Brianna Decker is a retired professional ice hockey player. She’s 31 years-old. She played college hockey for the University of Wisconsin. She was a member of the U.S. Women’s Hockey Team and won 3 Olympic medals. Decker played professional hockey in both the National Women’s Hockey League (NWHL) and the Canadian Women’s Hockey League (CWHL). She is a founding member of the Professional Women’s Hockey Players Association (PWHPA). Decker recently announced her retirement.
Brianna Decker attended the University of Wisconsin and played on their Division One hockey team. In the 2009/10 season, her freshman year, Decker recorded 4 multi-goal games and was third in team scoring for the Badgers. She scored her third career hat trick on September 25, 2011 as the Badgers soundly defeated the Lindenwood Lady Lions by an impressive 13-0 score. Decker went on a 32-game scoring streak from February 11, 2011 to January 6, 2012, racking up 33 goals and 44 assists in that stretch. Her scoring streak is the longest in school history. Decker won the 2012 Patty Kazmaier Award for best Division One women’s hockey player during her junior season. Upon graduating college, Decker went on to become a star for the U.S. Hockey Team.
Brianna Decker made her debut on the U.S. Hockey Team at the 2011 World Championships. The U.S. won Gold that year. The U.S. also won Gold at the 2013, 2015, 2016, 2017, and 2019 World Championships. The U.S. won Silver at the 2012 and 2021 World Championships. Decker made three appearances at the Olympics. The U.S. won Silver at the 2014 and 2022 Olympics. They won Gold at the 2018 Olympics. The U.S. played Canada in the Gold Medal Match all three years. Decker scored 81 goals in 147 games with the U.S. Hockey Team.
Brianna Decker made her professional debut in the Canadian Women’s Hockey League in 2015 for the Boston Blades. The Blades won the 2015 Clarkson Cup over the Montreal Stars. The following season, Decker signed a free agent contract with the Boston Pride of the National Women’s Hockey League. She scored the first hat trick in NWHL history on October 25, 2015. She earned consecutive NWHL MVP awards in the 2015/16 and 2016/17 seasons. Decker returned to the CWHL in 2018 and signed with the Calgary Inferno. The Inferno won the 2019 Clarkson Cup and Decker won the Clarkson Cup Playoffs MVP award. Decker left the CWHL in 2019 to form the Professional Women’s Hockey Players Association alongside U.S. teammate Hilary Knight and other members of the U.S. Women’s Hockey Team.
Brianna Decker is a founding member of the Professional Women’s Hockey Players Association. The PWHPA was formed in protest of the NWHL. The players who founded the PWHPA perceived the NWHL as having less-than-optimal playing conditions and unfair salary compensation. Decker participated in the inaugural PWHPA Dream Gap Tour in 2019. She was a member of Team New Hampshire in the 2020/21 PWHPA season and participated in the 2021 Dream Gap Tour. Brianna Decker announced her retirement from hockey on March 2, 2023.
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