https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcas...=1000527837991
Hilary Knight was the most recent guest on Cammi Granato and AJ Mleczko's podcast. A fun listen. Not linked but there is also a Katie King and Courtney Kennedy episode that is a great listen as well, about as college hockey focused as the show has gotten thus far.
Somewhat related, I have to do a long rant. USA Hockey's website said they were going to release their centralization roster at end of June. We are now at July 5 and nothing. Why? If expectations changed, at the very least wouldn't you communicate a new expected release date? I know we're talking about the inclusion or exclusion of possibly just 4 names (Bellamy's spot plus 3 more for centralization) but this is what sports fandom is. How many hours get spent anticipating free agency or the draft on the NHL side? Countless hours. So let us have our fun on the women's side....release a centralization roster USA Hockey!
One of the things I've noticed in the past two Hilary Knight interviews I've listened to (On the Bus, and also a Forbes podcast), is that she appears to be done talking about USA Hockey and their failures that resulted in the threatened boycott in 2017. Makes sense I suppose because ultimately to move the game forward the governing bodies need to be part of the solution and it will take players and governing bodies working together. For one party to constantly be talking about the failures of the past is understandably counterproductive at a certain point, especially given staff turnover at USA Hockey since that time. I look at the relationship between the USWNT for soccer and their governing body - lawsuits, documentaries, turning jerseys inside out, long threads online of each group shredding the other and can't think of anything more dysfunctional. I do not want women's hockey to go down that path, because it looks like the most painful and exhausting path to progress.
That said - if USA Hockey continues to fail the women (as US Soccer is perceived to have done to their national team), how can the sport move past the adversarial relationship? Releasing a centralization roster around the date that you said you were going to seems like a pretty low level of effort to expend for one of your most valuable properties. And as someone who spends clicks and money on this program, aka a fan, it's such a slap in the face at certain point. This insular culture sucks. It's also a slap in the face to the few dedicated media that cover the women's game. What if you are a freelancer that covers the women's game and expect a roster end of June so pitch a late June article to a publication? Then crickets, and guess what now it's July and the focus is on the summer Olympics.
The last time we got to see the Senior Women's National Team in hockey, what did they do? They broke a record for attendance at a US based women's hockey game, when they played at the Honda Center in front of more than 13,000 fans. They entertained till the last second winning in OT, a 4-3 decision over Canada. Hometown girl Annie Pankowski got a point in the game. Face of the game Hilary Knight scored a goal. What more do these women need to do for the powers that be to put some respect on this program?
Very disappointing to see this. Get on board or get out of the way USA Hockey, as the saying goes. You have the resources to communicate and promote your senior women’s national team so do so.
