Frost look to make more history as two-time defending champions

by Robert Brent, Let’s Play Hockey

When the Minnesota Frost take the ice for their season opener on Friday, November 21, against the Toronto Scepters, they’ll do so as two-time defending Walter Cup champions. On Thursday, the team released the roster, aiming to deliver a historic three-peat.

The Frost roster will feature 13 forwards, seven defenders and three goaltenders, along with three reserve players for the season. While a significant percentage of last year’s team will return, the expansion of the PWHL from six to eight teams has led to notable roster turnover.

The Frost will return 17 players, leaving nine new faces in the Minnesota organization. Head Coach Ken Klee says the roster turnover was expected, given the new franchises, but energizing.

“It’s exciting to add new players to the mix,” Klee said. “We know the players we were allowed to keep, and we lost some key ones as well, but so did everybody. So I think the feeling is excitement. It’s exciting to get our season kicked off and see where we’re at.”

The most noteworthy area of change will be on the Frost blueline. Of the seven defenders the team will employ to start the season, only three (Mae Batherson, Natalie Buchbinder and Lee Stecklein) will return from last season.

Standout blueliners from last season, Sophie Jaques and Claire Thompson, are both off to join the Vancouver Goldeneyes, and their absence should be noticed. That being said, the Frost do have substantial additions that will make up a new look defensive core.

One new addition that’s sure to make a difference is Sidney Morin. Morin, a Minnesota Duluth Alum, has played the past two seasons in Boston, but signed a two-year deal with the Frost in June. The veteran blueliner has received rave reviews from Frost general manager Melissa Carusso.

“Once Sid became available, we jumped right on that. We thought her veteran presence would be a great addition to the group,” Caruso said. “She’s a great fit personally and professionally around here. Being from Minnesota helped her transition as well. She’s been really amazing at training camp, and we’re looking forward to seeing what she can do.”

While the Frost’s defense will look significantly different this season, their forward group remains much more stable. Of the 13 forwards who made Minnesota’s opening-night roster, 10 will return from last season’s roster.

The Frost’s top two scorers from last season, Kendall Coyne-Schofield and Taylor Heise, return along with fan favorites like Kelly Pannek and Grace Zumwinkle. Denisa Křīžovā is another name on the roster of note, due to the unique path she took to suit up for the Frost to start the season.

Křīžovā played her first two PWHL seasons in Minnesota but appeared to be headed out after the Vancouver Goldeneyes selected her 12th overall in the PWHL expansion draft. Křīžovā’s Vancouver tenure ended without her ever appearing for the team, as they traded her back to Minnesota days ago for forward Anna Segedi.

Ken Kell spoke glowingly about adding Denisa Křīžovā back to the squad.

“She was a player who was picked up in the expansion, and we were sad to see her go. When we had the chance to get her back, I think we were all really excited,” Klee said. “She was a key contributor for us last season. She knows our system, she knows the way we play. She knows our habits, our inner workings, of how things work day in and day out.”

The Frost have built a fairly consistent roster, and it starts in net. All three goaltenders, Maddie Rooney, Nicole Hensley and Marlène Boissonnault, from last year will return. Rooney and Hensley give Minnesota a duo of goaltenders who have both risen to the occasion in the Walter Cup.

Hensley was a key player in the team’s first championship, while Rooney played the hero role for last year’s team. Only time will tell who can take the lion’s share of the starts this season, but coach Klee is happy to have two stalwarts in net.

“We have 1A and 1B here. I think they complement each other extremely well. They’re super supportive with each other,” Klee said. “The nicest thing as a coach is knowing that our team is very comfortable in front of either goalie. They don’t think they have to change the way they play. They know that those two do their job.”

With the roster finalized, the Frost will begin the season with an intriguing group of veteran leadership and new talent. The core of a championship team is still intact, and the group can clearly push for the Walter Cup Championship again. 

Click here for Frost Schedule:

https://www.thepwhl.com/en/stats/schedule/2/8/all-months/homeaway?league=1

Minnesota Frost Roster

*Denotes returning players 

Forwards (13): 

Peyton Anderson 

Claire Butorac * 

Britta Curl-Salemme * 

Kendall Coyne Schofield * 

Taylor Heise * 

Abby Hustler 

Klára Hymlárová *

Katy Knoll * 

Denisa Křīžovā * 

Kelly Pannek * 

Dominique Petrie * 

Vanessa Upson 

Grace Zumwinkle * 

Defenders (7):

Mae Batherson * 

Brooke Becker 

Madison Bizal 

Natalie Buchbinder * 

Kendall Cooper 

Sidney Morin  

Lee Stecklein * 

Goaltenders (3): 

Marlène Boissonnault * 

Nicole Hensley * 

Maddie Rooney * 

Reserves (3): 

Éizabeth Giguѐre (F) 

Kaitlyn O’Donohoe (F) * 

Ava Rinker (D)