“My mom kind of went back at her and was like, ‘If she wants to play hockey, she’s going to play hockey,'” Knight said.

For Knight, it wasn’t the first time that she had been told she didn’t belong in the sport. During her youth hockey days, she had been cut from multiple all-boys teams.

“I was a girl and they wanted to max out with boys on their roster,” she said. “At that time there was no future for girls in the game, so why would they waste a roster spot, so to speak? Obviously, I felt otherwise and I’ve always felt otherwise.”

Knight, now 34, never gave up the dream and has since become one of the most decorated U.S. Olympic hockey players of any gender. She’s won four Olympic medals — one gold and three silvers.

Hilary Knight takes part in a practice drill during the USA Hockey Women’s National Festival at the Olympic Center in Lake Placid on Monday. (Enterprise photo — Parker O’Brien)

At the International Ice Hockey Federation World Women’s Championship level, she has fared even better, winning nine gold medals and four silvers in 13 appearances.

She has achieved more success at the world championships than any woman ever has, holding the record for the most points of all-time, and is the only women’s hockey player to ever reach the 100-career points mark.

In June, Knight also became the first-ever winner of the IIHF’s Female Player of the Year.

And after years of dominating on the ice, her grandmother has since become one of her biggest fans.

But what has always separated Knight from most hockey players is her ability to lead off the ice by using her voice for what she believes in.

“I’ve always wanted to be remembered for my level of compete,” Knight said. “I love winning and I love being a part of winning teams and those are the legacies that get remembered. But off the ice, you sort of have to walk the talk as well. It’s really important.”

In 2017, Knight stood at the forefront of the U.S. women’s hockey team that threatened to boycott the world championships, which were slated to take place on American soil for the first time in nearly five years.

At that time, both the men and women were making $6,000 for competing in championships, however, men’s hockey players made millions of dollars from their National Hockey League contracts. Women’s professional hockey league contracts have never been close to that seven-figure total.

During Knight’s own professional career, she had seen more pay cuts than pay raises, one of which came just a year removed from helping the Boston Pride win the Women’s National Hockey League’s first-ever title.

With multiple supporters backing the players’ decision to boycott, USA Hockey finally came to an agreement to increase the annual pay for women’s national team players to $70,000.

After lifting the boycott, Knight powered the U.S. to the world championship title when she rifled the game-winning shot over the shoulder of Canadian goaltender Shannon Szabados to seal a 3-2 overtime win.

Not wanting others to face what she went through, Knight helped form the Professional Women’s Player’s Hockey Association in 2019. The PWPHA is a player-driven organization that pushes for a North American women’s pro league to have sustainable wages while protecting female players’ interests.

The organization is currently planning on creating a second women’s professional hockey league, which is expected to launch in January 2024, according to the Associated Press.

“It’s really cool that there are more opportunities at a higher level for girls to grow into and become women, and to play on that world stage — and obviously professionally as well,” said Knight, who currently sits on the PWHPA board.

The PWHPA has internally proposed several models, including a six-team league with players paid an average salary of $55,000, according to the Associated Press. The other professional women’s hockey league, the Premier Hockey Federation, pays an average salary of $50,000.

“There’s a whole shift in women’s sports in general,” she said. “I think we’re benefiting from (that) as well.”

Knight’s ability to stand up for what she truly believes in came from one of her biggest role models — her mother.

“To have that strong sort of foundation in my life, to be able to do whatever I want to do in the world and not have a barrier because I’m a girl and not a boy playing, was so instrumental to my development and is why I am here playing.”

When women’s hockey debuted in the 1998 Winter Olympic Games, Knight’s mother woke her up from a sleepover to watch the U.S. women win the first-ever gold medal.

“My mom was like super specific about (it),” she said. “Making sure I was up at a certain time to see women play hockey at that level because until then we didn’t know that women could play hockey.”

Despite remembering those Games, Knight first felt like she could achieve her dreams of playing in the Olympics when the 2002 U.S. Women’s Olympic team toured the country and made a pit stop in Chicago, close by to her hometown of Lake Forest, Illinois.

“It’s really the old cliche of ‘if she can see it, she can be it’ and visibility is super important. To finally have women’s hockey in the Olympic Games is outstanding, but it’s not too long ago that it joined.”

On Monday, Knight took part in the USA Hockey Women’s National Festival at the Olympic Center in Lake Placid, the first time this event returned here since 2019.

“There are so many special things with this location and this area, so it’s always fun to come back,” she said.

As she stepped on to the 1980 Herb Brooks Arena ice, her presence both on and off the ice was felt right away. She led most of the drills for the forwards on the white team — one of four over-18 squads in Lake Placid this week. And at the end of practice, Knight gave one last speech to her fellow teammates before getting off the ice, with each player listening intently.

“I try to be as normal as possible,” Knight says.

She remembers what it was like to join the U.S. women’s national team in 2006 at just 17 years old and how intimidating it was. She makes an effort to ease the intensity, by joking around and having fun.

“We all play hockey for a reason and that’s why we’re all here,” she said. “Just to get better every single day and I think that’s the most simple message you can ever get across to somebody, so just to make it as normal as possible.”

As the oldest player on the over-18 squad, Knight is one of a just handful of players who were born before women’s hockey debuted in the Olympics and who are practicing in Lake Placid this week. Most haven’t had to experience what she went through early in her career.

“I get the question a lot, of ‘Don’t you wish you were 10 years later?’ she said. “‘Yeah,’ but ‘no’ at the same time. There are so many fantastic things that are happening and opportunity is so important. It’s great for the game.”

Knight said she was just happy to see younger women grow up with confidence and fewer barriers.

She continues playing hockey because it’s “intoxicating in the best way.” Despite being nearly five years older than most of her teammates, Knight is far from out of her prime. In April, she led the U.S. to a world championship after scoring a hat trick in the gold medal game, so the thought of competing in what would be a record fifth Olympics is far from out of the question.

When asked if she has plans on competing in the 2026 Games, Knight smiled.

“We’ll see,” she said.

“I love the group of people in the room,” she added. “That’s what it is all about. I think you get to a high level and you realize how special it is and when you keep coming back, you realize how special it is to continue to return. It’s just so incredible to be a part of this group and what we are able to accomplish both on and off the ice.”