Instead of Darwitz sitting at the PWHL Minnesota table during Monday’s PWHL Draft, it was head coach Ken Klee and other staff members, including assistant coach Mira Jalosuo and manager of sports performance Sam Hanson, making the team’s selections in the seven-round draft at Roy Wilkins Auditorium in St. Paul.

Fans have made their displeasure with the GM situation known via social media over the past few days. But two women in particular used homemade posters to share their thoughts. Tina Frederickson and Lisa Fulton held up their signs throughout the night while sitting in the fan section in the balcony of the auditorium. Their signs read: “Bring Back Darwitz,” “Klee Is Not Ken-ough!” and “Currently In My Bring Back Natalie Darwitz Era.”

The women had already planned on attending the PWHL Draft, even before the GM dismissal.

“I said to her, ‘do you feel like making a poster?’” Frederickson said, with a laugh. “We’re both very spirited people.”

They weren’t the only ones at the Draft being vocal with their feelings. Boos were heard in the auditorium as Klee stepped on stage for the announcement of Minnesota’s first-round pick, defenseman Claire Thompson.

Before the team’s second-round pick, PWHL host Clay Matvick mentioned on the YouTube broadcast (also shown on screens in the auditorium) that the league and Darwitz had “parted ways,” which was met with more vocal fan angst, including someone shouting out: “We pick Darwitz back as our GM.”

Of PWHL Minnesota’s seven selections, none were Minnesota natives. That included Abby Boreen, who scored four goals and two assists in 14 regular-season and playoff games with Minnesota this season. But she was a reserve player and needed to declare for this year’s draft. Montreal selected Boreen two picks after Minnesota selected Klára Hymlárová in the third round.

PWHL Minnesota head coach Ken Klee speaks with the media following the PWHL Draft on June 10, 2024 at Roy Wilkins Auditorium in St. Paul. (MHM Photo / Heather Rule)

Following the draft, Klee said Minnesota was “just trying to pick the best players available” when asked if he had anything to say to Minnesota fans regarding the animosity from some fans at the draft, or regarding the events surrounding the team in recent days.

“I certainly didn’t want anything else to be a distraction,” Klee said. “I wouldn’t want anything to take away from any of those [drafted] players’ experience. It’s unfortunate a little bit at the beginning. But again, it’s OK. People are entitled to their opinion.”

Frederickson said “there are so many people here today” who provided “thumbs up” reactions to their posterboard signs, and they were frustrated about the decision regarding the Darwitz situation.

Darwitz out, ‘optics are horrid’
The Athletic first broke the story about Darwitz being out as the GM late Thursday night. The PWHL released a statement Saturday afternoon, stating that Darwitz and PWHL Minnesota “have parted ways, effective immediately.”

“We appreciate all that Natalie has done for PWHL Minnesota in the league’s inaugural season and her contributions to the team’s championship success. We wish her the best moving forward,” said Jayna Hefford, Senior Vice President of Hockey Operations, PWHL.

The league added that there is no immediate timeline for the naming of the next PWHL Minnesota GM.

Sunday evening, Darwitz released a statement to reporters: “I would like to thank the State of Hockey for their support of PWHL Minnesota. As the General Manager of PWHL Minnesota, I gave my heart and soul to provide a first-class experience to the players, staff and fans. My goal was to grow the game of women’s hockey and to show young girls their dream could become a reality.

“I am very proud of the team and organization that was built and the championship we brought home to this great State of Hockey. At this time, I am not able to provide any details regarding my departure.”

Any other details surrounding the personnel move haven’t been officially released, leaving more questions than answers, especially for fans like Frederickson and Fulton.

“It’s not a good look,” Frederickson said. “The optics are horrid. They are horrid.

“No one seems to know anything. So, we’re all frustrated.”

Last year when the PWHL formed and Darwitz was named general manager of PWHL Minnesota, Frederickson said she “immediately signed up” to become a season ticket subscriber. Frederickson, who remembers Darwitz as a student in her public speaking class at the University of Minnesota 20 years ago, said she wanted to support this league for Darwitz, “because it was her dream back then” to have women’s professional hockey.

The roller coaster continues
For Darwitz “to be let go” after assembling the first PWHL championship team and putting in all the hard work this season, Frederickson said, as a fan, “it’s a huge disrespect.”

