The photographer describes capturing hockey star Jack Hughes’ toothless smile after the gold-medal win: “Still in shock”
Team USA’s Jack Hughes may have scored a game-winning goal against Canada But one photographer captured one indelible moment – an iconic photo of his toothy smile after securing the first US men’s hockey Olympic gold medal since 1980.
Getty Images sports staff photographer Elsa Garrison,
who captured the image after Sunday’s game, told CBS News 24/7 from Milan, “I was just doing my job. Maybe until right after the event I didn’t think, OK, this could be very iconic, very cool.”
The photo shows Hughes with clenched fists, wrapped in an American flag, with a bloodied mouth and broken front teeth. It’s the kind of photo that will probably go down in history.
“I was running around the outskirts of the rink like a mad woman,” Garrison joked, recalling how she captured the celebration.
Garrison said she was in the right place at the right time as she scoped out where Team USA’s families were sitting, expecting the players to skate straight to them after the game. Once the initial celebration ended, she said she “hightailed it” to where Hughes’ family was sitting, with only seconds remaining.
“Even though the games are very spontaneous, I still make a lot of plans in my head with all these different scenarios. So when things happen in a moment, I know exactly what I’m going to do, and I just go after it,” Garrison said, noting that Hughes’ parents were sitting right behind her when she captured the shot.
image of the Hughes 2026 winter olympics It quickly went viral online and made headlines across the country. The 24-year-old NHL star said he lost at least one and maybe two of his front teeth from a high stick late in the game.
Garrison didn’t expect that particular photo to go so viral — but then her phone started ringing nonstop. Her initial Instagram post immediately garnered thousands of likes, and she was tagged in dozens of other posts.
“It hasn’t registered yet. I think it’s a sweet moment for me. “It’s a cool moment,” Garrison said. She said she regularly photographs Hughes during his games with the New Jersey Devils and is very familiar with his playing style. “Honestly, I’m still in shock.”
When asked how it felt to be mentioned alongside the greats of sports photography, Garrison laughed and said, “No pressure.”
He said Hughes’s photograph reflected both his skill and, to some extent, “the luck of the draw”.
He said, “As sports photographers, we love to capture it… and you know, you just have to react to the scenarios and the scenes around you and adopt that game plan.
