The Tamesis
The Sheraton Milan Malpensa Airport Hotel isn’t the grandest venue, but it’s was In the days leading up to the Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics, it has become a hot spot for American athletes. As contestants disembark, the first stop for many will be the “Team America Welcome Event” held in a makeshift atrium on the first floor of the Sheraton, where booths include Ralph Lauren, Skims, New Era and even Starbucks – all Team America sponsors, ready to deliver gifts to incoming athletes. I think right to use Hollywood There were even reporters on site.
There, at the Ralph Lauren factory (the company had tailors, just in case), I met brothers Jack and Quinn Hughes, hockey phenoms. They flew in overnight from JFK International Airport and stopped by to pick up their closing ceremony attire: color-blocked parkas with “2026” emblazoned on the front.
I felt a little sad because there were so many cameras around – a bit hard after the red eye – but the guys didn’t seem to mind. “We’re not bad,” Quinn said of the jet lag.
Quinn, who was born in Orlando, Fla., and Jack, 24, are big names in the National Hockey League, an organization that certainly has stars but doesn’t promote or boast them as often as the NBA or NFL. Jack is the center for the New Jersey Devils and holds the team’s single-season record of 99 points (43 goals, 56 assists) set in 2022-2023. He was selected as an NHL All-Star three times. Quinn, a defenseman with the Minnesota Wild, was a two-time All-Star who led the entire NHL in scoring defense that same season (while playing for the Vancouver Canucks). Quinn was drafted in 2018 and Jake in 2019.
The Hughes brothers come from a famous hockey family. Their younger brother, Luke, also currently plays for the Devils. Their mother, Ellen Weinberg-Hughes, was an adviser to the U.S. women’s hockey team at the same Olympics, which beat rival Canada 5-0 early on. (This is the first time Canada’s women’s team has been shut out of a World Cup) any Winter Olympics. ) Weinberg-Hughes herself was a member of the U.S. women’s national team, helping them win a silver medal at the 1992 World Championships.
With athletes at their core, the prize is what they came here for; family time can wait. “I think all three of us are here to win a gold medal. That’s the most important thing: coming here and trying to do well,” Jack said. “But to do this with Quinn… it’s very special and something I’ve been looking forward to.” (There’s another pair of brothers in the U.S. men’s hockey world: Matthew Tkachuk and Brady Tkachuk.)
