Hilary Knight
Hilary Atwood Knight is an American ice hockey player who is a forward and captain for the Seattle Torrent of the Professional Women's Hockey League. She is also captain of the United States women's national ice hockey team. Widely regarded as one of the greatest players in women's hockey history, Knight holds numerous records and has been a dominant force in both international and professional hockey for nearly two decades.
With the US national team, Knight has won ten gold medals at the IIHF World Women's Championship—the most ever by any hockey player—and holds the tournament records for goals, assists and points. She is a four-time Olympic medalist winning gold in 2018 and silver in 2010, 2014, and 2022. In 2023, she became the first player in IIHF World Women's Championship history to surpass 100 career points and was named the inaugural recipient of the IIHF Female Player of the Year award. She has earned multiple tournament MVP honors, including at the 2015 and 2016 World Championships, where she was also named Best Forward and leading scorer.
Knight played college hockey at the University of Wisconsin from 2007 to 2012, where she won two
NCAA national championships, earned the 2011 NCAA Tournament MVP award, and became the program's all-time leader in goals and points. Her 143 career goals are the most by any women's or men's player at the university. She was a three-time WCHA Offensive Player of the Year and made the All-American First Team.
In professional hockey, she won the inaugural Isobel Cup with the Boston Pride of the NWHL in 2016 and has been a scoring leader across multiple leagues during her time with Boston Blades and Les Canadiennes de Montréal of the CWHL and the Boston Fleet of the PWHL. In the PWHL's 2024–25 season, she tied for the league lead with 29 points, earning the Points Leader Award, and was named a finalist for Forward of the Year and the Billie Jean King MVP Award. Knight has served as captain for both Team USA and the Boston Fleet, before becoming the first player and captain of the expansion Seattle Torrent in 2025.
Beyond her on-ice achievements, Knight has been a leading advocate for equity and sustainability in women's professional hockey, playing a key role in the formation of the Professional Women's Hockey Players Association and the establishment of the PWHL. She has received three USA Hockey Bob Allen Women's Player of the Year awards and was named to Forbes' 30 Under 30 list in 2018.
Early life
Hilary Atwood Knight was born on July 12, 1989, in Sun Valley, Idaho, to Cynthia and Jim Knight. She has three younger brothers. When Hilary was five, the family moved to Lake Forest, Illinois where she began playing ice hockey and played on boys teams. The family later moved to Hanover, New Hampshire.From an early age, Hilary was determined to reach the Olympics. As a young child, she told her grandmother "I'm going to the Olympics" and wrote a book for a second grade school project about a girl with a magical hockey stick who achieved that dream. She honed her skills by watching NHL players and emulating their hand and footwork, creating difficult challenges and targets in the family garage to improve her puck control.
As a high schooler, Hilary attended Choate Rosemary Hall, a private boarding school in Connecticut with a renowned hockey program. When the national team visited the school in 2005, it strengthened her Olympic aspirations.
Playing career
Wisconsin Badgers, 2007–2012
Knight attended the University of Wisconsin where she played for the Badgers from 2007 to 2012. Her 143 career goals are the most by any men's or women's player at UW. Knight helped lead the Badgers to two NCAA titles in 2009 and 2011.During her freshman season from 2007–2008, Knight ranked second on the team in goals and tied for fifth on the team in assists. Her points total of 38 was third overall in team scoring. She ranked seventh in the nation in points per game for rookies and game-winning goals. During the season, Knight had 12 multi-point games. For the season, Knight led the team in game-winning goals with six. On February 2, Knight recorded a hat trick against WCHA rival North Dakota.
As a sophomore, Knight appeared in 39 games for the Badgers. Knight led the NCAA in goal scoring and points. Her 16 power-play goals ranked first in the NCAA. Based on her statistical accomplishments, Knight became the new Badgers record-holder for points, goals, and power-play goals in one season. She recorded 24 multi-point games, 13 multi-goal games, and 11 multi-assist games. On September 27, 2008, versus the Quinnipiac Bobcats, Knight scored a career-high five goals in one game. In the process, she recorded her first natural hat trick. Versus WCHA rival North Dakota, Knight scored her second hat trick of the season. During the Frozen Four, Knight led the team in scoring with six points. From September 26 to October 31, Knight had a nine-game point-scoring streak. She ended the season with a six-game point streak.
File:Hilary Knight tile in the lower concourse of the Kohl Center IMG 3533.jpg|thumb|upright|Tile at the Kohl Center recognizing Knight's achievements with the Wisconsin Badgers women's ice hockey team
On October 2, 2010, Knight notched a five-point game in a 6–0 victory over RPI. She had a natural hat trick to start the game and then had two assists. On January 14 and 16, 2011, Knight produced eight scoring points while leading the Badgers to a two-game sweep of St. Cloud State. Knight accumulated five points on three goals and two assists in the January 14, 10–0 win. On the 16th, she had two more goals and one assist for three points as the Badgers won 6–0. Of her five goals, two were scored on the power play, and one of the goals on January 14 was the game-winner. With the sweep, the Badgers increased their winning streak to 10 straight games. Knight was the top goal scorer in Div. 1 women's hockey this season with 31. On February 5, 2011, Knight scored her 36th goal of the year at 2:46 in the overtime period as Wisconsin defeated the Bemidji State Beavers by a 3–2 mark at the Sanford Center. Bemidji State goalie Alana McElhinney made 43 saves on the night, including 24 in the second period.
