Hughes meets photographer who snapped iconic Olympic photo

It’s a photo of Jack Hughes that will go down in history.

And now, the subject of the iconic photograph has met the photographer.

The New Jersey Devils forward met up with Elsa Garrison – who snapped the iconic shot of Hughes, draped in an American flag, celebrating after his golden goal at the Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026 – before the Devils game against the New York Rangers on Saturday.

Garrison is a New Jersey local and often photographs Devils games.

The two posed for a photo after Hughes gifted Garrison with a signed copy of the picture.

“It was kind of surreal," Garrison said of meeting Hughes before the game. "It was kind of surreal and I was kind of like, this is cool. We're both kind of [tied] together because of that moment.”

Garrison is also the photographer behind the picture of Philadelphia Eagles running back Saquon Barkley’s backwards hurdle from 2024, and the photo of Olympic gymnasts Simone Biles and Jordan Chiles bowing to gold medalist Rebeca Andrade at the 2024 Games.

-- NHL.com Senior Draft Writer Mike G. Morreale contributed to this report