Hannah Bilka

Hannah Bilka (born March 24, 2001) is an American professional ice hockey player for the PWHL Detroit of the Professional Women's Hockey League (PWHL) and member of the United States women's national ice hockey team. A native of Coppell, Texas, Bilka overcame the challenges of growing up in a non-traditional hockey market to become one of the top players in women's hockey. Bilka played college ice hockey at Boston College for four seasons (2019–2023), and was named the Women's Hockey Commissioners Association National Rookie of the Year in 2020. She transferred to Ohio State for her graduate season in 2023–24, where she led the team in scoring and helped the Buckeyes win the 2024 NCAA National Championship. Bilka is the first and only person from the state of Texas to win an Olympic gold medal in ice hockey.

Internationally, Bilka has represented the United States at multiple levels. She won gold and silver medals at the IIHF World Women's U18 Championship in 2018 and 2019, respectively. At the senior level, she has competed in three IIHF Women's World Championships, winning gold in 2023 and silver medals in 2022 and 2024.

Bilka was drafted fourth overall by PWHL Boston in the 2024 PWHL draft and signed a three-year contract with the team. After one season with Boston, she was selected third overall by the Seattle Torrent in the 2025 PWHL Expansion Draft, reuniting her with former Boston teammate and U.S. national team captain Hilary Knight. She helped lead the Sabres to a Tier 1 U19 national championship in 2018 and a runner-up finish in 2019. During her freshman year, she recorded 14 goals and 23 assists in 34 games. She led the team in points with 37, and led all rookies in the country in total points per game (1.13), assists per game (0.71) and shots on goal per game (4.06) during the regular season and tied for first in shots on goal (126). her 30 points in Hockey East play marked the ninth-highest total by a first-year player in league history. Following an outstanding season, she was named to the Hockey East Second Team, a unanimous selection to the Hockey East All-Rookie Team, and the USCHO All-Rookie Team. She was also awarded the Hockey East Rookie of the Year and the Women's Hockey Commissioners Association National Rookie of the Year.

During the 2020–21 season in her sophomore year, she recorded seven goals and nine assists in 19 games, in a season that was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. She ranked third on the team in scoring with 16 points and was subsequently named to the Hockey East Third Team. During the 2021–22 season in her junior year, she recorded 16 goals and 17 assists in 34 games. She ranked second on the team in points with 33 and led the team with a career-best plus-18 rating.

On August 19, 2022, Bilka was named a captain of the Eagles for the 2022–23 season. During her senior year, she recorded 12 goals and 29 assists in 34 games. She finished tied for fourth overall in conference scoring with 32 points, and 1.28 points per game. Her 24 assists in conference games tied for second most in the league. Following the season she was named a Hockey East Second-Team All-Star.

On March 25, 2023, Bilka announced she was transferring to Ohio State for the 2023–24 season. During her graduate transfer year she led the team in points with 22 goals and 26 assists in 39 games. During the 2024 NCAA Division I women's ice hockey tournament she assisted on the game-winning goal to help lead the Buckeyes to the national championship.

Professional Boston Fleet (2024–2025)

On June 10, 2024, Bilka was drafted fourth overall by Boston in the 2024 PWHL draft. Despite her shortened season, she was recognized as one of the team's key rookies. On January 5, 2025, during the PWHL's Takeover Tour game at Climate Pledge Arena in Seattle, she recorded a goal and an assist in a game against the Montréal Victoire, which proved significant as it foreshadowed her eventual move to the city. On February 12, 2025, Bilka was placed on long-term injured reserve, ending her rookie season with Boston.

Seattle Torrent (2025–2026) alt=Seattle Torrent players line up on the ice before their home opener in front of a record-breaking crowd at Climate Pledge Arena. On June 9, 2025, Bilka was drafted third overall by the Seattle Torrent in the 2025 PWHL Expansion Draft. Seattle general manager Meghan Turner, who had served as assistant general manager in Boston during Bilka's rookie season, was familiar with her playing style and potential. Bilka was among seven players selected by Seattle in the expansion draft, joining a roster that included established stars such as Knight, Alex Carpenter, and Cayla Barnes.

Bilka made her Seattle Torrent debut on November 21, 2025, in the team's historic first game against the Vancouver Goldeneyes at Pacific Coliseum. In the game, which Vancouver won 4–3 in overtime, she scored a goal late in the third period with just over six minutes remaining. The goal extended her scoring streak, giving her five points in her last six games dating back to the previous season. The game drew a record-breaking crowd of 16,014 fans, setting a new attendance record for a professional women's hockey game in the United States.

Bilka recorded her first multi-point game as a Torrent player on December 3, 2025, when she assisted on both power-play goals in a 2–1 comeback victory over the New York Sirens in the last 90 seconds of the game. As of early December 2025, Bilka is tied for the team lead in points. Throughout the early portion of Seattle's inaugural season, Bilka has been deployed on the top line alongside Knight and Carpenter, forming what analysts have described as a potential Olympic-caliber trio. Bilka assisted on Julia Gosling's power-play goal late in the first period and on Alex Carpenter's first goal in the second period, before scoring the first empty-net goal in Torrent franchise history with 1:30 remaining. On January 20, 2026, Bilka recorded her third multi-point game of the season with a goal and an assist in Seattle's 6–4 victory over Toronto, in the highest-scoring game of the PWHL season at the time. The Torrent's six goals set a franchise record and matched the season high for any PWHL team. Bilka was named the second star of the game.

