Many hockey players choose jersey numbers as homages.
Hilary Knight wears No. 21 in tribute to her favorite player and inspiration to play hockey at a high level -- 1998 Olympic captain Cammi Granato. Knight also has the number tattooed on her arm.
They are the only U.S. women to wear No. 21 at the Olympics.
Knight, arguably the world’s best female hockey player, has a stick autographed by Granato from when she attended a youth camp.
This past summer, Granato spoke in person to the U.S. women’s national team for the first time. Knight had Granato sign her journal.
“So I have to hold it pretty closely now,” said Knight, the world championship MVP in 2015 and 2016 who scored the 2017 worlds golden goal in the final against Canada.
Knight, going to her third Olympics, is a leader on a U.S. roster seeking the nation’s first gold since the Granato-led team at the first Olympic women’s hockey tournament in 1998.
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