Jack Hughes Throws First Pitch at Yankees' Home Opener

Jack Hughes flashed his new smile for the crowd as he threw the ceremonial first pitch at the New York Yankees' home opener against the Miami Marlins on Friday.

He got his front teeth busted out during Team USA's gold medal victory over Canada at the Milan Cortina 2026 Olympics in February.

Jack Hughes' smile was shattered late in the third period of the game on Feb. 22 when he received a high stick to the mouth from Canada's Sam Bennett.

Undaunted by the injury, Hughes stayed in the game and went on to score the gold-winning goal in overtime to seal Team USA's 4-3 victory.

The New Jersey Devils confirmed last month that the star center had his broken teeth fixed on March 17.

Before throwing out the first pitch, Hughes showed off his broken smile in appearances on *The Today Show*, *The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon* and *Saturday Night Live* on NBC, as well as *The Pat McAfee Show* on ESPN.

Jack Hughes said throwing out the first pitch at the New York Yankees' home opener was another goal he was hoping to score.

"I knew a lot of things were coming, but I was like, this is the one thing, I was always like wishing-slash-hoping for," Hughes said at a pre-game press conference.

The pressure apparently didn’t get to Hughes, however, as he “threw a perfect strike to infielder Ben Rice,” according to *NHL.com*.

Team USA Women’s goalie Aerin Frankel, meanwhile, threw her pitch to Yankees catcher J.C. Escara.

The Team USA Women’s squad also won the gold medal at the Milan Cortina Olympics by defeating Team Canada 2-1 in overtime on Feb. 19.

The gold medal victory was the first for the Team USA Men since the “Miracle on Ice” run at the Lake Placid Olympics in 1980.

Hughes' performance has been impressive, and his new smile is just the beginning of his journey.