Long-time standout striker Hilary Knight will join an elite group as a four-time US hockey Olympian and top the list of 23 players selected for Team USA at the Beijing Olympics next month.
The U.S. women’s team has won medals in all six tournaments since women’s hockey was accepted into the Olympic program. They won the first gold medal in 1998 and gold again in Pyeongchang, Korea in 2018.
Knight, from Sun Valley, Idaho, is one of 15 women on the Beijing squad with previous Olympic ice hockey experience. Along with Jenny Potter, Hockey Hall of Fame member Angela Ruggiero, and Julie Chu, she is the only American woman called to serve on four Olympic hockey teams. Kendall Coyne Schofield, Brianna Decker, Amanda Kessel and Lee Stecklein were each called up to a third Olympic team.
Eastvale, Riverside County’s defenseman Cayla Barnes, a member of the team that won the gold medal in 2018, made the Olympic list for a second time.
The roster, announced on Saturday during the NHL’s Winter Classic game, also includes eight first-time Olympians.
“The appointment of an Olympic team is always a momentous occasion and we are very excited to be taking this next step in our journey,” said Katie Million, general manager of the US Women’s Olympic Team, in a statement released by USA Hockey. “The players have worked consistently hard and struggled through adversity over the past three months and we are confident that they will bring their talent and energy to the ice if we are to take home gold in Beijing.”
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