Jack Hughes has had plenty of honors since he scored the game-winning goal in overtime to give the U.S. Men’s Hockey team their first gold medal in the Olympics since the Miracle on Ice in 1980.
Throwing out the first pitch for Friday’s home opener at Yankee Stadium is near the top of the list.
Hughes, the Devils star, said he was a “big Yankee fan” and this opportunity was on his mind quickly.
“When everything went down [at the Olympics], this one thing I was wishing [and] hoping for,’’ Hughes said before the Yankees topped Miami, 8-2, in The Bronx. “Opening Day [at the Stadium] is almost too much. It’s a lot of pressure.”
Devils star and Winter Olympics hero Jack Hughes during the Yankees’ home opener on April 3, 2026. Robert Sabo for NY Post
Hughes got the honor alongside the goalie for the gold medal-winning women’s team, Aerin Frankel, a native of Briarcliff Manor — and a fellow Yankees fan.
They were on the field before the game, with Hughes meeting Aaron Judge and Frankel getting a chance to reconnect with another Northeastern University star athlete, Cam Schlittler.
Frankel recalled coming to a game as a child and getting a ball from Derek Jeter at batting practice, while Hughes’ top memory came from a game in Toronto with his father, Jim.
Jack Hughes and fellow Olympian Aerin Frankel threw out the ceremonial first pitches. IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect“My dad sent me up for pretzels,’’ Hughes said. “He took my glove and a foul ball came up towards him as I was coming up the aisle. I don’t think he even stood up and it fell right in his glove.”
Like Frankel, Hughes said he still had the ball.
Hughes’ baseball memories also include playing center field and second base growing up before he gave up the sport to focus on hockey at around 12 years old.
“I wish I played longer,’’ Hughes said. “But it was hockey season and I’d go to batting practice and want to play hockey and then we had [baseball] practice in the gym. I didn’t want to do another year of that.”
The decision paid off — and Hughes got his Yankee Stadium moment anyway, making a solid first pitch.
He practiced when the Devils were in Dallas last week after one of the team’s trainers brought gloves and a baseball on the trip.
“I threw 50 pitches before morning skate and my shoulder was sore so I said, ‘We’ve got to cool it,’” said Hughes, who scored a pair of goals that night against the Stars and has six goals in his past six games.
