The new face of Team USA Women’s Hockey is Laila Edwards â that’s not really in doubt.
The reason that Edwards and the rest of the Team USA have such an amazing platform to show the world what they can do in the 2026 Winter Olympics in Italy is 36-year-old Hilary Knight, the team captain and one of the greatest women’s hockey players of all time.
This is the 5th Winter Olympics for Knight, who is a 4-time medalist including a gold medal in 2018 and silver medals in 2010, 2014 and 2022.
Here’s what you need to know about Knight as she and her teammates continue their pursuit of another gold medal.
Born Decade Before Women’s Olympic Hockey Began
Knight was born in 1989 in Idaho â almost a full decade before Women’s Hockey first became an Olympic sport in 1998. She began playing hockey at 5 years old, after her family moved to Illinois, and continued through a move to New Hampshire.
In high school, Knight’s prodigious hockey talents took her to Choate Rosemary Hall, a private school with an elite women’s hockey team.
Big Ten Superstar for Wisconsin Badgers
Knight played college hockey for women’s powerhouse Wisconsin, where she not only led the Badgers to a pair of national championships in 2009 and 2011 but was also named the NCAA Tournament MVP in 2011 as well as a first-team All-American.
She still holds Wisconsin’s career records for goals (143), game-winning goals (30), power-play goals (37) and short-handed goals (8).
Knight also played in her first Olympics while she was in college, winning a silver medal in 2010 with Team USA in Vancouver.
Olympic Glory Turns Into Pro Career
Aside from her 5 Olympic appearances, Knight has also been a famous face on the world stage playing for Team USA, where her 10 gold medals at the World Championships are the most for any player in men’s or women’s hockey and holds World Championships records for goals, assists and points.
Knight has been named Tournament MVP at the World Championships twice, in 2015 and 2016.
“I love being a part of a team sport,” Knight told ESPN in 2014. “I know my responsibility to each one of my teammates, and they know theirs to me. It’s sort of this symbiotic effort of trying to work together to achieve whatever goal we’re trying to achieve.”
Star Turn Following 2018 Olympic Gold Medal
Knight became something of a pop culture sensation after Team USA defeated Canada in a shootout in the 2018 Olympic finals.
Following the gold medal win, Knight made appearances on Saturday Night Live, The Ellen Degeneres Show and The Tonight Show With Jimmy Fallon.
She’s also worked as an on-air analyst for NBC during the NHL Playoffs, in 2019 and 2021.
What Future Might Hold for Knight
With lucrative endorsements from Nike and Red Bull and her legendary status in the hockey world, the future is pretty much whatever Knight wants it to be whenever she decides to end her playing career.
Along with playing in the Olympics, Knight has had a lengthy pro career and was one of the driving forces behind the formation of the Professional Women’s Hockey League, where she currently plays for the Seattle Torrent.
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