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The Americans’ top blue-liner often stares into distance when on the bench. He says he’s just thinking about the game, readying himself for his next shift.
Hughes scored the winner in Team USA’s overtime win over Sweden in Wednesday’s quarterfinal at the 2026 Winter Olympics. Bruce Bennett
February 19, 2026 | 9:06 AM
2 minutes to read
MILAN — When the camera pans over to hockey players on the bench, some have a fire in their eyes. Others look joyful, like they’re having a blast.
Some think Team USA defenseman Quinn Hughes appears a bit, well, haunted.
The Americans’ top blue-liner, and hero of their overtime win over Sweden in Wednesday’s quarterfinal at the 2026 Winter Olympics, often stares into middle distance when he’s sitting on the bench. He says he’s just thinking about the game, readying himself for his next shift.
But in some hockey spaces on the internet, “Quinn Hughes sees ghosts” has become a running gag that celebrates the former Vancouver Canucks captain and current Minnesota Wild star’s moments of motionless, slack-jawed reflection.
As someone who has been browsing Hockey Internet here and there since the days of AOL chat rooms, I can tell you that a) it can be a very, very strange place, b) some of the memes are pretty funny and c) fans connect over this kind of stuff. No matter who you are or where you are in the world — Vancouver, Canada or Vítkovice, Czechia — if you know the bit, you know the bit.
Fans were shocked — he knows! — when Hughes referenced the meme on Sunday after Team USA’s semifinal win over Germany at Milan’s Santagiulia Arena. I was chatting with him away from the mass of reporters in the mixed zone.
I asked Hughes if he was amused by the antics of his talkative teammate Matthew Tkachuk, who had been caught on camera giving lip to German captain (and Stanley Cup playoff rival) Leon Draisaitl.
Ever chuckle when you hear the Tkachuks chirping?
Quinn Hughes: “Sometimes you hear some funny stuff out there, but yeah … as the people say, I’m usually seeing ghosts, so I’m usually focused on myself.”
— Matt Porter (@mattyports) February 15, 2026
“Sometimes you hear some funny stuff out there,” Hughes said, “but yeah … as the people say, I’m usually seeing ghosts, so I’m usually focused on myself.”
The quote rocketed around Reddit and was picked up by E! Online — which made me chuckle by reporting that Hughes “broke his silence” on the matter — and People Magazine. The tweet gained 1 million views in three days.
That was before Hughes broke the internet again, playing close to half of a Winter Olympic elimination game and scoring the OT winner.
That goal will haunt Sweden for a long time.
“Unbelievable moment for our country and for USA Hockey,” said teammate Dylan Larkin, of the Detroit Red Wings. “For him to do it, it gives me chills.”
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