NY Islanders C Brock Nelson says call from President Trump was "pretty special"

New York Islanders center Brock Nelson and his Team USA teammates received a call from President Donald J. Trump ahead of their 4 Nations Face-off Championship Game against Team Canada at TD Garden in Boston later tonight.

“Pretty incredible. … For him to take time out of his day, wish us luck, and talk about just enjoying the moment, said Nelson, as Ethan Sears of The New York Post posted on X. " It’s pretty special and something I’ll remember forever.”

Trump became the first President to attend the Super Bowl earlier this month, watching the Philadelphia Eagles trounce the two-time defending champion Kansas City Chiefs in the 1st half before leaving before the end of the game. He has also attended the Daytona 500 this month and has become a frequent attender of college football games. There had been some speculation that Trump would attend the hockey game as well, but he ruled that out on Thursday morning.

The President took to Truth Social to recap his call with Team USA and take the expected jabs at their Canadian counterparts, using it as an opportunity to troll our neighbors to the north with talk of them becoming the 51st state:

"I’ll be calling our GREAT American Hockey Team this morning to spur them on towards victory tonight against Canada, which with FAR LOWER TAXES AND MUCH STRONGER SECURITY, will someday, maybe soon, become our cherished, and very important, Fifty First State. I will be speaking before the Governors tonight in D.C., and will sadly, therefore, be unable to attend. But we will all be watching, and if Governor Trudeau would like to join us, he would be most welcome. Good luck to everybody, and have a GREAT game tonight. So exciting! "

Nelson, a pending unrestricted free agent, has 17 goals and 18 assists in 55 games this season. One the NHL season resumes, the Islanders will have six games before the trade deadline and Nelson remains one of the top, if not the top target on the market if the Isles elect to move him.