Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce know how to steal thunder. The star couple announced their engagement on the same day that USA Hockey opened its Olympic Orientation Camp in Michigan.
The two-day event doesn’t include any formal on-ice training and is mainly focused on team bonding. Out of 44 invitees, five players have Olympic experience, including Tampa Bay Lightning defenseman Ryan McDonagh. The Minnesota-born player represented Team USA during the 2014 Sochi Olympics in Russia, scoring one goal and one assist in six games. The veteran blueliner is in his final year of his current contract (7 years, $47.5 million).
Other notable attendees representing the Florida-based teams are Seth Jones (Florida Panthers) and Jake Guentzel (Lightning). Both Tkachuk brothers made it to the U.S. Men’s Olympic Orientation Camp list, but Matthew Tkachuk (Panthers) must focus on his health and recovery. Initially, USA Hockey announced that Matthew would be one of the first six members of the 2026 U.S. Olympic Men’s Ice Hockey roster. After winning the second Stanley Cup in a row, the power forward made a difficult decision to have surgery to fix his lingering injury. He will miss the start of the Panthers’ season but still aims for a return to the Olympics in Italy.
His absence is a significant loss for the Panthers and potentially Team USA. He is expected to be back sometime in January, according to ESPN reports.
Team Canada has more representatives from Florida-based teams, including the coaching staff. There will be more Olympic news to follow.