If you’ve moved on from the cottage… I feel bad for you.
Because four months later, I’m still there — and life is, well… great.
With my residency still very much lakeside, there was no way I wasn’t talking about Heated Rivalry when I got the chance to catch up with five-time Olympian and fellow HR fan girl Hilary Knight.
Last time we spoke, she hadn’t watched the show yet. But after my recommendation (yes, I’m absolutely claiming that — respectfully), she didn’t just watch — she stepped all the way into the world. Meeting the stars, Connor Storrie and Hudson Williams, along with creator Jacob Tierney and author Rachel Reid, whose bestselling books sparked the phenomenon.
So like any good journalist, I had to start there — before getting to her historic gold win.
Because fresh off her latest Olympic victory, Hilary hasn’t exactly slowed down. If anything, she’s accelerated — turning a post-Olympics run into a full-blown, box office–level press run.
One of the highlights? A stop at Saturday Night Live, where she appeared during Connor’s debut episode alongside fellow Team USA star Megan Keller — who, casually, scored the game-winning Olympic goal in the final against Canada.
But for Hilary, the real moment didn’t happen on stage — though that was an equally amazing highlight.
It happened backstage.
“Hudson and Rachel’s dressing room [was] right next to [mine and Megan’s], and at first I got in there, I was like, ‘don’t be a fangirl, don’t be a fangirl,’” she admitted. “And then we’re in there for hours, and I’m like, ‘I’m going next door.’”
It’s funny — and a little ironic — an Olympic hockey champion trying not to fangirl over actors playing hockey players. But it also speaks to something deeper: a shared understanding of performance at the highest level, no matter the arena.
“It’s like, we work our butts off, and we’re grinding always, and constantly, and doing all these amazing Olympic feats,” Hilary said. “And then, to kind of have that touchpoint was just really special.”
That same appreciation extended to the SNL experience itself — a space Hilary recognized as elite in its own right.
“SNL is really cool, because it’s just… it’s iconic, right? Everybody knows about it,” she said. “And then you go behind the curtain, so to speak, and it’s the same high-performance environment that you find in sports.”
In other words: greatness recognizes greatness.
And as for Connor and Hudson? Hilary had nothing but praise for Hollywood’s new favorite duo.
“Connor’s a superstar,” she said. “He’s got that aura, he’s got that vibe… there’s something special about those two. […] I can’t wait to see the other projects that they’re gonna work on.”
The all-time leading goal scorer in U.S. Olympic women’s hockey helped lead Team USA back to the top, securing her fifth Olympic medal and closing out her Olympic career with gold.
Still, in the weeks since, she’s been less focused on the hardware and more focused on the moment.
“I’ve been taking it all in,” Hilary said. “There’s so many things that go into one person’s success, and I had friends and family there, and it was just so special in that way… what a storybook ending to win at the end.”
That perspective is what makes this win feel different.
“From a national team standpoint, representing your country is just always such a huge honor,” she continued. “When you take the ice, you really feel like America’s team, and you can have a positive impact through sport… and I really felt like that’s what we were doing out there.”
“And now to find that success at the end of the journey, and be able to share that tangible win with everyone — the medal — is so cool. All of us going into our respective communities, having a piece of hardware and being able to share that with people is just so outstanding.”
But if the medal is the headline, the memories are the story.
When I asked Hilary about her “happy place” during the Games, she didn’t hesitate. It wasn’t the rink. It wasn’t the podium.
It was a dinner.
A random, squeezed-in family dinner after one of the games.
“I was just filled with so much gratitude,” she said. “We ended up meeting at a pizza place… and to see my godchildren, it was just so cool that everyone made the trip. You could feel the love.”
“Everyone was just so happy to be at the Olympics, enjoying themselves, and it’s just sort of a testament to all the sacrifices they’ve made to put one of us kids in a position to realize our dreams… that was really special.”
Because while the world sees gold, she sees the path it took to get there.
“And it’s not necessarily a destination,” Hilary said, reflecting on the Hershey’s “Happy Place” message. “It’s really those smaller touchpoints along the way.”
And then, as if the storybook ending needed one more chapter — there was this: an engagement.
During her final Olympic run, Hilary got engaged to four-time Olympic speed skater Brittany Bowe, who was also competing in her last Games.
The two, who met through the Olympics, found themselves — fittingly — sharing the experience side by side.
“We met through the Olympic Games, and the majority of each one of our lives has been spent in that Olympic spirit,” Hilary said. “So to be able to share that… we were actually just down the hall from one another, and it worked out really well.”
They saw each other every day. Cheered each other on. Moved through the chaos of the Games together.
“It was just kind of a storybook ending to these amazing careers,” she said. “Her last Games, my last Games… and she was at our gold medal victory as well.”
“So, to be able to share something like that with a person that you love the most is outstanding… it was just great.”