The United States just ended a 46-year Olympic ice hockey drought, and there’s a fascinating Mexican connection to the story.
Auston Matthews, whose mother Ema is from Hermosillo, Mexico, helped lead Team USA to gold at the Milan Cortina Olympics on Sunday, defeating Canada in a historic final.
The victory has gone viral in Mexico, where fans are celebrating Matthews as one of their own.
"I’m grateful to be a Mexican American. I’m proud of where I come from," Matthews once told reporters. The Toronto Maple Leafs captain spent countless childhood days visiting his family’s ranch two hours outside Hermosillo, about six hours south of Phoenix.
Those early years shaped who he is today.
"We’d go there and hang out, there were lots of animals, and we’d do different stuff that we typically didn’t do in Phoenix," Matthews recalled in a 2019 NHL interview.
Now 28, he’s become one of hockey’s biggest stars. Born in California but raised in Scottsdale, Arizona, Matthews was the No. 1 overall pick in the 2016 NHL Draft. Since then, he’s collected an impressive array of hardware – the Maurice "Rocket" Richard Trophy for top scorer, the Hart Trophy as MVP, the Ted Lindsay Award, and Rookie of the Year honors.
But this Olympic gold medal might be his sweetest achievement yet.
Mexican media outlets are treating it as a national victory. ESPN, Claro Sports, and Record have all celebrated Matthews’ success as a proud moment for Mexican sports.
"When you get drafted and do a lot of soul searching, you look back on your childhood and how you got here," Matthews once reflected. "It’s always a little bit emotional when you think of just everything you had to go through."
For a kid who grew up straddling two cultures, bringing Olympic hockey gold to both countries feels like destiny fulfilled.
