Matthews says appearing in Olympics commercial with actor Hamm was ‘pretty cool’ 

TORONTO -- Auston Matthews wants another crack at Canada.

And given the recent NBC spot he appeared in promoting the upcoming Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026, so do his Team USA teammates.

Consider the response of the Toronto Maple Leafs captain when asked Wednesday what the Canada-U.S. rivalry means to him, especially with the highly anticipated return to NHL players to the Olympics for the first time since 2014 just two months away.

“It’s huge,” he summed up simply, breaking into a wide grin.

That’s evident in the spot, which debuted during NBC’s “Sunday Night Football” between the Houston Texans and Kansas City Chiefs this week and features Team USA players Matthews, Brady Tkachuk of the Ottawa Senators, Matthew Tkachuk of the Florida Panthers, Quinn Hughes of the Vancouver Canucks, Jack Eichel of the Vegas Golden Knights and Charlie McAvoy of the Boston Bruins.

Matthews chuckled when asked about the promo, which features Emmy-winning actor and huge St. Louis Blues fan Jon Hamm walking into a dressing room to address the Team USA players.

“It’s an honor to speak to you all before you head off to the Olympics,” Hamm says. “You’re going to Milan to bring home the biggest prize of all.”

That’s when Eichel jumps in, saying “Canadian tears.”

Hamm is caught off guard.

“Wait, what?” Hamm asks. “What did Canada do?”

“Stuff,” replies Brady Tkachuk, cueing up a clip from the U.S.-Canada game in the 4 Nations Face-Off at Bell Centre in Montreal in February which featured three fights in the game’s first nine seconds, two of which included the Tkachuk brothers. The U.S. would win the game 3-1 but Canada rebounded to win the championship game 3-2 in overtime at TD Garden in Boston five days later.

“But they’re usually so polite,” Hamm says, referring to Canadians.

“Nooooo,” Matthews responds, shaking his head.

“You sure we can’t just hug it out?” Hamm asks.

The U.S. players break into laughter at that suggestion.

The six players named to the preliminary U.S. roster in June shot the spot in Michigan during Olympic Orientation Camp in August.

“It was funny,” Matthews said of the ad. “Obviously I think it’s very, very exciting to be a part of (the Olympics), and it’s been a long time coming. So we didn’t actually know who was going to be the guy there for the end of the commercial. But it was pretty cool to see (Hamm) hop in there.

“He’s a big hockey fan and being American and all of that, so it’s pretty cool.”

Matthews, who served as the Team USA captain at 4 Nations, said he’s a fan of Hamm, who is most famously known for playing Don Draper on AMC’s “Mad Men.”

“I’ve met him a few times,” the 28-year-old said. “I think I met him at the (2020) NHL All-Star Game in St. Louis not too long ago. I think I met him at one of our games here (too).

“Ya, I’ve kind of interacted with him in passing a couple of times. He’s obviously a big hockey fan. And I’m a big fan of some of his work as well. He’s a great actor. So it’s kind of cool to meet different people from different walks of life and different professionals.”

Explore NHL.com's Coverage of the Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026

As for the potential of facing Canada again, this time in Italy, Matthews said the 4 Nations whetted the appetites of players and fans alike for what could come in Milan-Cortina.

“I think that, just from last February, giving fans and players the opportunity to see the best-on-best kind of format again, I think that draws a lot of eyes and a lot of anticipation toward this February for the Olympics,” he said. “And everybody takes a lot of pride in where they’re from in their respective countries. So I think it’s a great opportunity for everybody.”

Tampa Bay Lightning coach Jon Cooper, who will coach Canada, said earlier this week that he saw the spot.

“Jon’s a friend, so now we got to find out what he's (thinking),” Cooper said. “You know, if it brings more eye to the eyes to the TV sets, that's a good thing.”

Cooper was quick to point out that the U.S. and Canada are not scheduled to play each other in the preliminary round and could only meet in once the field is down to eight.

“Here's the thing. How many times is Canada going to play the US? Potentially zero, one at the most,” Cooper said. “So the tournament, for me, is about them as one of these 11 other teams we got to be. And so I think it’s probably easy to put a lot of thought into like data versus US. We may never even play each other.”

The Olympic hockey tournament will run Feb. 11-22.

Canada plays its first game against Czechia on Feb. 12 with the U.S. playing its first game against Latvia the next day.

NHL.com Independent Correspondent Dave McCarthy contributed to this report