Slavin reflects on his Olympic gold medal journey, from family joys and faith to embracing the whirlwind experience and lasting gratitude.
Carolina Hurricanes defenseman Jaccob Slavin is an Olympic gold medalist, having captured gold with Team USA in a 2-1 overtime win over Team Canada.
Slavin met with the media in Raleigh today to discuss his experience in Italy and with Team USA:
Jaccob Slavin
On the experience: The whole experience was awesome. First and foremost, you guys know me, you know where I stand with my faith and my purpose and the game of hockey and being able to have my family there to enjoy it with me, we just give all the glory to God. It was such an amazing time, a wonderful experience being able to glorify him on a world stage and to win gold doing it was so much fun. So whether we won gold or we didn't, we were just gonna praise him and give him all the glory. So that was fun. The village was fun, Milan was fun. My wife enjoyed it. It was the first time overseas for her, so she had a good time. She even went up to Switzerland one time. I didn't go with her, but she had fun with the kids. Everything about it was just such a fun experience and I'm just gonna cherish that for a long.
On if he ever dreamed of being a gold-medal winning Olympian: I think as a hockey player as a kid I did. I don't know how serious I really dreamt about it, but you watch the movie Miracle as a kid and you're like, "Oh, that'd be so fun to do one day." So I guess you could say I dreamt about it, but I didn't know how much of a reality it could be until the last couple of years. Just such a joy to be over there and to experience it with all the other Olympic games and events. Whether that was the women's games or the speedskating. One of the first days off, we went to watch the mixed relay speedskating and it was so cool. Italy ended up winning and since we were in Italy, the crowd went nuts. Just taking it all in was awesome. Take the city in and all of it was just really cool.
On if he was able to compartmentalize all of the different experiences over the past few weeks or if it was just too much of a whirlwind: Probably a little bit of both. I actually had a friend from church give me a voice note this morning that just said, "Just mark it down. Whatever, anything, all of it. Just mark it down to be able to look back on it." So I've compartmentalized it a little bit, but it's been a bit of a whirlwind. But I just look at it with gratitude. All of it together. Whether it's the games, the experience, the traveling, the food it Italy. Just gratitude and just happy to have been able to experience it and just happy in God for protecting me when I was over there and also through the season with the injuries I've had over the year. Just trusting in his timing with it all and getting to a spot where I was healthy enough to go play. Again, I just look at it with gratitude.
On going to the White House: It was really cool. You walk up and usually you see it from so far away when you're in DC as a spectator, but then to be able to walk up to it and realize just how tall it is standing at the base of it. You go into all the separate rooms and then into the Oval Office and it was just a cool experience to be inside the White House. I mean, not a lot of people get to do that, so to be able to be there and do it was really cool. The pictures, the history, the one walkway leading to the West Wing with all the presidents along the wall. There's only 47 of them, so there's not many on that wall, so it's cool to see the history and read some of the history on the presidents on the wall. It was just a really cool place to be.
On the gold-medal game: The game itself was awesome. So much fun. As Roddy likes to put it, we got a stress game for a lot of it, but Hellebuyck played unbelievable. But going into overtime, I knew I probably wasn't going to get out there, so in my mind, I'm like, "Okay, I did my job. The PK was good, we didn't get scored on. If we have another PK, I'll be ready, but I don't think I'm going out there." So I guess the stress was kind of off me a little bit and so was on the other guys, but then you see Jack Hughes' shot go in and it's just like, "Oh, let's go!" It was such a fun moment. That's like the first real championship I've ever won in my life. Maybe played a couple of youth tournaments, a couple of baseball tournaments growing up I might have won, but in terms of serious tournaments and championships, that was the first one I've won. So there was just so much excitement. I think I lost my voice before the anthem was played. But it was just so fun. To see the shot go in was just relief, excitement, joy, crowd goes nuts, family is going nuts in the stands. It was just so much fun. Emersyn couldn't even watch overtime. I think she was a little too stressed out.
On attending the State of the Union: Like, when you get invited to the White House, regardless of who the president is, not everyone gets that opportunity and privilege to go and take part in so much history that has taken place there. So that was a privilege to be able to go. For the guys that couldn't make it, I think they wish they could have been there, but obviously we have an NHL schedule coming back up so people had to travel and get back home. I think it was just a privilege.
On embracing Seth Jarvis in the handshake line: I love that guy and being able to battle against him on that kind of stage and knowing the emotions he went through or was going through. We had a little bit of those emotions last year at 4 Nations, so now we just had the roles reversed. So it was one of those games where you want to win so bad and then you don't and you're just so bummed and sad. On the other side of things, for me, I was ecstatic and happy and joyful and celebrating. So it was just one of those moments where I was just like, "Man, love you, great battle," and that was really all that was said in those moments. He doesn't want any pity during that moment or anything like that, but he knows that there's just so much at stake. One person is so happy and one person is so sad, but at the end of the day, I love him and love battling with him much more than battling against him.
