Team USA star Hilary Knight discussed the Americans’ rivalry with Team Canada, widely regarded as one of the best in all of sports, before their showdown at the 2026 Winter Olympics.
“There’s so much pride involved that we bring out the best level of competition from one another,” Knight, 36, exclusively told Luxury Handbag Shopping. “There’s something about it. Even if you’re a fan, you feel the temperature. You feel a part of this rivalry. If you can only imagine two-times that when you’re down on ice level.”
Knight added, “The rivalry is definitely real.”
Team USA and Team Canada play on Tuesday, February 10, in the preliminary round at the 2026 Games held in Milan, Italy. As the two heavy favorites to win gold in Italy, the U.S. and Canada are expected to meet again in the gold medal game later in the Olympics.
In her fifth and final Olympics, Knight explained how the formation of the Professional Women’s Hockey League, which launched in 2024, has made this year’s Games feel different.
“It’s interesting being in the pro league, being around different countries and stuff. I’m playing with [Julia] Gosling right now [on the PWHL’s Seattle Torrent] and then we’re going to duke it out on the world’s stage, best on best,” Knight said. “It’s this interesting flip you have to switch.”
While the intensity on the ice is palpable, Knight said things off the ice aren’t quite so nasty.
“Away from the game you have more similarities than you do differences,” she acknowledged. “I think that’s just what’s innately special about the hockey community and the way people can rally around one another.”
Knight added, “But make no mistake about it, when we throw on our jerseys with USA on the front, there are no friends out there. We’re out there to win.”
Team USA’s Laila Edwards offered a blunt assessment of the team’s rivalry with Canada, telling Us, “We respect each other, but we do not like each other.”
“I think the intensity just grows because we’re both just continuously getting better,” Edwards, 22, added. “They’re our sisters up north, as we call them. We have so much respect for each other, but we hate each other and we want to beat each other so badly. That eagerness just grows and grows.”
Edwards continued, “It’s hard to put into words, but there’s nothing quite like it.”
During her Olympics swan song, Knight is hoping to bring home her second gold medal after Team USA won in Pyeongchang in 2018 — but the journey is about more than just on-ice success.
“I always look at the Olympics as an opportunity to unite people through sport,” she said. “If you want to call us sports ambassadors or sports envoys — maybe providing some inspiration through our style of play or some moment of sportsmanship — we can have an impact on someone’s life in a small way. I do think there’s a greater responsibility when you’re representing your country on the world stage. That’s always been special to me.”
