The Washington Capitals are facing off against the Carolina Hurricanes in the second round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. After losing Game 1 in overtime on Tuesday, the Capitals are hoping to bounce back in Game 2 on Thursday. But in the meantime, an unrelated viral moment featuring Donald Trump is giving Capitals fans a good laugh—while likely irritating some Canadians.
President Donald Trump, who has been in office since January, is no stranger to grabbing headlines—regardless of where you stand on his politics. In his latest comments directed at Canada, Trump attempted to express admiration for the country and its people. But in doing so, he made one glaring mistake.
Donald Trump about hockey
While praising Canada, Trump brought up hockey—widely considered the national sport—and tried to compliment the game by referencing a star player. Unfortunately, he incorrectly identified Washington Capitals captain Alexander Ovechkin as Canadian.
Awkward mistake with Ovechkin
“I love Canada, I have a lot of respect for the Canadians. Wayne Gretzky, The Great One. We happen to have a very good hockey player here on the Capitals—he’s a big, tough-looking dude. He just broke the record, he’s a great guy,” Trump said, referring to Ovechkin—who, as any hockey fan knows, is Russian. The mix-up quickly sparked amusement among fans.
“Like many Americans, he assumes everyone playing hockey must be Canadian,” one user wrote on X (formerly Twitter).
“That’ll go over well in Canada,” another quipped.
You can watch the clip below.
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