The other night, Hilary Knight was on her laptop, doing a deep dive into Detroit to try to find out what she will be called next in her career.
"I actually like I was messing around on the internet the other day just being like, okay, what are the most obscure names that have ties to Detroit?" Knight said. "And are we going to be one of those names? But I honestly, I don't know. The league keeps everything under sealed. But I mean, that's one of the most exciting things is when you finally get the name, you get the logo."
"We" refers to "PWHL Detroit," of which she became a member via a trade on June 16. Tuesday, Aug. 25, marked her first day at her new, as yet unnamed team's home, giving her a chance to roam Little Caesars Arena.
PWHL Detroit team name a mystery to GM, but we know the main criteria
"Oh my gosh, this is a beautiful facility and honestly I just can't wait to get started," she said. "I can't wait for all of us to get into town and get to work. It's such an iconic place to play, so really looking forward to taking the ice here. I was able to do that at a Takeover Tour game years ago and had a fantastic experience, and I was geeking out when we were on the bench looking up at the Jumbotron.
"This is a new home, so it's going to be a lot of fun."
Fun, and hard work. Detroit is one of four expansion teams added this summer to what was an eight-team league, with Detroit, Hamilton (Ontario), Las Vegas and San Jose joining Boston, Minnesota, Montreal, New York, Ottawa, Seattle, Toronto and Vancouver. Manon Rheaume, Detroit's general manager, was at Knight's press conference, smiling as Knight talked about the roster assembled.
"The familiarity, the depth that we also have," Knight said. "We have a lot of skill, we have a lot of like amazing effort players as well. There's a lot of inspiration to draw from Manon, so I'm really looking forward to getting together and just figuring out how it all clicks."
The season schedule has yet to be announced, but it may be pushed back from its usual November start to early December to accommodate the 2026 IIHF Women's World Ice Hockey Championship, which runs Nov. 6 -16 in Denmark. Knight, 37, will be there to represent USA, reuniting with many of the teammates she captained to the gold medal at the 2026 Milan-Cortina Olympics.
Back in Detroit, teammates include goaltender Andrea Brändli, who backstopped Switzerland to Olympic bronze in February and was named Best Goaltender and a tournament All-Star with a 1.94 goals-against average and a .953 save percentage.
"If you've seen the success of the league in years past, you have to have a goaltender of that caliber to be able to save you in some nights," Knight said. "Someone who makes the big saves and also motivate and inspire you from the back to the front, and makes you better when you're practicing as well.
"I always wanted to play goalie and my mom said only three goalies made a team and I'd have better luck playing up front. I think she was right."
Knight was signed to a two-year deal in Detroit. Her goal is to lead Detroit to the Walter Cup, the trophy for the PWHL championship which she has chased since she entered the league in its inaugural season of 2024 with Boston.
"I love winning," she said. "That's no mistake about that. It's the elusive Walter Cup for me, personally. I would love to win one of those. And I just I want to establish a successful foundation that is going to pay dividends hopefully right off the bat. I know what having a pro team does to community. And having that impact off the ice and on the ice is really special to me. So this is a wonderful opportunity to do that.
"Visibility and representation are so important. To even have that small impact on somebody's life, doing a sport that we all fell in love with at that age, it's just so special. I think if she can see it, she can be it."
Besides the hockey aspect, Knight is looking forward to getting settled into her new home and enjoy it.
"I'm really excited about pizza," she said. "I love pizza. I love coffee. I just love like hanging out and listening to music, having a good time, socializing with other teammates.
"This is a new opportunity, a new beginning to just experience so many different awesome towns and a wonderful city."
Contact Helene St. James at Hstjames@freepress.com. Read more on the Detroit Red Wings and sign up for our Red Wings newsletter.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Team USA icon Hilary Knight sets high goal for PWHL Detroit: Winning 'right off the bat'
