As Hilary Knight read a text message from a former U.S. women’s hockey player praising the team for sacrificing playing in the world championships over a wage dispute, she started to wonder who will play if they don’t make progress in talks with USA Hockey.
“We’re unanimously united as a player pool,” Knight said. “Good luck getting a suitable No. 1 competition to represent our country on a world stage. I kind of dare them. It’s tough.”
After players threatened Wednesday to boycott the upcoming tournament as defending champions on home ice, USA Hockey said it will “field a competitive team” for the International Ice Hockey Federation Women’s World Hockey Championship that begins March 31 in in Plymouth, Michigan.
After Knight, Amanda Kessel, captain Meghan Duggan and twins Jocelyne Lamoureux-Davidson and Monique Lamoureux-Morando were among those to lead the charge to skip the tournament, that’s easier said than done.
“If you ask older players, they’re going to say no because they’ve been through the wringer on these issues and if you ask the younger players, unanimously they’re going to say no because they believe in what we’re doing,” Knight said by phone Wednesday. “It’ll be interesting to see who they come up with.”