If you’ve been following the 2026 Milano Cortina Winter Olympics, you might have caught a moment on February 22 that should have made every UMass Amherst fan jump up and cheer.
Cale Makar, a UMass hockey alumnus, won Olympic silver with Team Canada, and yes, this is the kind of local connection that deserves more than a passing mention.
This is the story of how a kid who played two seasons at UMass ended up on the world’s biggest ice hockey stage.
From Amherst Ice to Olympic Glory
Makar hails from Calgary, Alberta. His time at UMass (2017-2019) was brief but unforgettable. In his second season, he won the Hobey Baker Award, which is basically the Heisman Trophy of college hockey.
That award doesn’t just recognize talent; it signals that you’re about to do something significant in the sport. For Amherst residents who follow college hockey, that name became synonymous with excellence.
He wasn’t just good. He was the kind of player who made you want to go and watch games at the Mullins Center.
After leaving UMass, Makar went on to play professional hockey, eventually landing with the Colorado Avalanche in the NHL. But the Olympics are different.
They’re the moment when professional athletes become national heroes, when the sport transcends the regular season and becomes about something bigger. For Makar, that moment came in Italy last week.
The gold medal game that almost was
Canada made it to the Gold Medal game, which meant Makar was playing for the highest stakes. In that final match, he scored Canada’s only goal. One goal. In the Gold Medal game.
At the Olympics. That’s the kind of moment that defines a career, even if the final result didn’t go Canada’s way.
They took home silver, but Makar’s performance across the tournament was stellar. He finished with six points in six games, which for a defenseman in Olympic competition is genuinely impressive.
Think about what that means for a moment. A player who learned his craft on the ice at UMass, who won the Hobey Baker Award in a Minutemen uniform, just played in the Olympic Gold Medal game. That’s not a small thing. That’s the kind of achievement that connects a small college town to the world stage.
The Hobey Baker legacy
It’s worth noting that the Hobey Baker Award, which Makar won in 2019, is given to the best college hockey player in the United States. It’s not a participation trophy. It’s not a regional award. It’s the award. And Makar won it while wearing a UMass jersey. That puts him in a specific category of player: the kind who doesn’t just play college hockey, but who defines an era of it.
Now he’s an Olympic medalist, and the guy who scored in the Gold Medal game.
Now he’s the player that kids in Amherst can point to and say, “He played at UMass.”
If you didn’t catch the Olympics, or if you missed the moment Makar scored, it’s worth watching the first clip above.
PHOTO: Cale Makar after scoring the equalizer in the 2026 Winter Olympics Hockey finals. Screenshot Courtesy NBC Sports
