After a three-week break due to the 2026 Winter Olympics, NBC’s “Saturday Night Live” returned to television on Feb. 28 with host Connor Storrie and musical guest Mumford & Sons.
Storrie made his SNL debut with a powerful monologue and sketches that showcased his range and commitment to his craft.
The star recently rose to fame following the success of “Heated Rivalry,” where he played Ilya Rozanov, a closeted Russian hockey star who falls in love with his rival, Shane Hollander.
During his opening monologue, Storrie reflected on his newfound fame and his journey from being a 12-year-old obsessed with acting, to a waiter, to now being recognized everywhere.
He credited “Heated Rivalry” for teaching him a lot about hockey but also teaching “straight women that their sexuality is actually ‘gay guy’.”
Despite going through rigorous training for his role as Rozanov, Storrie admitted to being in awe when watching real hockey players during the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milano Cortina.
“In two weeks, I had to learn how to play Russian and look like I knew how to play hockey,” Storrie said.
“And then I’m watching the Olympics, and I see these amazing players and I’m like, ‘I don’t think I pulled it off.’”
He was then joined by Jack Hughes and Quinn Hughes, U.S. Men’s Hockey gold medalists who joked with Storrie, asking him if his show was about hockey. Storrie cheekily replied, “Kind of.”
Following their exchange, U.S. Women’s Hockey gold medalists Megan Keller and Hilary Knight took the stage to express support for the show and the actor.
The image of the four gold medalists standing together was seen online as the women’s team having to fix the men’s recent bad press from a congratulatory phone call with President Donald Trump, where they were invited to the State of the Union address. During the phone call, Trump made a misogynistic joke about the women’s team, which was met with laughter.
The sketches throughout the night featured Storrie as different characters and allowed him to experiment with new accents.
His enthusiasm for accents was reflected in the “Accent Duel” skit released in anticipation of the episode, in which Storrie and SNL cast member James Austin Johnson showed off each of their accent changing abilities, resulting in Storrie winning by using his iconic Russian accent.
One of the most popular sketches of the night was at the end of the episode, when Storrie displayed his clowning and stripping skills. In an interview with Cultured Magazine, Storrie revealed that prior to “Heated Rivalry,” he was part of Los Angeles’ alt theater clowning scene, in which he created the character of a stripper who refuses to cancel even after being hit by a car en route to the gig.
In a sketch titled “Ice Skating,” Storrie was joined by co-star Hudson Williams who plays Hollander in the show. It served as an introduction for Williams to SNL, marking his debut and opening the door to him being a possible future host.
Williams also comforted Storrie after he got emotional during the closing credits.
