Teddy Richards flew home to Florida on Monday from the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan. The Wilkes-Barre native was one of two equipment managers for the gold medal U.S. Men’s Hockey team. He started his career with the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins and then moved up to the NHL with the Pittsburgh Penguins. He’s now the head equipment manager for the Florida Panthers.
READ MORE ABOUT RICHARDS HERE: From the Heights to Milan: Wilkes-Barre's Teddy Richards part of USA's gold medal-winning men's hockey team
WVIA News caught up with him after he landed back in the United States, but before he went out with the team to celebrate the win.
The interview has been edited for clarity.
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Q: You were the equipment manager for Team USA. What was that experience like?
TEDDY: It was first a tremendous honor to be part of that team and be picked out of so many equipment managers that are American born. And there were only two of us chosen, so myself and my co-equipment manager, Chris Scoppetto. We did it together. So to have that amazing honor given to us to take care of our nation's best athletes. It's really hard to describe. We accepted the challenge and enjoyed each day we were there.
Q: Doing your job at the Olympic level, was that much different than, you know, doing it for the Florida Panthers?
TEDDY: There are two parts to that answer. So, for the job for the Olympics, what we have there is, we have the absolute best players. So when you look at a common team, there are a couple of really good players. You know, not everybody is the absolute best. Where we have 25 of the absolute best players, there's certain things that they need, that they're used to, their day to day routines, that we have to learn and accommodate with their schedules. So just getting to know the players and what they require, and making sure we provide everything we can for them, that's its own process. All that being said, you actually have less help. It's heavily credentialed. So each team only had 53 credentials, meaning players, coaches, GMs (general managers), support staff. And you could not go over.
So there's only two equipment managers, typically. I oversee a staff of six, seven people on a game day … so it was only myself and Chris doing all that work … we kind of had to go back to our early days, our roots of, you know, filling up water bottles, running around, getting stuff set up. It was more demanding, more work, per se, of actually getting down and dirty, doing literally everything ourselves. And then, you know, the second part of that is just getting to know the players. And like, at such an elite level, they all have their little things and you get to learn them and work with them. But they're a great, great group of guys, they’re very respectful, and we had a lot of fun together.
Q: When you're working with the Florida Panthers, you know all those guys on the team really well at this point. What was the learning curve like for the Olympic team? Especially because I know that the team comes together really quickly. They don't practice together for very long. When did you find out you got the job, and then did you immediately kind of start researching the players?
TEDDY: I worked a tournament called 4 Nations [Face-Off]. It was something that the NHL put on a year ago. So it worked out that I was the equipment manager, and we had the belief that this was kind of a, you know, dress rehearsal for the Olympics. So staff, players, even though it wasn't guaranteed, we felt that the group should be pretty close to being that group going over to Milan. So at that point, you remember things, and honestly, I had spreadsheets of notes. So I would talk to every equipment manager across the league, like, you know, our goalie [Connor Hellebuyck]. I spoke to the Winnipeg Jets. What is he doing intermissions? What do you do in games? You know, what kind of bottles does he like on the net or the bench during timeouts? I would take notes on that and just work off a spreadsheet. And just like you're studying for a test, I would review my spreadsheet, going down of, you know, what Connor Hellebuyck needed, or at what time would he get his chest protector back during the intermission? So I have my Cliff Notes. We played four games at Four Nations, just kind of, you know, getting through at that point, and then remembering some stuff. And then it was a little easier for the Olympics. So I knew the guys and what we're going to be going through and all that. And then I just followed up with all the equipment guys. Like ‘hey, this is a year ago, do your players still get a skate sharpened at this hollow? Has anything changed?’ Just like a little refresher?
Q: You're doing a lot of work on top of your regular, like, I know you don't work a nine-to-five, but your regular nine-to-five as well.
TEDDY: We do travel a lot, so I have a lot of time on the plane, but instead of watching a movie or sleeping, I have pulled my laptop up and that would be my work time. And then also on the road and hotels. Every player had custom gear ordered. So that's like a multiple-month process. So getting back to not only like what their requirements are, what their little niches are, they needed equipment to play because they also need to get it and break it in, because a lot of players don't change that often. They had to get the pants, they had to get the gloves, and actually be able to practice with them a few times before they came over to Milan.
