Hilary Knight, the face of U.S. women’s hockey, is preparing to make the 2026 Milan Winter Games her fifth and final Olympics, she told USA Today on Tuesday.
“It’s time,” Knight was quoted as saying.
“I have grown up in this program and it’s just given me so much. I’m at peace. I just have this feeling that it’s time,” she added. “And I’m grateful that — hopefully I can stay healthy and everything — I can go out when I’d like to be done. That is such a privilege that only a handful of competitors get.”
The decision comes as Knight turns 36 in July, while entering her 20th year with the national team since making her debut in the 2006 Four Nations Cup tournament as a 17-year-old.
Over that time, Knight has become one of her sport’s most decorated and dominant players, including being named the winner of the IIHF’s inaugural Female Player of the Year award in 2023.
Last month, she led the U.S. with nine points in winning her 10th gold medal at the world championships, a tournament in which Knight holds the career record for most goals, assists and points. At the Olympics, Knight won gold at the 2018 Games in South Korea…