On September 25, 2011, Knight scored her fifth career hat trick in a 13–0 defeat of the Lindenwood Lady Lions ice hockey program. In a December 10, 2011, WCHA contest versus Bemidji State, Knight produced four points, giving her a career total of 239. She has now surpassed Meghan Duggan's 238 career points to become the Wisconsin Badgers' all-time leading point scorer. For her efforts, Knight was recognized as the WCHA Player of the Week. On January 28, 2012, the Badgers hosted a record crowd of 12,402 that attended the Kohl Center as Wisconsin swept the Bemidji State Beavers. Knight notched her first goal since December 10 with 7:38 left in the third period. Said goal would stand as the game-winner on Fill the Bowl night. She graduated with 262 career points and is the Badgers all-time leader in goals, game-winning goals, power-play goals, and short-handed goals.
Boston Blades (CWHL), 2012–2015
Selected fourth overall by the Boston Blades in the 2012 CWHL Draft, Knight made an immediate impact in her rookie professional season. During the 2012-13 season, she recorded 32 points in 24 games as the Blades captured both the regular season championship and the Clarkson Cup, becoming only the second American-based team to win the championship. Knight became the first American-born player to win the CWHL's Most Valuable Player Award, while also serving as the leading scorer in the postseason as Boston defeated the Montreal Stars in the championship final. Over her three seasons with the Blades from 2012 to 2015, Knight totaled 29 goals and 33 assists in 41 regular-season games.Knight helped lead the Blades to a second Clarkson Cup championship in 2015, when Boston finished the regular season with the best record in the CWHL at 15-2-1-6. In the 2015 Clarkson Cup finals against the Montreal Stars, Knight scored a hat trick in Game 2 and finished with five points in the contest, helping Boston secure a commanding series lead. The Blades ultimately won the championship when Janine Weber scored the overtime-winning goal in the decisive game, with Knight earning First Star honors in the final match. During her time with the Blades, Knight also made history as the first female skater to practice with an NHL team when she trained with the Anaheim Ducks during the 2014-15 season.
Boston Pride (NWHL), 2015–2018
On September 25, 2015, Knight moved to the Boston Pride of the National Women's Hockey League, joining the newly formed professional league in its inaugural season. In her first game with the Boston Pride, she scored the team's first goal and went on to score a second goal in the same game. Knight's offensive prowess continued throughout the season as she led the league in scoring, becoming the NWHL's first-ever scoring champion and establishing herself as one of the league's premier players.In the playoffs, Knight scored the overtime-winning goal in Game 1 of the 2016 Isobel Cup finals. Boston went on to capture the inaugural Isobel Cup, with Knight playing a central role in bringing the first professional championship to the franchise.
Knight continued to showcase her talents in the league's All-Star festivities. In February 2017, representing Team Kessel at the 2nd NWHL All-Star Game, she found the back of the net once again, demonstrating her consistent ability to perform on the league's biggest stages.
During her time with the Pride, Knight served as a prominent face of the NWHL, helping to raise the profile of women's professional hockey through both her on-ice performance and her advocacy for the league.
Les Canadiennes de Montreal (CWHL), 2018–2019
On March 8, 2018, Les Canadiennes de Montreal announced that Knight would be joining the team in time for the 2018 CWHL playoff run, making her the first 2018 USA Olympian to sign with a professional team following the Americans' gold medal victory in PyeongChang. Knight's signing with Les Canadiennes was significant as it saw her depart the NWHL for the CWHL, stating that when she plays somewhere, she views it as endorsing that league and what they provide to players, fans, and the game's development.Knight returned to Les Canadiennes for the full 2018-19 CWHL season, joining a roster that would reunite her with Marie-Philip Poulin, marking the first time in their careers that the two rivals-turned-teammates would play together. In the playoffs, Knight was a dominant force. Knight and Jill Saulnier had impressive postseason showings, driving offense for Les Canadiennes throughout their playoff run. Les Canadiennes advanced to the 2019 Clarkson Cup final to face the Calgary Inferno, though they played without captain Marie-Philip Poulin, who was sidelined with a lower-body injury sustained in the final regular-season game.
In the championship game on March 24, 2019, Knight made an exceptional pass during a five-on-three power play in the second period, delivering a backwards, between-the-legs no-look pass to Ann-Sophie Bettez for Montreal's second goal of the game. Montreal lost to Calgary 5-2. It was the third time in four years that the two teams had met in the Canadian Women's Hockey League final.