For us, it's a great opportunity to beat them."
Hughes was injured before last year's 4 Nations Face-Off, so he wasn't on the ice when Connor McDavid scored in overtime to win that four-team tournament a year ago on Friday. Maybe had he been healthy, the outcome would have been different.
"I'm not worried about last year," he said. "Last year happened, and I'm happy to be here right now. I'm just happy to have a chance at having a gold medal and to beat them."
Like Canada, the U.S. went perfect throughout the tournament. But unlike Canada, which had a scare and had to claw back from behind in both the quarterfinal and semifinal, the U.S. cruised to an easy victory in the semifinal against Slovakia.
Still, Sunday's gold medal game will be the biggest test — for both teams.
"We're excited for it. It's the match that everyone wanted," said defenseman Zach Werenski. "We didn't want to look ahead too far. Obviously, we knew we had to beat Sweden and Slovakia. But now that we're here, the focus is on Canada. We know the team they are, it's going to be a challenge for us. But I like our team right now. I like our game. We got better as the tournament went on."
At the 4 Nations, the U.S. defeated Canada 3-1 in the round-robin but lost 2-1 in overtime in the final.
"We know we can definitely play with them and hang with them," said Werenski. "The series was 1-1 last year. We won in Canada, and they won in the final. So it's going to be hard, it's going to be a challenge."
If the U.S. were to win, it would be the country's first gold medal at the Olympics since 1980. Canada, meanwhile, won in 2010 and 2014 — the last two times that NHLers participated at the Olympics.
"It definitely motivates us," said Werenski. "We've talked about it, we're well aware of it. I don't think it's pressure. I think it's fun. It's exciting. We have a chance to do something that not a lot of American hockey players have done. We've got nothing to lose. Just go out there and play hockey, play hard and see what happens at the end of the day. I know I'm excited for it. I'm not nervous yet. I don't know if that will change on Sunday, but this is why you play the game — for moments like this.
"This has been a dream of ours. We're going to take it all in, we're going to embrace the challenge and go right at it."
Of course, not everyone was looking too far ahead.
"I'm going to be honest — I'm not thinking about it now. I'm going to enjoy the win," said goalie Connor Hellebuyck. "Enjoy today, prepare tomorrow and play for gold."
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