Q: What was it like watching this team go through and win? Was that kind of the expectation going into the games?
TEDDY: Expectation's a good word, because we knew we had a good team. There's never a guarantee in sports. You still have to play the game. We had confidence, I'll say that. But we also, I think, it was set up to where it was going to be the U.S. versus Canada, and that was what was built up through 4 Nations, and it happened. We were following the games like, you know, you live and die by every game. So everything mattered.
Q: Were you able to watch Jack Hughes get that final goal in overtime?
TEDDY: I was on the bench, so to my left, it was down the far side of the ice, but I saw, I mean, the play. It just, it opened up. And Jack got it. And I'm so happy for Jack. He's a really, really good kid. But Jack, he suffered some injuries, like major, major injuries in his career. So I'm happy for him as a person. And you know, he was on a 4 Nations team, I wouldn't say that was the strongest tournament, you know, then he was injured. So for him, that game winning goal was huge for him as a person.
Q: A lot of times, when people from the area are getting interviewed, they
often refer back to the hard work ethic that they learned here in Northeast Pennsylvania. Would you say that helped you start as a stick boy and then work your way up to the Olympic team?
TEDDY: Usually, when people say, I want to be an equipment how do I do it? I’ll say, well, let me stop you, don’t do it. Find something else, because it's going to be a lot of really bad hours and pretty low pay, and you're going to miss all your kids’ birthday parties. And there's a lot of not glamorous stuff about it, but there is a lot of good as well. When I started back in Wilkes-Barre, honest to God, one of my first duties that we'll call it, it wasn't even a job; they would allow me, and I laughed because I said ‘they would allow me.’ I would be given a set of keys, and I’d meet the visiting team at like 2, 3, or 4 in the morning to open the door and let them in. That was my first duty.
Q: So how old were you when you were doing that?
TEDDY: I was in high school, like 16, 17. So I would meet them, help them unload their bus and then do their laundry at four or five in the morning. So that's nobody there, so nobody sees what you're doing. It's a much, much-needed, important job, but it's a thankless job, like nobody really sees that going on. It's behind the scenes. From there, I started. It was a seasonal position. So working with Jeff Barrett, who was a team president, and I know he's still involved. But a tremendous person. I worked with Jeff early on and said ‘Jeff, how can I make this a career?’ So he gave me a contract. I got paid year-round. I had some obligations to the team. So it really became this full-time thing for me. Instead of just having fun, a hobby, showing up for a game here or there … it became my life.
Q: What is it that made you want it to be your career?
TEDDY: I played football. I went to junior high school. I went to Mansfield University. So I really enjoyed the locker room camaraderie, just like playing around, the jokes, like being around the boys. So, for me, my dad worked for the Penguins before I did. He was a bus driver who opened the door for me to go in and see the exact same scene. It was a fun atmosphere. You have to be accepted in there, and then once you're in it you're in, and that was something I enjoyed. And I just like that, that camaraderie, and it's still the same.
Q: If that team [Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins] hadn't started here, you probably wouldn't be in the position you're in today. You probably wouldn't be at the 2026 Olympics?
TEDDY: 100%. I went to school for criminal justice and forensic science. I wanted to be a police officer. That would ultimately lead me to be a detective. That would have been my path, something for law enforcement.
Q: Are you happy that things went the way they went?
TEDDY: Looking back, I've won three Stanley Cups and now an Olympic gold medal. I've had a very fortunate career. It's almost like I don't believe it. When I was named head guy in the AHL (American Hockey League) with Wilkes-Barre, I was the youngest head guy in the league. When I got named head guy in the NHL (National Hockey League), I was the youngest head guy in the league. So I've had amazing accomplishments. At some point, it'll set in. I don't talk about it, I don't think about it, but it's, it's been, it's been something. I wanted to win a Stanley Cup. Boom, you did it. When I moved to Florida, it would be amazing to win one here with a second organization. Then, you know, I did it. I did as a head guy, and I've always had this Olympic dream. It's so hard to get in, like I said, there are only two of us picked in every four years, so the numbers aren't really on your side to be successful there, and it just worked out. And then, not only to get picked, but then to win.
