President Donald Trump announced Tuesday he would award Connor Hellebuyck, goalie for the U.S. men’s hockey team, with the Presidential Medal of Freedom. Hellebuyck is the 50th athlete to receive the prestigious award. Hellebuyck played a crucial role for the U.S. hockey team in the 2026 Winter Olympics, the Americans’ first gold medal since the 1980 Winter Olympics. In the gold medal game against Canada, Hellebuyck blocked a total of 41 shots, which led to a 2-1 victory. “The members of this great hockey squad will be very happy to hear based on their vote and my vote, and in this case, my vote was more important that I will soon be presenting Connor with our highest civilian honor,” Trump said during the State of the Union address. “Great athletes have gotten that very great, the best. And I thought he deserved it. And I did take a vote.” CONNOR HELLEBUYCK COMES UP HUGE TO DENY MCDAVID. ? pic.twitter.com/bV0sxh8GiG— NBC Olympics & Paralympics (@NBCOlympics) February 22, 2026 Hellebuyck is one of NHL’s top goaltenders with the Winnipeg Jets, a three-time Vezina Trophy winner, and the 2024-25 Hart Trophy winner. He’ll soon join a distinguished list of Presidential Medal of Freedom recipients. In 2016, President Barack Obama gave NBA superstar Michael Jordan the award to recognize his accomplishments. Over the course of playing 15 seasons, Jordan is known as the greatest basketball player of all time. He played for the Chicago Bulls and the Washington Wizards, won six NBA championships, and won two Olympic gold medals for Team USA in 1984 and 1992. Baseball titan Babe Ruth joined the list of athletes after Trump posthumously bestowed the award in 2018. During his playing career, Ruth won a total of seven World Series titles and set the MLB home run record. He played for the Boston Red Sox, the New York Yankees, and the Boston Braves. During his first term, Trump recognized Tiger Woods with the honor in 2019 at a White House ceremony. Woods has won 82 PGA Tour events and 15 major championships. The term “Tiger Slam” was coined when Woods won all four major golf championships consecutively. A list of all athletes who received the Presidential Medal of Freedom is below. RecipientYearSportPresidentRobert J.H. Kiphuth1963Swimming CoachJohn F. KennedyJesse Owens1976Track & FieldGerald FordJoe DiMaggio1977BaseballGerald FordPaul “Bear” Bryant*1983Football CoachRonald ReaganJackie Robinson*1984BaseballRonald ReaganEarl Blaik1986FootballRonald ReaganTed Williams1991BaseballGeorge H.W. BushRichard Petty1992Auto RacingGeorge H.W. BushArthur Ashe*1993TennisBill ClintonHank Aaron2002BaseballGeorge W. BushRoberto Clemente*2003BaseballGeorge W. BushJohn Wooden2003Basketball CoachGeorge W. BushArnold Palmer2004GolfGeorge W. BushFrank Robinson2005BaseballGeorge W. BushMuhammad Ali2005BoxingGeorge W. BushJack Nicklaus2005GolfGeorge W. BushBuck O’Neil*2006BaseballGeorge W. BushBillie Jean King2009TennisBarack ObamaStan Musial2011BaseballBarack ObamaBill Russell2011BasketballBarack ObamaPat Summitt2012Basketball CoachBarack ObamaErnie Banks2013BaseballBarack ObamaDean Smith2013Basketball CoachBarack ObamaCharlie Sifford2014GolfBarack ObamaWillie Mays2015BaseballBarack ObamaYogi Berra*2015BaseballBarack ObamaMichael Jordan2016BasketballBarack ObamaKareem Abdul-Jabbar2016BasketballBarack ObamaVin Scully2016AnnouncerBarack ObamaAlan Page2018FootballDonald TrumpRoger Staubach2018FootballDonald TrumpBabe Ruth*2018BaseballDonald TrumpTiger Woods2019GolfDonald TrumpBob Cousy2019BasketballDonald TrumpRoger Penske2019Auto RacingDonald TrumpMariano Rivera2019BaseballDonald TrumpJerry West2019BasketballDonald TrumpDan Gable2020WrestlingDonald TrumpLou Holtz2020Football CoachDonald TrumpJim Ryun2020Track & FieldDonald TrumpBabe Didrikson Zaharias*2021Golf, Track & FieldDonald TrumpGary Player2021GolfDonald TrumpAnnika Sorenstam2021GolfDonald TrumpSimone Biles2022GymnasticsJoe BidenMegan Rapinoe2022SoccerJoe BidenJim Thorpe*2024FootballJoe BidenKatie Ledecky2024SwimmingJoe BidenMagic Johnson2025BasketballJoe BidenLionel Messi2025SoccerJoe BidenConnor Hellebuyck2026HockeyDonald Trump * Awarded posthumously The post Olympic Hero Connor Hellebuyck Is 50th Athlete to Receive Presidential Medal of Freedom appeared first on The Daily Signal.