As the Winter Olympics are about to take off, it seems NHL players are ready to give their best. After all, this is the return of the best hockey players in the world to the Olympic stage for the first time since the 2014 Sochi Games. Yes, twelve long years! You’d expect the U.S. NHL stars to be front and center, enjoying the Opening Ceremony on February 6, right? Well… not all of them were. But someone else stepped up in a way that caught fans’ attention.

Zach Werenski, 28, making his Olympic debut, chose to attend the ceremony even though his hockey games were still five days away on February 11. He could have arrived late, saved energy, and maybe focused more on the ice. Instead, he joined Team USA in Milan to walk in the parade of nations!

Yes, Zach Werenski changed his travel plans at the very last moment so he could be part of the Opening Ceremony rather than arriving later, as many NHL players do, and then going straight to practice. But why did he do it? Inspiration.

Turns out he watched the Netflix documentary Miracle: The Boys of ’80 just before the Games. The story of the 1980 U.S. men’s Olympic hockey team was actually college kids taking on the Soviet Union, which was the Miracle on Ice— a win no one saw coming. And that hit him.

“I don’t want to leave there and have regrets about anything,” he said. “I felt like maybe I would have regretted not going to the Opening Ceremonies, having a chance to, so that was a big reason.”

Somebody make sure his puck luck goes too. Along with Werenski, Jeremy Swayman, and Charlie McAvoy were also reported to march in the Opening Ceremony. With Werenski’s presence gracing the opening ceremony, it’s just the beginning of what makes this U.S. team special.

NHL stars return with Team USA facing Canada and the hunt for gold

NHL players are returning to the Olympics, the first time since the 2014 Sochi Games. Yeah, the finest in the world, skating on the largest stage. And that changes everything. Travel times, contract extensions, early arrivals… You can feel the buzz. But there comes pressure with it. Pressure on Team USA.

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This is not simply a team that has turned up to play. This team is stacked with Auston Matthews, Jack Eichel, Quinn Hughes, Brady, and Matthew Tkachuk, among others. Serious gold medal contender loaded. That caliber beneath the Stars and the Stripes… it counts.

And then there’s Canada. The rivalry. The history. It has one of the most intense records in international hockey, having won 16 medals—nine of them gold—most recently in Sochi 2014, when NHL players last competed at the Games. And they’re back, too, packed with NHL stars like Sidney Crosby, Nathan MacKinnon, Connor McDavid, Brayden Point, and more.

The U.S., though? Eleven Olympic medals—and among them, only two golds in history: 1960 and the Miracle on Ice in 1980. Iconic. Legendary. Unforgettable. But that’s it. And now… this roster? NHL stars. Hungry. Ready.