Colorado’s Jaccob Slavin just became the second American ever to win Olympic gold and the Stanley Cup in the same year
Jun 18, 2026, 1:50 PM
Jaccob Slavin was born in a Denver hospital, raised in Erie, learned to skate at the Hyland Hills rink, suited up for the Littleton Hawks and the Colorado Thunderbirds, and played college hockey at Colorado College in Colorado Springs. Then he left the state, moved to North Carolina, and quietly became one of the most accomplished hockey players Colorado has ever produced.
On Sunday, the 32-year-old Carolina Hurricanes defenseman hoisted the Stanley Cup after Carolina defeated the Vegas Golden Knights 3-0 in Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Final, clinching the franchise’s first championship in 20 years. Slavin recorded an assist on Taylor Hall’s opening goal and logged among the most ice time of any Hurricanes skater in the series.
That alone would have been enough for a career highlight. But Slavin had already punched his ticket to history four months earlier in Milan, where he helped Team USA win an Olympic gold medal in a stunning upset over Canada at the 2026 Winter Olympics. With both trophies now on his résumé in the same calendar year, Slavin joins Ken Morrow — of the legendary 1980 “Miracle on Ice” squad, who went on to win the Cup with the New York Islanders that spring — as the only two American-born players to accomplish the feat. Only nine players from any country have ever done it.
Back in Erie, they already knew. In February, as Slavin left for Italy, his neighbors lined the streets for an impromptu sendoff parade, cheering him through town from the window of his car. He is just the second person born in Colorado to have his name engraved on the Stanley Cup, joining John Grahame, a backup goaltender for the 2004 Tampa Bay Lightning.
His brother Josiah, meanwhile, captains the AHL’s Chicago Wolves, who are currently competing in the Calder Cup Finals — meaning both Slavin brothers could end 2026 as champions. Their parents, Robert and Wendi, raised five kids in Erie. All of them played hockey.
