U.S. team gets call from President Trump ahead of 4 Nations final vs. Canada

BOSTON -- With the United States hockey team assembled in their dressing room at TD Garden on Thursday morning, general manager Bill Guerin held up his phone. President Donald Trump was on the other end of the line.

The president addressed the U.S. players before they took the ice for morning skate ahead of their matchup with Canada in the 4 Nations Face-Off championship game (8 p.m. ET; Disney+, ESPN+, ESPN, SN, TVAS), the culmination of the first best-on-best tournament in nine years.

"It was a distinct honor," coach Mike Sullivan said. "Politics aside, when the president of the United States takes the time to speak to our players, it's an incredible honor. I think it's an indication, once again, of the impact that this tournament has had on people in the United States. People are paying attention and so I think that's a credit to all the players that have been involved and their commitment to excellence and how competitive these games have been.

"But it was an incredible honor. I know we have a locker room full of proud Americans and when the president of the United States takes the time out of his busy schedule to say a few words to our guys, I know it meant a lot to every one of us."

According to defenseman Noah Hanifin, Trump talked for approximately five minutes during the call.

"Obviously it's cool whenever you can talk to any president or hear him talk," defenseman Zach Werenski said. "I feel like for our group, we're proud Americans and we want to make the country proud and just to hear from him was awesome. Definitely a little bit of a surprise, but a cool moment for sure."

Trump had said earlier in the day, via Truth Social, that he would not be in attendance for the game at TD Garden, but did make the phone call to the team.

"It's a pretty big deal for him to take time out of his schedule to talk to us for five minutes and it's another one of those things where we're kind of pinching ourselves this tournament," J.T. Miller said.

The tournament has been played amidst political tensions between the U.S. and Canada, with the first four games held in Montreal and the final three in Boston.

"The political side of things, we feel for everybody on our side of things, but I think for us to come here and to be in that room it's going to be more for us to win that game than sit there and debate what the game means," Canada coach Jon Cooper said.

"We have to go out there and represent our country and make them proud. For us, if we accomplish that then I think we accomplish what we want to, to make Canadians proud."

Miller said Trump's message was for the team to have fun with the game, to enjoy it. He said that the team has the support of the U.S. and, as Miller added, "We feel that."

"I think any time you can get a call from the president, it's special," Hanifin said. "I think over the last few days, since the game Saturday, it's been apparent just how big this game has become for everybody in both countries.

"It's a great opportunity for us as players. It was pretty cool to get that call. We appreciate all the support from all Americans, everybody around the world that's watching the game. It's a big opportunity for us and we're all excited for tonight."

Werenski said Trump told the team he would be watching the game.

"Just wished us luck," he said. "Said they're all cheering us on."