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In an interview with Pakinomist Digital earlier this year, “Miracle on Ice” goaltender Jim Craig said he hoped this year’s U.S. Olympic men’s hockey team would show “the same commitment” his 1980 team had. Well, this team has won him over.
In an Instagram post showing the celebration of the USA’s overtime win over Sweden in the quarterfinals, Craig praised this year’s Olympic team as it prepared for a gold medal game against Canada on Sunday.
“You can feel it. The preparation. The poise. The response when it matters most,” Craig wrote.
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Jim Craig celebrates Team USA’s victory over the USSR on February 22, 1980. (Disney General Entertainment Content via Getty Images)
“Great teams don’t chase history – they make it. The 1980 team proved what faith can do. This group has the same edge. Different names on the back. Same name on the front. That badge carries history. It carries sacrifice. It carries faith.
“Congrats on the win, @usahockey. One more.”
When Craig played in the Olympics, NHL players were not allowed to participate. Craig was all for having the “best athletes in the world” compete, but on one condition.
“I just hope they have the same commitment that the amateurs had, right? That what’s most important is not their brand or where they play. It’s about representing their country and it’s not about themselves,” Craig told Pakinomist Digital last month.
Quinn Hughes of Team United celebrates with teammates after scoring a goal in overtime during the Men’s Quarterfinal Playoff match between USA and Sweden on Day 12 of the Milan Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics at the Milan Santagiulia Ice Hockey Arena on February 18, 2026 in Milan, Italy. (Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)
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“That’s what I’m really proud of our teammates that we were able to do. It wasn’t about who was going to get the best contract, where are you going to go, how much money are you going to make? It was about what was really important and that’s representing your country.”
For Craig, last year’s 4 Nations Face-Off proved as such, but clearly for Craig, this team has confirmed that.
“You can be politically correct all you want, but you can see how unpolitically correct those teams were,” Craig said of the 4 Nations teams. with a laugh. “Canada wanted to win and the United States wanted to win and you can even see how Canada has picked their team [this year]. I mean, their teams are now not just the greatest athletes. It’s an ingredient in things needed to beat the US.
“They are tougher, there are players who like Herb [Brooks] said: ‘I’m not looking for the best players, I’m looking for the right players.’ I really think that now when they go into the Olympic Games, it’s not whoever scores the most. They’re really looking for something that’s going to help them win, and that’s something Herb did a long time ago.”
USA’s Tage Thompson, second right, celebrates with his teammates after scoring his team’s fourth goal during a preliminary round men’s ice hockey match between the United States and Germany at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan, Italy, Sunday, Feb. 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)
The puck drops to gold at 8:10 a.m. ET on Sunday — the 46th anniversary of the “Miracle on Ice.”
