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Olympian says Salt Lake City should seek a professional women's hockey team
Summary
Hillary Knight, a five-time Olympian and two-time Olympic gold medalist, told a Salt Lake City audience she would 'love' a professional women's hockey team in Salt Lake and said the city would be an 'amazing' home for pro women's hockey.
Hillary Knight, introduced onstage at a Salt Lake City watch party, said she hopes Salt Lake City could host a professional women's hockey team and urged fans to support the growth of the sport locally.
"I would love that. I would love to have a team here in Salt Lake," Knight said during a live Q&A, adding that she and other players train in Utah in the summers and value local community support. She described the U.S. women's team's recent style of play in Milan–Cortina as "moving the needle" for the sport and stressed that increased fan engagement can help build a professional market.
Knight's comments were framed as a community appeal rather than an announcement of a franchise or formal negotiations. She said exhibition and "takeover" events have shown strong local support and suggested that Salt Lake City could be a natural fit for a pro women's team given the region's interest and training infrastructure.
Event organizers and other athletes onstage echoed the call for public support for athletes and youth opportunities, but no new franchise or organizational steps were announced at the watch party.
