JON HAMM GIVES MOTIVATIONAL LOCKER ROOM SPEECH TO TEAM USA HOCKEY IN NEW PROMO FOR NBCUNIVERSAL’S COVERAGE OF MILAN CORTINA 2026 OLYMPIC WINTER GAMES
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STAMFORD, Conn. – Dec. 7, 2025 – Primetime Emmy and Golden Globe-winning actor Jon Hamm gives a motivational locker room speech to Team USA Men’s Hockey in a new promotional spot for NBCUniversal’s coverage of the upcoming Milan Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games. The spot debuted during Sunday Night Football’s coverage of the Houston Texans at Kansas City Chiefs tonight. The Opening Ceremony of the Milan Cortina Olympic Winter Games is Feb. 6, 2026, on NBC and Peacock, with the men’s hockey gold medal game to be presented live on Sunday, Feb. 22, at 8 a.m. ET on NBC and Peacock.
In the 30-second promotional spot, Hamm speaks to the U.S. Olympic men’s hockey team before they travel to Milan. “Woah. I just got chills. Did you guys feel that?” Hamm asks as he walks into the team’s locker room. In a moment reminiscent of the iconic 1980 U.S. Olympic men’s hockey team’s journey to the gold medal, Hamm tells the team that they are going to Milan to bring home “the biggest prize of all” – to which four-time NHL All-Star Jack Eichel of the Vegas Golden Knights responds, “Canadian tears.”
This leads to a fun exchange between Hamm and the rest of the Team USA players, featuring Norris Trophy winner Quinn Hughes of the Vancouver Canucks, seven-time NHL All-Star Auston Matthews of the Toronto Maple Leafs (pictured above), NHL All-Star Charlie McAvoy of the Boston Bruins, and four-time NHL All-Star Brady Tkachuk of the Ottawa Senators, that riffs on the United States’ rivalry with Team Canada. Hamm asks Team USA if they could possibly “hug it out” with Canada, to which the players immediately scoff. Hamm ends his speech with a resounding, “Go get ‘em, boys.” Eichel, Hughes, Matthews, McAvoy, and Tkachuk (along with older brother Matthew Tkachuk) have all been named to the U.S. team set to compete in Milan, with the full roster to be announced at a later date.
After Canada’s overtime win against the U.S. at the inaugural 4 Nations Face-Off international tournament earlier this year in February, the longstanding rivalry between the two countries has only intensified. It dates to the first-ever Olympic hockey tournament at the 1920 Antwerp Olympics, where the Canadians beat the U.S., 2-0, in the semifinals en route to the first-ever Olympic hockey gold medal. Since then, Canada has won eight more Olympic men’s hockey gold medals (1924, 1928, 1932, 1948, 1952, 2002, 2010, 2014), and a total of 16 Olympic medals, the most of any country. The U.S. has won 11 Olympic men’s ice hockey medals, including two golds (1960, 1980) and most recently a silver at the 2010 Vancouver Games in an overtime final which Canada won and remains the most-watched hockey game in the U.S. (27.6 million viewers) since the 1980 Lake Placid Olympics. Canada also defeated the U.S., 5-2, in the gold medal game at the 2002 Olympic Winter Games in Salt Lake City.
The U.S.-Canada rivalry is amplified by the women’s teams, which have met in the gold medal game in each of the past four Olympic Winter Games and six of seven overall. Canada holds a 4-2 lead in those Games, including defeating Team USA for the gold at the 2022 Beijing Olympic Winter Games.
“With the Olympics welcoming back NHL players after 12 years, next year’s hockey tournament in Milan will see the world’s best face off in what is primed to be one of the centerpieces of the Winter Games,” said Joseph Lee, SVP, Creative Marketing, Sports & Entertainment, NBCUniversal. “As a passionate hockey fan, who better than Jon Hamm to deliver a rousing send off speech to Team USA as they head to Italy where they look to face one of their most intense rivals – Canada.”
Jon Hamm, a devoted St. Louis Blues fan, is a Primetime Emmy Award and Golden Globe-winning actor. For his iconic role of Don Draper in the critically-acclaimed AMC series Mad Men, Hamm was nominated for the Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series eight consecutive years, winning the prestigious award in 2015. At the Golden Globes, he was also nominated for Best Actor in a Television Series – Drama six times for the same role, winning in both 2007 and 2015. Hamm’s notable television credits also include Fargo, Landman, The Morning Show, and Your Friends & Neighbors. Hamm has had a prolific film career as well, appearing in movies such as The Town, Bridesmaids, Baby Driver, Richard Jewell, and Top Gun: Maverick. Additionally, Hamm has hosted NBC’s Saturday Night Live four times.
Following its debut on Sunday Night Football, the spot will run within sports and entertainment programming for the next few months across numerous NBCUniversal linear, streaming, and social media platforms.
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With unique and unforgettable backdrops throughout northern Italy, the 2026 Olympic Winter Games will span from Milan to Cortina with events taking place across multiple venues and regions. This will be the second time the Olympics are held in Cortina (1956 Olympic Winter Games) and the fourth time overall that Italy has hosted an Olympic Games (1960 Rome Olympics and 2006 Olympic Winter Games in Torino, which is the last time there was a Winter Games in the Central European Time Zone).
In February 2025, NBCU announced that the NBC broadcast network and streaming service Peacock will be the company’s primary platforms for its coverage of the 2026 Milan Cortina Olympic Winter Games, scheduled for Feb. 6-22, 2026. Click here for more programming information and here for information about the Paralympics, which will take place March 6-15, 2026.
NBCUniversal owns the U.S. media rights to the Olympic Games through 2036, which are scheduled for Milan Cortina (2026), Los Angeles (2028), French Alps (2030), Brisbane (2032), Salt Lake City (2034), and the 2036 Summer Games.
–2026 MILAN CORTINA OLYMPICS–
