What's Next for Team USA's Hilary Knight After the 2026 Gold Medal Win?
Heading into Thursday, February 19, sports fans had their eyes on Team USA’s women’s hockey team as they were set to play in the gold match against longtime rival, Team Canada. While the Americans were the favorites to win, one can never really discount the Canadians, given they’ve won 5 out of 7 Olympic gold medals in women’s hockey since the event was created in 1998. And at the center of the 2026 game was one of the best players to ever hit a puck, Hilary Knight.
After a hard-fought match, which saw Team USA trailing for most of the regulation game, it was Knight who scored an epic point to tie it up and send things into overtime. Thankfully, that extra time was all Team USA needed to secure the gold medal, winning over Canada 2-1. With that being said, what’s next for Knight herself?
Hilary Knight Is Likely Not to Rush Home from Milan
In case you missed it, Knight just got engaged during these 2026 Winter Olympic Games. Knight’s new fiancée is fellow Olympian, Bronze medalist Brittany Bowe. Bowe’s a speed skating athlete, and on Friday, February 20, she’s set to compete in the Women’s 1500m. Given Bowe showed up for Knight’s last Olympic event ever, it stands to reason that Knight would show up to support her wife-to-be.
Hilary Knight Is Not Done Playing Hockey
Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images
Knight is a very decorated hockey player and will go down in history as one of the best. As shared by NBC, at the International Ice Hockey Federation Women’s World Championships, she holds the record for all-time goals, points, and assists. Additionally, she holds the record for the most world championship appearances by any hockey player and the most Olympic appearances by a women’s hockey player, with five.
Now, before you lock in these facts for her biography, don’t yet. She’s not retiring from hockey. Although she has no plans on returning to compete in the Olympic Games, according to the New York Post, she has every intention of continuing on with the Professional Women's Hockey League as a captain “for the expansion Seattle Torrent and aims to compete in the IIHF World Championships in 2027.” So it looks like you’ll have some time to still catch Knight on Ice.
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