On a chilly morning in Madison weeks before the Olympic Games, three young Olympians ran ice hockey drills at the LaBahn Arena.
Pucks skidded across the ice as players worked on one-touch passing and slap shots. Seamless turns and quick stops made their moves look effortless.
Defender Caroline “KK” Harvey, right wing Kirsten Simms and goalie Ava McNaughton were practicing for the University of Wisconsin-Madison Badgers — but their minds were 4,500 miles away in Italy.
“It’s just such an honor and a dream come true,” McNaughton said after practice. “I think everybody would say that, but it’s so true — it’s exactly how it feels … to be able to represent the United States and play with such great players and kind of fulfill a lifelong dream.”
The powerhouse Badger program has a knack for churning out Olympic hockey players. Four current and two former Badgers are in Milan representing Team USA in women’s ice hockey. With 23 players on the roster, that means more than one-quarter of the team has played for Madison. Along with Harvey, Simms and McNaughton, forward-turned defender and current Badger Laila Edwards is part of the team. Alumna forward Britta Curl-Salemme and five-time Olympian and forward Hilary Knight round out the Badgers’ representation.
At 36, Knight is Team USA’s captain and the face of women’s hockey. She’s a forward and the captain of the Seattle Torrent of the Professional Women’s Hockey League — a league she played a key role in creating in 2023. In May, she shook up the hockey world when she announced this year’s Winter Olympics in Milan would be her last.
Knight told CBC Sports’ Hockey North she’s beyond grateful to compete on the world stage one more time.
“To be able to go to the Olympics, to be part of Team USA and represent your country — I mean, what an incredible honor, what an incredible opportunity. And to have an opportunity to do that five times, I’m just really grateful,” Knight said.
Knight played hockey at UW-Madison from 2007 to 2012. She holds the record for most goals scored of any hockey player at UW-Madison — men and women combined. While on the team, the Badgers took home two NCAA titles.
Her reign with the Badgers marked the beginning of the program’s dominance. Today, they have the most championships of any college women’s hockey team in the nation.
Much of that prowess has been influenced by Badgers’ head coach Mark Johnson. He’s led the team since 2002, stacking up a record 667 wins. He’s won more games than any coach in NCAA collegiate women’s hockey history. He also coached Team USA at the 2010 Olympic Games in Vancouver, capturing silver in the tournament.
But before leading young players to the podium, Johnson made a name for himself on the ice. He was part of Team USA during the famous “Miracle on Ice” game at the 1980 Olympics, scoring two goals that helped the U.S. defeat a heavily favored Soviet team.
Knight’s last dance gives US team something to rally around
The U.S. is favored to win a gold medal in women’s ice hockey this year. The young Badgers say they’re finding a little extra motivation in what it would mean for their captain.
“Every athlete’s going there for the gold medal. But I think given all that (Hilary Knight) has done for the program… it definitely is a driver in the back of your head,” McNaughton said. “It’d be amazing for her to go out on top and to be able to taste gold one more time.”
Though McNaughton and Knight’s time at UW-Madison didn’t overlap, the first-time Olympian said Knight has been generous with advice. Fellow first-time Olympian Simms agreed. She said she’s learned a lot from Knight both on and off the ice.
“She’s taken me under her wing,” Simms said. “She’s taken me on walks and given me the lay of the land … You can take something from her every single day on the ice.”
Harvey echoed that.
“Beyond how good of a player she is, she’s an unbelievable person, and she’s always had open arms and showed us the way,” she said. “She’s been just such an amazing leader.”
There’s also a built-in chemistry for these Badger athletes.
“They know you better than other players do, just because of how much time we spend together,” McNaughton said. “Being able to have familiar faces, especially in high pressure environments like that, will be really, really helpful.”
Especially helpful on the path to gold.
Will Team USA make gold again?
As for Team USA’s competition, all eyes will be on Canada. Since women’s hockey first debuted in the Winter Olympics in 1998, the U.S. has won gold twice. Team Canada has taken gold five times.
The Games are basically “a two-headed monster, until proven otherwise,” said AJ Mleczko, a two-time Olympian and ESPN analyst. She’ll be in the booth in Milan for NBC. “Hands down (the U.S.’s) biggest, biggest rival would be Canada. It always has been and for the foreseeable future, it always will be.”
Mleczko said this year’s team looks strong, pointing to Team USA’s crushing four-game win over Canada in the 2025 Rivalry Series.
“They just dominated them. I mean, it was amazing to see,” Mleczko said.
The games kicked off on Thursday. Team USA is 3-0 in the round-robin style preliminaries. They’ll take on Canada Tuesday afternoon. After that, they’ll shift focus to their first knockout game on Friday.
For Mleczko, Team USA’s combination of veteran leadership and “young guns” make them the team to beat.
“I think they’re poised for a really deep run. The gold medal is theirs for the taking,” Mlezcko said.
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