Revisiting Jack Hughes’ and Alysa Liu’s 2019 letters after Olympic goldIn 2019, Jack Hughes and Alysa Liu wrote to their retired selves. In 2026, the words they wrote as rising stars now read like prophecy. Elsa/Getty Images; Stephanie Scarbrough/APESPN staffFeb 23, 2026, 07:07 PM ETMultiple Authors
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Editor’s Note: In 2019, we asked a group of rising athletes to imagine their futures and write letters to themselves from the day they retired. Two of those athletes — Jack Hughes and Alysa Liu — stood atop the Olympic podium as gold medalists at the 2026 Winter Games. As they celebrate the biggest moment of their careers thus far, we’re revisiting the words they once wrote about the futures they hoped to build.
Seven years ago, they were prodigies with promise. Now, they’re Olympic champions.
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In 2019, Jack Hughes — then a projected top NHL draft pick — and Alysa Liu, a teenage figure skating prodigy already turning heads, wrote about dreams still forming, goals not yet realized and the kind of careers they hoped to look back on one day with pride.
This month, those futures came into sharper focus.
Hughes delivered the golden goal in overtime to secure Team USA’s men’s hockey title. and Liu captured Olympic gold with a showing that cemented her place in the sport’s history.
Before the medals, there were dreams. Revisit the letters they wrote before they became Olympic gold medalists.
Jack Hughes
Before being selected No. 1 in the 2019 NHL draft, Jack Hughes reflected on the journey that led him there. Diwang Valdez for ESPNDo you remember the night you and Cole Caufield broke the National Team Development Program’s all-time points and goal-scoring records on the same play? That assist was your 190th point on Cole’s 105th goal. The equipment manager had to saw the puck in half so we could both have a piece.
I’m writing this to you as draft day nears, and it feels like so much has built to this moment, including that assist. You wanted to go No. 1, and you put in a lot of work to get there. It was a crazy year, but it was fun too. You got a chance to compete alongside USA Hockey’s best young players-faces I’m sure you’ve seen time and again in the NHL.
Look at all the guys who played there before you — Patrick Kane, Auston Matthews, Jack Eichel. It’s special to be on top of that record book. Hopefully by the time you read this the record still stands!
And remember those winters? All day and night on the outdoor rink with Quinn and Luke? That’s where everything started. Your brothers made you who you are on and off the ice. I hope they’ll be able to say you did the same for them and that they had great NHL careers too.
Maybe you even suited up with them a couple of times in the NHL. Maybe we all represented the United States at the Olympics or World Championships. Maybe we won a gold medal (or gold medals) together. What an honor that would be.
Everything you worked for was about being the best, about helping your team win. Sure, you were always competitive. You wanted to win Hart and Art Ross trophies. You wanted to appear in All-Star Games. But what really drove you-the reason you play the game, your obsession-was winning the Stanley Cup. How many times did you imagine lifting it over your head in celebration? By now, I hope you’ve experienced the real thing a few times too.
Take a second to remember all of the people who helped you get there too. Mom and Dad, of course, and your coaches and teammates. Think about all the fun you had growing up in love with hockey with your brothers and your friends.
I hope as you look back over your career that you realize all of the hard work you put in from a young age gave you what you’d been dreaming about your entire life. I hope every time you laced up your skates and put your gear on, it felt as special as it feels right now.
–As told to Chris Peters
Alysa Liu
At just 13 years old, Alysa Liu had already emphasized the importance of staying grounded amid success. Gregory Shamus/Getty ImagesDear future Alysa,Every jump starts somewhere. That’s what you used to tell yourself. When you were 12 and landed a triple axel for the first time in international competition. When you were 13 and nailed three of them at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships. When you were still 13 but decided you wanted to add even more to your arsenal. Quad salchow. Quad loop. Quad toe loop.Did you ever land any of those quads in competition?It feels weird to look ahead, especially when I’ve spent all this time obsessing about Staying. In. The. Moment. Remember when you won nationals? You didn’t even know you broke Tara Lipinski’s record for youngest winner. You only realized what you did later, when you read it online. Clean program, clean program, clean program, you mentioned it to yourself so many times, determined to focus only on that exact moment. I guess you drowned everything else out.You mentioned it so many times — clean program, clean program, clean program; stay in the moment, stay in the moment, stay in the moment — that by the time you won and the “Today” show had you come on TV, and Jimmy Fallon also had you come on TV, it all felt crazy and slightly disorienting. Still, I wouldn’t hate if one day you get to go on “Ellen” too.And while I’m looking ahead, I have to ask: Did you do those big things you dreamed about? Did you win gold in 2022? Did you stay on the podium for every nationals? Did you ever travel to Italy? Did you help fight climate change?I know, I know. Those are big things. Leap-of-faith-type things. But, hey, every jump starts somewhere.– As told to Hallie Grossman
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