The U.S. men’s hockey team gathered at the White House with President Donald Trump in attendance. However, five members of the gold medal roster were absent. And immediately, speculations stormed the internet, but a certain Team USA star made his thoughts clear about the reason for his absence.

During a press conference following the White House visit, Jake Guentzel addressed his decision directly, offering an explanation rooted not in politics but in the practical realities of a professional athlete’s calendar.

“Just to go on with the White House stuff, it was just kind of a timing thing for me and my family. I thought it was, I was definitely not denying the request to go. It was obviously a dream come true to go,” he shared. “I was fortunate to go in 2017 when Trump was in office. But just that with the games three and four, we’ve got a lot of games coming up the rest of the year. It’s going to be a tough schedule.”

The statement from the Team USA star about his decision came with a stark reality of the NHL schedule. And just like Guentzel, Kyle Connor of the Winnipeg Jets told The Athletic he was skipping the trip to prepare for an upcoming game. Similarly, Colorado Avalanche’s Brock Nelson remained home to spend time with family. Jake Oettinger and Jackson LaCombe rounded out the list of absentees for their own reasons.

The sentiment was familiar among them, as following the Olympic break, the NHL schedule is about to go into full swing until the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

“So, two weeks of Olympic break, thought it would be good to just kind of come home, rest, and recover. Try to spend some time with my family before we get going. So that’s where I’m at with it,” he said.

In simple words, with the regular season resuming, Guentzel wanted to be ready for the Tampa Bay Lightning. And even if they hold the top position in the Atlantic Division with 78 points, six points ahead of the second-place Montreal Canadiens, anything can happen in the remaining regular-season games. However, are you aware that the President just awarded a unique award to one of the Team USA hockey stars?

Donald Trump happily presented one of the highest honors to the Team USA goalie

With the chants of “USA!” when the gold medalists arrived at the White House, Donald Trump had a special announcement for Team USA’s goaltender, Connor Hellebuyck.

CNN reported that the President will award the Presidential Medal of Freedom, which is the nation’s highest civilian honor, to the goalie. And this is because of the role he played in the gold medal game against Canada.

The 32-year-old, Connor Hellebuyck, stopped 41 of 42 shots and, in the process, set an Olympic record for most saves by a goaltender in a gold medal match involving NHL players. However, the most memorable moment from the match came when he stopped Devon Toews from giving Canada a lead.

“But I have to say that, and I told them this, and we took a vote of the team. I said, ‘Anybody votes no, I’m not doing it.’ So they stood there, and they weren’t about to say no because I’ve never seen a goaltender play as well as goalie Connor Hellebuyck,” Trump said.

“Great athletes have gotten that very great, the best. And I thought he deserved it. And I did take a vote. Every single one of them. I said, ‘I’m not giving it if anybody goes no.’ And every single one of them rapidly put up their hand. So I want to thank you all. What a special job you did. What special champions you are. Thank you very much.”

The time that Team USA spent at the White House was dazzling, and no speculations on the internet will ruin the moment that they deserved after winning that Olympic gold medal for their country after 46 years.