On carrying his faith through the tournament: For me, it just puts it all in perspective. Going to the Olympics and being able to compete on a world stage, it doesn't build the nerves for me. Knowing that whether it's the Olympic gold medal game or whether it's an NHL preseason game, my mindset is still the same of wanting to glorify God with the abilities he's given me and play with the confidence that he instills in me. Knowing I'm not playing for the media, for the approval of fans, of coaches, of players, whatever it is, I'm not out there searching for their approval. I'm out there to play for him and to glorify him regardless of performance and knowing that whatever my performance is, he's still gonna love me. So just the perspective of that helps me have confidence and stay even keeled and go through whatever circumstances it may be with joy, with confidence. Winning the gold medal is obviously such a blessing and such an amazing thing to do, but also with that, it gives me the same perspective that I can't take this [medal] to the grave with me when I die. So as much of an honor as it is to win this and do it representing the USA, I know it's something that's fleeting and that it's gonna pass. But the joy of the Lord is what lasts forever for me, so I really keep that as my main focus and my true identity as his child and that's where my true joy comes from. Perspective is the biggest thing.
On forming a historic bond with the USA team: I haven't given that too much thought, I guess. The past couple of days have been a little crazy, but it is really cool to sit here and be able to dwell on it a little bit. Like, yeah, you're walking in history now. It was such an amazing group of guys that we won with and there's a lot of happiness to be had in that, but at the same time, it makes you taste victory and now like, I want to come back and do that with these guys, the Canes. To win a Cup with them, the guys you battle all year long with. But as far as the USA group goes, it's something where it is incredible to know that we get to celebrate this together for a long time.
On what he learned from the experience that he hopes to carry with him: One of the biggest things you learn is that winning's fun and being able to win the last game of a tournament is a lot of fun. Just the hope that we have for our team, especially this year with the team that we have and the pieces that we have here, we have the capability to win the last game of the year here too and hoist that Stanley Cup. You take the hope from that, but from a hockey experience, you see what it takes to win a championship and just the consistency that you have to have all across the board. I mean, obviously, Hellebuyck played unbelievable and the only reason we won that game was because of the goaltending, but knowing that you have to have all things firing, the penalty kill was perfect in the tournament, so being able to have a good penalty kill, good goaltending all through the playoffs, our power play needs to be kicking as well. It's just the consistency that you have to have across the team game is something that we need to make sure we have here.
On the level of competition at the Olympics: It was incredible. As a defenseman, you love it. You love playing in those types of games, especially like a gold medal game where they have that power play with the guys they have and knowing how dangerous they are. As a defenseman, I loved it. The experience as a whole was something where you just soak it all up. You just take it in. Even teams with guys that you wouldn't normally see because they're not in the NHL, they competed so hard. The caliber of hockey, the intensity of the hockey being played was just top notch. I think 4 Nations gave a good taste of that, so knew a little bit of what to expect going into it, but overall, it was just such a fun experience and that's the kind of hockey you want to play.
On the team honoring Johnny Gaudreau: It was incredible and super emotional for a lot of those guys. For myself, I didn't know Johnny very well. Obviously I know the tragedy that happened and what his family has gone through and what his wife and kids have gone through. For them to be there and for them to be able to celebrate him and the memory of him was something that was so incredible. I know it was an emotional time for his family, an emotional time for the guys on the team who played with Johnny and knew Johnny growing up. Even not knowing him and never not really playing with him, just having gone up against him, it was still just an emotional thing for everybody. I think they did an amazing job honoring him and his family.
On winning gold alongside the USA women's national team: It was incredible. My sister had a lot of aspirations to play for the Olympic team one day and so it was a little bit of a sad thing for her to be there at the same time. She looked at me at one point and she goes, "I could have played in this hockey." She was obviously thrilled though. We were watching the gold medal in the PA lounge with my family and my sister and, oh man, we were so thrilled when they ended up winning. It was awesome for us, awesome for them. Those girls were just dominant in that tournament. It's amazing to see just the state of USA hockey, where it's at with women's hockey, where it's at with men's hockey. You go 2-for-2 in ice hockey, I mean, it's just awesome. It just speaks to USA hockey in general. But just so incredible by the women. Now hopefully the Paralympics too, right? We have a guy going from North Carolina [Kayden Beasley], so hopefully he can go and they can make it 3-for-3. I know the Paralympic team is solid. It's just cool to see where hockey is at in the US.
On playing against his teammates: Haven't talked to Jarv much, but just the emotion of, again, winning and losing, there was a lot there. I'll say that I like when they're on my team, because playing against them isn't fun because they're good hockey players. But, you get out there and once the puck drops, I think everyone is in it and they're excited and proud to represent their countries, so they're going to do whatever it takes to win. At the same time, you still have that history with them of friendship and being teammates. I think we're all pretty good at putting that aside for the time of the game, but even after, like seeing Fishy in the village, it was always just like, 'Oh, hey man! How're you doing?" Catching up and wanting to hangout more, but also understanding you're there with your country, so you don't spend too much time together. It was just cool to see. Even Fly and Freddie, playing against them... I almost hurt Fly, didn't mean to do that. Was happy to know he wasn't hurt. It was just a fun experience being able to do it, but again, much rather be playing on the same side as them.
On forming connections with guys that are NHL rivals: When you compete in the NHL and you battle against them, you hate to play against them, but when they're on your side, you like having them on your side. The intensity that they bring to the game, you don't get to see it because you're not in the locker room with them all the time. But now you see it on this stage and guys that you might have some preconceptions of in just how they might be in the locker room, it's just totally different when you get in there and realize just the competitors that they are. It's cool to have that experience, but again, you hate when you're playing against them, but when they're on your side, you don't mind it.
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