Before the Olympics, the United States’ T.J. Oshie was having the best season of his career with the Blues, but how many people knew the 27-year-old forward’s name outside of St. Louis? With his incredible shootout performance against Russia on Saturday, he’s become the talk of a nation.
VIDEO: Watch OT and the shootout again
We’ve filtered through all that to bring you a collection of what was being said in the aftermath of Oshie’s showing. It seems appropriate to start with how this changes things for him:Why send NHL players to the Olympics? Before today, Blues fans and a few elsewhere knew how skilled TJ Oshie is. Now the world does.
— Gord Miller (@GMillerTSN) February 15, 2014
T.J. Oshie at Main Press Center. Oshie in Sochi. #teamusa #usah pic.twitter.com/aBZryte6Fx
— USA Hockey (@usahockey) February 15, 2014
I don’t like shootouts determining winners. But there’s no doubt it’s a way to create stars. Forsberg, Toews & now Oshie. This was legendary
— Greg Wyshynski (@wyshynski) February 15, 2014
T.J. Oshie is now trending worldwide. The rest of the world now knows what St. Louis has known all along. #tjsochi #stlblues
— St. Louis Blues (@StLouisBlues) February 15, 2014
I agreed with Ed Snider on his anti-Olympic rant. Then T.J. Oshie happened. See you in Korea in 2018, NHL.
— Mike Harrington (@BNHarrington) February 15, 2014
Suddenly Oshie became the talk of celebrities and even earned recognition from President Barack Obama:
Congrats to T.J. Oshie and the U.S. men’s hockey team on a huge win! Never stop believing in miracles. #GoTeamUSA -bo
— The White House (@WhiteHouse) February 15, 2014
Oooooooooooooooooshie!
— Seth Meyers (@sethmeyers) February 15, 2014
Not to mention the praise of his peers and former NHL stars:
TJ Oshie that was one of the greatest displays of one on one iv ever seen Osh!!! Great job. So proud of u. Keep it up
— Jeremy Roenick (@Jeremy_Roenick) February 15, 2014
What a game!!! Welcome the invention of the Oshie Trick - 4 goals in a shootout. Congrats @OSH74 couldn’t be happier 4 ya!!! #OwnTheMoment
— David Backes (@dbackes42) February 15, 2014
David Backes, who plays alongside Oshie with St. Louis and Team USA, was even more complimentary outside of the Twitter.
“I think you’re going to see T.J. Oshie become a household name after that display he put on. The kids’ll be out on the pond probably in Minnesota right now, throwing a 5-hole on the goalie three or four times in a row. He does a great job for us in St. Louis. That’s part of the reason he’s on this team, along with some of the other things you can’t put on the stat sheet,” Backes said, according to the Associated Press.
And finally, let’s close out with a few funny tweets:Oshie in Sochi, during the shootout: pic.twitter.com/qbTx99xic7
— NBC Olympics (@NBCOlympics) February 15, 2014
TJ Oshie just balanced the budget.
— Brian Compton (@BComptonNHL) February 15, 2014
Win via @zoowithroy pic.twitter.com/46AqMXmaIy
— Mason (@MasonShow) February 15, 2014
Related:
Why the U.S. kept sending Oshie out on the shootout
Oshie the shootout hero as U.S. outduels Russia in instant Olympic classic