PWHL Detroit (2026–present) During the league's expansion to 12 teams ahead of the 2026–27 season, Bilka was left unprotected by the Torrent and signed a two-year contract with PWHL Detroit on June 5, 2026.

International play Junior Bilka represented the United States under-18 team at the 2018 IIHF World Women's U18 Championship in Dmitrov, Russia, where she recorded one goal and two assists in five games and won a gold medal. The tournament marked her first senior IIHF Women's World Championship appearance. During the tournament, she was paired on the first line with veteran Hilary Knight, fulfilling a dream for Bilka, who had met Knight as a 14-year-old at a 2014 select camp. She finished the tournament with five goals and seven assists in seven games, helping the United States win a silver medal. She ranked third overall in scoring with 12 points. Her performance established her as one of the tournament's top players despite being in her first senior international competition. During the tournament, she recorded four goals and three assists and was one of only two American players to score in every game of the tournament, maintaining a point streak throughout. The United States defeated Canada 6–3 in the gold medal game to win the country's first gold medal since 2019 and 10th overall. Bilka played a key role in the team's success, contributing alongside fellow Ohio State signee Cayla Barnes and helping the United States reclaim the world championship. During the tournament, she was utilized on a line with Abbey Murphy and Tessa Janecke, a combination that proved effective in the knockout stages. In the semifinal game against Finland, she scored the opening goal 12:01 into the contest, gathering a rebound off an Abbey Murphy shot to help the United States to a 5–0 victory and advance to the gold medal game. The United States lost to Canada 6–5 in overtime in the gold medal game, earning a silver medal and extending Team USA's streak to 23 consecutive medals at the Women's World Championship.

Bilka was named to the U.S. roster for the opening three games of the 2024–25 Rivalry Series in November 2024, as one of 24 returning players from the 2024 World Championship team. In the opening game on November 6, 2024, in San Jose, California, she scored on a power play in the second period, capping off a series of six passes with assists from Alex Carpenter and Laila Edwards, as the United States defeated Canada 7–2. The victory marked Team USA's largest margin of victory in Rivalry Series history. She was also selected for the February 2025 leg of the Rivalry Series, joining 17 returning players from the November roster. In Game 4 on February 6, 2025, in Halifax, Nova Scotia, she scored in the shootout to help the United States defeat Canada 2–1 and even the series at 2–2. However, Bilka was injured during the series and missed time in the final games.

Bilka returned to the U.S. roster for the final two games of the 2025 Rivalry Series on December 10 and 13 in Edmonton, Alberta. She was deployed on a line with Taylor Heise at center and Abbey Murphy on the right wing throughout the series. In the November 8 game in Buffalo, New York, she assisted on Hilary Knight's second power-play goal of the game. The United States swept all four games of the series, outscoring Canada 24–7, with victories of 4–1, 6–1, 10–4, and 4–1. Following the series, Bilka was identified by analysts as a likely member of the U.S. Olympic roster for the 2026 Winter Olympics, with her line alongside Heise and Murphy described as one of the team's locked-in top-six forward combinations heading into the Games. During the team's last preliminary round game against Canada on February 10, Bilka scored two goals to lift the U.S. to a 5–0 win. This marked the first time that Canada had been shutout in women's ice hockey at the Olympic Games. During the team's quarterfinal game against Italy, she scored the sixth goal solidifying the U.S.' 6–0 win as the team advanced undefeated to the semifinals. She finished the tournament with four goals and three assists in seven games and won a gold medal. Her four goals tied Thea Johansson for the tournament lead. She was subsequently named to the media all-star team.

Career statistics Regular season and playoffs Regular seasonPlayoffs Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM 2019–20 Boston College HE 34 14 23 37 12 — — — — — 2020–21 Boston College HE 19 7 9 16 2 — — — — — 2021–22 Boston College HE 34 16 17 33 26 — — — — — 2022–23 Boston College HE 34 12 29 41 14 — — — — — 2023–24 Ohio State University WCHA 39 22 26 48 22 — — — — — 2024–25 Boston Fleet PWHL 16 5 6 11 6 — — — — — 2025–26 Seattle Torrent PWHL 14 4 5 9 4 — — — — —PWHL totals 30 9 11 20 10 — — — — —

International

Awards and honors Honors Year College National Rookie of the Year2020 Hockey East All-Rookie Team Hockey East First Team 2022 New England Hockey Writers Association All-Star Hockey East Second Team 2023 International Winter Olympics Media All-Star Team 2026

Other work Bilka has remained committed to growing girls' hockey in Texas, returning in the summers to work with youth programs and camps. She has expressed pride in the development of girls' hockey organizations in the Dallas area, noting the significant growth since her youth, which now allows young girls to stay home rather than relocating to pursue elite hockey opportunities.