Decker is now joining another group of individuals who set themselves apart. The 33-year-old is being enshrined into the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame on Dec. 4 in Pittsburgh. Joining her in the Class of 2024 are Matt Cullen, the late Frederic McLaughlin, Kevin Stevens and the 2002 U.S. Paralympic Sled Hockey Team. Additionally, Sam Rosen will be honored with the Lester Patrick Trophy.

Decker’s credentials pop off the page.

She helped the U.S. capture an Olympic gold medal in 2018 and silver medals in 2014 and 2022. The U.S. also took home six IIHF Women’s World Championship golds (2011, 2013, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2019) and two silvers (2012, 2021) with Decker on the ice.

Decker won the 2012 Patty Kazmaier Trophy as the best player in NCAA Division I women’s hockey while competing at Wisconsin and was a two-time NWHL MVP while with the Boston Pride. She won an NCAA championship in 2011 and an NWHL title in 2016. Decker earned the USA Hockey Bob Allen Women’s Player of the Year Award twice while tallying 170 points in 147 games with the national team.

The Lamoureux twins saw a lot of that production not only as teammates at Shattuck-St. Mary’s — where they would win two of the next three national titles together and Decker added another her senior season — but on the national team as well.

Decker and the twins became roommates two years later, which only pushed the competitiveness level higher. By that time, the trio had become inseparable when it came to workouts. At one point, Stafford had all three on the same line. Imagine a top high school line with three future Hall of Famers (the twins were inducted into the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame in 2022).

“We did pretty well,” Lamoureux-Morando said.

Decker’s competitiveness came out in other ways. At the 2019 NHL All-Star Game, Decker and Kendall Coyne Schofield participated in skills competitions. Decker displayed her elite passing ability by beating eight NHL players in the passing challenge, besting the fastest man’s time by three seconds.

There is another side to Decker. When she won the skills competition, she was later awarded $25,000 by CCM. Decker used the money to start the Brianna Decker Endowment for Girls Hockey, which supports furthering 8U and 10U girls programs nationally.

Decker retired at age 31 and is now in her third season assisting Stafford at Shattuck-St. Mary’s. She has also served as an assistant coach for the U.S. Under-18 Women’s National Team at four IIHF Under-18 World Championships.

“I imagine she's going to have fun [as a coach], but you've got to work hard before the fun happens,” Lamoureux-Davidson said. “But you set that expectation. I imagine she's going to be a coach that you know where the bar is, you know what has to get done and we're going to have fun doing that, but there's an expectation that we're all just going to show up and work hard today.”

Story from Red Line Editorial, Inc.