Hilary Knight leads U.S. women's Olympic hockey roster

Olympic veteran Hilary Knight leads the U.S. women's hockey team unveiled on Friday for next month's Milano Cortina Winter Games.

Knight, 36, will set an American record in her sport with her fifth Winter Olympics appearance after winning gold in 2018 and three silver medals.

The 23-member Team USA roster features only 11 returning members of the silver medal-winning team from 2022 in Beijing. The roster includes 16 current PWHL players.

Newcomers include 21-year-old Wisconsin senior Laila Edwards, who will become the first Black women's player to represent the U.S. in the Winter Games.

"It still hasn't really kicked in yet. Getting that call is like a dream come true," Edwards said, per the Associated Press. "Always had dreams of playing in the pros, but the biggest dream was to go the Olympics, for sure."

Coached by John Wroblewski, the U.S. is considered the favorite for gold. The Americans open play against Czechia on Feb. 5 and the championship game is scheduled for Feb. 19.

--The 2026 U.S. women's Olympic hockey roster:

FORWARDS (13)

Hannah Bilka

Alex Carpenter

Kendall Coyne Schofield

Britta Curl-Salemme

Joy Dunne

Taylor Heise

Tessa Janecke

Hilary Knight

Abbey Murphy

Kelly Pannek

Hayley Scamurra

Kirsten Simms

Grace Zumwinkle

DEFENDERS (7)

Cayla Barnes

Laila Edwards

Rory Guilday

Caroline Harvey

Megan Keller

Lee Stecklein

Haley Winn

GOALTENDERS (3)

Aerin Frankel

Ava McNaughton

Gwyneth Philips