Where In The World Is Hilary Knight?
With Four Nations looming, can we expect to see Knight on the ice?
The Boston Pride are three games into the 2016-2017 season, and there’s still no sign of Hilary Knight.
Knight, arguably the best player in the league, has been missing from NWHL ice since preseason. It hasn’t hurt the Pride too much, thanks to some impressive rookies like Alex Carpenter and the ridiculous depth that comes with having half of the US National Team on your roster.
It seems clear by now that Hilary Knight is injured, though for how long we don’t know. Head coach Bobby Jay wasn’t specific when it came to the nature of the injury or Knight’s timeline:
“I’ll pull a Bill Belichick on you, which is the truth: I never went to med school, I don’t know, I just tell the trainer ‘Get her back as soon as you can and tell me when she’s ready,’” he said with a grin after the team’s first home game. “Obviously we’ll be excited to get her back, but I sincerely don’t know. It could be next weekend, it could be three weeks...When they tell me she’s ready to go, I’ll find a spot for her somewhere.”
Those who were at Boston’s home opener noticed that Knight appeared to be limping a little when walking out for the banner ceremony, so a lower body injury isn’t out of the realm of possibility.
There’s also the tweet from Wednesday, which shows her with KT Tape (used to treat common sports injuries and pain) on her leg. Could be nothing, could be something.
And it's @KTTape for the win!!!! Helping me get back to 100%! #kttape pic.twitter.com/micSFNKKf7
— Hilary Knight (@Hilary_Knight) October 19, 2016
What isn’t known is how long the injury will keep her out. That’s not necessarily bad news for the Pride (though they’ll surely want her back sooner rather than later), but with the Four Nations tournament rapidly approaching, Knight’s injury could hurt Team USA’s chances at defending their title at the tournament. She was listed on the original roster, but it’s unclear if she’ll be ready to play. It’s possible she wants to wait until she’s completely healthy before she competes, especially so close to international competition. For now, only time will tell.
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