Katie Ledecky's Olympic dominance made a big impact on an NHL team with a family connection.
The Rio 2016 quintuple medalist and niece of New York Islanders new majority owner Jon Ledecky inspired her uncle's club.
"One of the players texted me, 'Katie's got her gold medals, now we have to get us a Stanley Cup,'" the elder Ledecky told Cristina Ledra of NHL.com.
The Islanders co-owner made the trip to Brazil to watch Katie race and was shown on NBC enthusiastically cheering on his niece during the 200m freestyle final.
"We are lucky to have great owners that are extremely passionate about the team," Islanders forward Anders Lee said.
"I've seen (co-owner) Charles (Wang) celebrate after we score a goal as if he's sitting in the seats with the die-hards. Now, witnessing Jon's passion for Katie during her races, and then his excitement after she won was great to see, and I look forward to seeing him do the same when we score goals this season."
Lee wasn't the only Islanders player to take notice of her performance.
"It's inspiring to see any athlete dominate their sport as Katie Ledecky did at the Olympics," defenseman Nick Leddy said. "The fact that she is American and we have a small connection with her because of our owner Jon, made it even more fun to watch."
The swimmer, who grew up in Maryland rooting for the Washington Capitals, will toss out the ceremonial first pitch before the Nationals host the Baltimore Orioles on Wednesday night.
