When Jack Hughes scored the overtime winner against Canada to secure Olympic gold for Team USA in Milan, he added another chapter to an already historic family résumé.
By the time Jack’s shot beat Jordan Binnington, the Hughes family had already celebrated one gold medal. Earlier in the week, Ellen Weinberg-Hughes helped the U.S. women’s hockey team capture a 2-1 gold medal victory over Canada as a player development consultant. Jack and Quinn Hughes watched from the stands. Days later, they earned gold themselves in the men’s tournament.
It marked the first time the U.S. men’s hockey team won Olympic gold since 1980.
Jim Hughes and Ellen Weinberg-Hughes Built the Hughes Brothers Hockey Foundation
Jack and Quinn are not the only accomplished hockey figures in their family. Their father, Jim Hughes, played college hockey at Providence College before becoming a coach. He spent five years as the Toronto Maple Leafs’ director of player development and later became director of player development for CAA Hockey.
Their mother, Ellen, starred in three sports at the University of New Hampshire: soccer, lacrosse and hockey. She won silver at the 1992 IIHF Women’s World Championships before retiring prior to women’s hockey debuting at the Olympics in 1998. She later worked as a broadcaster before stepping away from television in 2009 to focus on raising her three sons.
Speaking about the Olympic moment in Milan, Jim reflected on the journey.
“For all these families that are in this room right here, it’s a process. It’s a lifetime of experience,” he said to NHLPA.com. “These kids have been going at this since they were eight, nine, 10 and 11. They are trained mentally and physically in preparation. They understand how to play with pressure. They are true professionals.”
He added, “You use all your survival skills. You use all the things that you’ve used over a lifetime of experience. It all kind of comes into one.”
Quinn, Jack, and Luke Hughes All Reached the NHL
The Hughes brothers are the only American siblings to be selected in the first round of the NHL draft.
Quinn went seventh overall to the Vancouver Canucks in 2018 and now plays for the Minnesota Wild after a December trade. Jack was selected first overall by the New Jersey Devils in 2019. Luke went fourth overall to the Devils in 2021.
Quinn also won the Norris Trophy as the NHL’s top defenseman in 2024 and led Team USA with eight points during the Olympic tournament.
Jack tied for the team lead among forwards with seven points and delivered the golden goal.
Luke, also a defenseman, watched from New Jersey while recovering from a shoulder injury that placed him on long-term injured reserve in January 2026.
“Everyone was jumping up and down, really,” Luke told Amanda Stein of the Devils’ team website.
“The only reason the [Canada-born players] were happy was because it was Jack. It’s a weird thing when we’re all watching the game; they’re rooting for Canada, the American guys for the U.S. Then your teammate scores to win it. It’s just such a proud moment for me watching both my brothers win a gold medal and my mom won a gold medal with the women’s Olympic team (as a player development consultant), so we just kind of cleaned up.”
“That’s a huge accomplishment for our family, but more importantly, for the country. Bringing home the (men’s) gold for the first time in 46 years is such an honor. I’m really happy for all [25] of those players on that team.”
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