Fleet captain Hilary Knight and Bruins prospect Will Zellers will be among 12 individuals honored by USA Hockey next week at an awards dinner in Denver, the organization announced.
Knight was named women’s player of the year after captaining the US national team to the 2025 IIHF Women’s World Championship, leading the team in goals (9) and assists (7). She recorded a point in all but one game.
Knight now holds the IIHF all-time Women’s World Championship scoring records for points (120), goals (67), and assists (53). She is the most decorated player in IIHF World Championship history with 15 medals, including 10 gold.
Knight also represented the US during the 2024-25 Rivalry Series, recording three goals in four games to lead all skaters in the series.
While competing with the Fleet, the forward led the PWHL in points with 29, and was second in goals with 15.
Zellers, whose rights were acquired by the Bruins from the Avalanche as part of the trade that sent Charlie Coyle to Colorado, was named the junior player of the year after leading the USHL in points per game with 1.37 after racking up 44 goals and 27 assists in 52 games.
He is the first member of the Green Bay Gamblers to win USHL forward of the year. The Maple Grove, Minn., native also led the league in game-winning goals (7) and was sixth in power play goals (10), helping lead the Gamblers to a spot in the 2024-25 USHL Playoffs.
The forward was selected by the Avalanche in third round of the 2024 NHL Draft with the 76th overall pick after posting 57 goals and 111 points in 54 games with powerhouse Shattuck St. Mary’s.
Colorado shipped him to the Bruins, along with Casey Mittelstadt and a second-round pick in exchange for Coyle and a 2026 fifth-round pick at this year’s trade deadline. Zellers will be a freshman at North Dakota next fall.
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