Fleet's Knight returns to mini camp healthy and in scoring form
Published
After a summer of rehabbing a lower-body injury, Hilary Knight is back on the ice for the Boston Fleet at PWHL minicamp ahead of the season opener against the Toronto Sceptres on Nov. 30.
Knight, 35, scored twice in her team’s 3-1 victory over the Montreal Victoire, and looks to be in mid-season form as the Boston captain gets set for her second season in the PWHL.
“I had a lower-body injury,” Knight revealed to TSN’s Kenzie Lalonde. “It just took pretty much all summer to come back from and, fortunately, had people and support staff to be able to help me get through that.
“But I think, if anything, it just really reinvigorated my love for the game and gratification every time I can get on the ice or when I'm in a room with this group, is take it all in.”
Knight began skating again in August, taking the ice alongside members of the Utah Hockey Club at their training camp. She credits that work in speeding up her decision-making with limited time and space on NHL.
The Palo Alto, Calif., native appeared for the United States in the Rivalry Series earlier this month, and recorded two goals late in the third period of Game 2 in what would end up as a tight 5-4 loss.
One of her teammates of the American national team, Hannah Bilka, joined Knight alongside Alina Muller on a line at minicamp this week, a pairing that the prolific scorer was thrilled with.
“I just love that we've teamed up with Bilka. Bilks is such a playmaker. She's got an unbelievable shot, super fast, very slippery out there. So, it's a good addition for us.”
The Fleet hope that Knight, Bilka, and Muller will help put an end to some of the scoring woes the team dealt with last season, as Boston ranked last in the league with just 60 goals scored in the 24-game regular season.
With a clean bill of health, and skating with some familiar linemates, Knight could be in for a dominant year as the Fleet gear up for the PWHL's second season.