The Seattle Torrent had six players compete in the 2026 Winter Olympic Games in Milan.  The players are back in Seattle to kick off the second half of the PWHL season and the gold medal winners from Team USA attended a celebratory press conference at the Space Needle Wednesday afternoon.

Team USA had four Torrent players including: captain, for both the Torrent and Team USA, Hilary Knight; alternate captain for both teams Alex Carpenter; three-time Olympian defender Cayla Barnes; and first-time Olympian, Hannah Bilka. All four players got on the score sheet throughout the tournament with each scoring at least one goal. Seattle's contingent also included Aneta Tejralová who captained Team Czechia, and Julia Gosling, who scored three goals and had two assists and took home a silver medal with Team Canada.

During the gold medal game against Canada Knight scored the tying goal to send the game to overtime. With that goal she became the all-time leading score in U.S. women’s ice hockey history with fifteen goals spanning her five Olympic appearances. She also set the record for all-time points leader with 33 points during her Olympic career.

For the first time in the history of Team USA Hockey, both the women and men’s teams won gold. During the men’s team’s locker room celebration, U.S. President Donald Trump made a phone call to the team to invite them to the White House and joked that he’s also “have to invite the women’s team” or he would be “impeached.” He said this to the raucous laughter of at least most of the U.S. men’s team.

Unfortunately, this phone call, and events surrounding it, has been a big part of the gold medal story. Once again women are the subject of “locker room talk” and made the butt of a joke that, frankly, wasn’t funny. The understandable disappointment and talk about this event are threatening to overshadow the incredible accomplishment that is the women winning gold medals.

Megan Rapinoe, a Seattle legacy soccer player, World Cup title winner, and Olympian medalist as well, attended the press conference. She said, as she addressed the room, but mostly the gold medalists sitting next to her, “You know I’m not going to let it slide, obviously” referencing the locker room phone call.

“What was so clear to me in that ratchet phone call was that had nothing to do with you and that said nothing about you,” said Rapinoe. “Everyone that watched that clip or saw that moment said ‘hell no.’ You might not be for everybody, but you’re for us. You’re ours. You’re ours here in Seattle, You’re ours here in America. Thank you for this incredible moment that you gave us that will be memories for the rest of our lives with our friends and our families.”

Knight was also asked about the incident. As captain, she has had to address this and, as she states, it’s truly not her responsibility. She, and the other players, are not here to explain away poor behavior and comments.

"The joke was distasteful and unfortunate...Now I have to sit in front of you...and explain someone else's behavior. It's not my responsibility," Knight said.

As Knight states, it’s time to shift the narrative to the accomplishments what that means for Team USA women’s hockey moving forward. It also signifies a shift to the PWHL as the Seattle Torrent enter the second half of their inaugural season.

The Torrent play their first game back after the Olympic break on Friday and Climate Pledge Arena is nearly sold out. Fans, both new and seasoned, have the chance to see Olympians on both sides of the ice right in their own barn. It’s especially profound when considering the surge of youth hockey in Washington state and the Seattle area.

“It’s incredibly important. We’ve never had this before. We were only ever recognized every four years. Now there’s a place, just a few days after we get home, where they can come and watch us play,” said Barnes. “There’s Olympians on teams everywhere so that continued exposure is huge for young kids. If they can see it, they can be it. We’re just excited to be able to showcase that and be home in Seattle and play on Friday.”

StubHub posted on X that interest in women’s professional hockey tickets jumped 50% after the U.S. women won the gold. There has also been a surge among social networks of new fans asking what PWHL team they should start to follow. This is a time when women's sports, and hockey specifically, is on the rise. These athletes deserve the celebration, the recognition, and the support- and they always have.

“It’s been an incredible ride to be able to sell out Climate Pledge, hear the momentum of the fans, set records together, have different touchpoints within the community,” said Knight. “While we go and do this amazing feat together as Team USA, it’s so special to be able to have a piece of hardware- whether it’s silver or gold- to be able to share that with this community that’s championed us, who’s loved us, and supported us since day one and even before day one before we even got here. Thank you very much for supporting us and we’re really looking forward to our game coming up on Friday. What a tremendous honor to have six Olympians from this market represent Seattle on the world stage.”

The Seattle Torrent host the Toronto Sceptres in Seattle at nearly sold-out Climate Pledge Arena on Friday, February 27 at 7:00 pm PST.