United States right wing Hilary Knight has been a face of American hockey for nearly 20 years—but her time is coming to an end.
February's Winter Olympics in Milan and Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy will be Knight's last, she told Nancy Armour of the USA Today in a piece published Tuesday morning.
"It’s time," Knight said. "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. And I’m grateful that—hopefully I can stay healthy and everything—I can go out when I’d like to be done."
As women's hockey has grown into an Olympic tentpole on the order of its men's counterpart—and successfully formed its own major league, which Knight helped get of the ground—the Palo Alto, Calif. native and the United States' program have become virtually synonymous.
She led the Americans to their second Olympic gold medal in the event in 2018 in Pyeongchang, South Korea—defeating her team's rival, Canada, in order to do so. At the world championship level, she won 10 gold medals and five silver medals to go with her three other Olympic silver medals.
The United States is currently ranked No. 1 in the world—just ahead of the Canadians—and will likely be favored to take home its third gold medal in Italy.
“There's something to be said about the grind and the appreciation for putting the most vulnerable part of yourself on the line and working together as a group and navigating the highs and lows before a tournament and in a tournament,” Knight said. “Those are the memories that will, I think, pop up for me.”
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as USA Hockey Icon Hilary Knight Says 2026 Olympics Will Be Her Last.