The Pregame
Hockey Star Hilary Knight Is About To Make Olympic History
She opens up about pre-game nerves, her trick for calming down, and Heated Rivalry.
When Hilary Knight steps onto the ice at the Milano Cortina Olympics on Feb. 5, she’ll be skating into history. No other American hockey player has ever competed in five games. And while she plans to continue competing through at least the next professional season, this marks her last run on the sport’s biggest stage.
Knight entered the 2010 Vancouver Games as a 20-year-old rookie. One Olympic gold medal and three silvers later, the 36-year-old is now Team USA’s captain. Her record-breaking career includes the most goals, assists, and points in Women’s World Championship history, along with a tournament-record 10 gold medals.
The sport has grown along with her. As a kid in Illinois, she competed on boys’ teams — not an unusual path for girls playing in the ’90s. The National Women’s Hockey League was formed in 2015, but began to crumble just four years later when more than 200 top players (Knight included) boycotted the organization due to its low pay, inconsistent standards, and other issues. A new and improved organization, the Professional Women’s Hockey League, rose in 2023, with Knight helming Boston’s inaugural team. Last June, she signed a one-year contract to lead the Seattle Torrent.
Ahead of the games, Knight is partnering with Hershey’s for its “Happiness Is the Real Gold” campaign, which features limited-edition chocolate medals and a video series about how athletes find little moments of joy. For her, it’s seeing her loved ones in the stands — especially since spectators weren’t permitted at the last Olympics.
“One thing I’m looking forward to in Milan is coming up to the friends and family section after a game, and just sharing a hug,” she says. “It makes me think back to when I was a kid, and my mom had the car running at 5 a.m., and my brothers and I would roll out of bed in our pajamas and head to the hockey rink to work on our edges. Our support systems sacrifice so much to get us to that one big, shining moment.”
The Olympics are a particularly meaningful competition for her. Her cousin is Chip Knight, an alpine skier who competed for Team USA in 1998, 2002, and 2006. And at the 2022 events, the hockey star fell in love with Brittany Bowe, an American speed skater she’d briefly crossed paths with over the years.
Below, Knight opens up about how she gets ready to play, why she devoured Heated Rivalry in one single day, and more.
On game day, what do you eat for energy?
This is going to sound crazy, but I love chocolate-chip pancakes. It’s super counterintuitive — you’re probably like, oh, an oatmeal or chia seed pudding — but no, I’m carb-loading.
I’ve heard that hockey players actually lose a bit of weight through sweat during a game. Is that true?
Yeah, it’s crazy. Part of the recovery is replenishing those fluids quickly so you’re not at a deficit.
How do you rehydrate?
Electrolytes. My go-to right now is DripDrop, the strawberry one. Our water bottles on the bench aren’t always filled with the same stuff. Our med staff does an excellent job of making sure we have access to whatever each person needs — more salt, less salt, more sugar. We have dieticians who help us prepare for those moments so we’re not at the Olympics deciding, “Oh, I don’t know if I prefer an electrolyte or not.”
Do you still get nervous before games?
Absolutely — in the best way. Your blood’s moving through your body super fast. You can’t wait for the puck to drop, and then it drops, and it’s just boom, game on. I love that anticipation.
How do you center yourself?
Your emotions are so amplified at the Olympics. You just want to get out there and get going, but you have to wait at the rink for hours before. Deep breathing has been super successful for me.
Do you have any lucky charms?
I have this little Buddha that has been all over the world with me. It came from one of our mental skills training sessions years ago.
Have you seen Heated Rivalry?
I did! I just watched it on our off day. I think it’s really incredible to spark conversations and create spaces [for LGBTQ+ representation], especially in traditional sports that aren’t necessarily [known for] change in that way. For me personally, I felt seen. I identified with a lot of what was going on, and it was really unique to watch a form of art evoke all those emotions. And now people are talking about it. I think that’s really, really awesome.
This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.
