Photographer describes capture of hockey star Jack Hughes

Team USA’s Jack Hughes could have scored the goal winner of the game against Canadabut one photographer captured her own indelible moment: an iconic photo of her toothless smile after capturing the first-ever U.S. men’s hockey championship. olympic gold medal since 1980.

“I was just doing my job. It wasn’t until well after the event that I thought, okay, that could be pretty iconic, pretty cool,” Getty Images sports staff photographer Elsa Garrison, who took the image after Sunday’s game, told News themezone 24/7 from Milan.

The photo shows Hughes, clenched fist, wrapped in an American flag, with a bloodied mouth and chipped front teeth. It’s the kind of image that will probably go down in history.

“I was running around the edge of the track like a crazy person,” Garrison joked, recalling how he captured the celebration.

Garrison said he was in the right place at the right time because he had watched where Team USA’s families were sitting, anticipating that the players would skate directly toward them after the game. Once the initial celebration was over, he said he “rushed” over to where Hughes’ family was sitting, with only seconds to spare.

“Even though sports are very spontaneous, I do a lot of planning in my head with all these different scenarios. So when things happen in a split second, 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.

The image of Hughes in the Winter Olympics 2026 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 after taking a high stick late in the game.

Garrison wasn’t expecting that particular photo to blow up, but then his phone started ringing off the hook. Her initial Instagram post quickly racked up thousands of likes and she was tagged in dozens of other posts.

“It’s not recorded yet. I think for me it’s a lovely moment. It’s a nice moment,” Garrison said, adding that she regularly photographs Hughes during his games with the New Jersey Devils and is very familiar with his style of play. “I’m still in shock, honestly.”

When asked how he felt about being mentioned alongside the greats of sports photography, Garrison just laughed: “No pressure.”

He said Hughes’ photo reflects both his skill and a bit of the “luck of the draw.”

“As sports photographers, that’s what we love to capture… And you know, you just have to react to the settings and the scene around you and have that plan of action,” he said.