“And I’m not alone in that sentiment,” Frederickson said. “There are a lot of people who are pissed off in this state about it.”

Before PWHL Minnesota’s pick was announced, some boos were heard as coach Ken Klee walked on stage, and these signs seen in the audience: pic.twitter.com/fkOsfG1hSY

— Heather Rule (@hlrule) June 10, 2024

 
Frederickson and Fulton mentioned that the 72 hours prior to the Draft were a roller coaster, with Frederickson noting a lack of transparency with the league and its decisions.

“I just wonder, does the leadership understand the Minnesota market at all?” Frederickson said. “Do they want it to fail? Do they want to take this team and put it somewhere else?”

It’s another chapter in the roller-coaster saga for PWHL Minnesota’s inaugural season. About a week before the season started, head coach Charlie Burggraf stepped away from the team for personal reasons. Klee, who had gone through the interview processes for general manager and head coach, was given the job as head coach of Minnesota.

The team started strong, setting an attendance record for its home opener in January at Xcel Energy Center. A 5-0 record in March gave way to a 0-5 swoon following the International Break, and Minnesota, after barely making the playoffs, was down 0-2 in its semifinal series versus Toronto. Then they stormed back for three straight wins before defeating Boston in a five-game series to win the Walter Cup.

Frederickson and Fulton were “super hyped up” and excited to attend the Draft in St. Paul, but they got there early on Monday evening with mixed feelings.

“We’ve been diehard fans since day one,” Fulton said. “And we’re sitting here, and we’re talking about the pros and cons. The pros of staying… the cons of staying. The pros of leaving, and rescinding our season tickets.

“There’s so many women and little girls and other people that are in positions of power that we want to support. And so, if we back out, we’re no longer supporting all of those people. … We keep talking about, ‘well, if we do stay, how can we continue to let our voice be heard? So that we continue to be part of the solution, part of bringing the program forward?’

“We don’t have answers. We don’t know. We just know the joy that it brought to us.”

The post Mixed Feelings appeared first on Minnesota Hockey Magazine.

Following the holiday break, Charlie Burggraf stepped away from the team. In his place, former NHL defenseman Ken Klee stepped into the head coach role. Coming from Denver, Klee hopped in the car and made his way to Minnesota last week to get started with his new team.

“The drive was a little sketchy with the blizzard in Nebraska and all that,” Klee said. “But I made it through. It said ‘road closed,’ but I just kept going.”

Klee made it to Minnesota in time for the team’s first post-Christmas practice on Dec. 27, only a week before the team was set to open its inaugural season. Bringing in a new coach at this juncture might present a challenge, right? Well, yes and no, Klee said. As a former national team coach, he’s used to having a week of practice and then jumping in to play for a gold medal right away.

“I’m used to that kind of dynamic and pressure and getting everyone up to speed in a hurry,” Klee said.

Ken Klee, a former NHL defenseman, takes over the PWHL Minnesota team a week before the inaugural season starts in early January 2024. (Photo courtesy of PWHL Minnesota)

Klee, 52, went through the initial interview process for the general manager and head coach positions with PWHL Minnesota. He played 934 games across 14 NHL seasons, nine with the Washington Capitals. He was also the head coach of the USA Women’s National Team, leading them to gold in 2015 and 2016 at the world championships. His coaching experience ranges from coaching kids to the pros.

He already has familiarity with a few of the players. He coached Kendall Coyne Schofield, Lee Stecklein and Nicole Hensley, along with Kelly Pannek on the women’s national teams. Stecklein said Klee is incredible and “one of the most genuine coaches” she’s ever had.

“If anyone’s built to take on a task like this, it’s him,” Stecklein said. “The girls, we know our job is to show up here and take care of what we need to take care of, and that doesn’t change.”

PWHL Minnesota opens its season on Wednesday evening (6 p.m. Central) in Boston. Bally Sports North will broadcast all of Minnesota’s games, or catch them on the league’s YouTube channel. Minnesota’s home opener is set for 2:30 p.m. Saturday at Xcel Energy Center.

“We’re going to be a hard-working team who’s fast and who can make plays and compete every day,” Klee said. “We’ll do that, we’ll be able to fix the Xs and Os and any mistakes that happen.”

Coyne Schofield is a player whom Klee said he’s kept in touch with over the years. In her mind, there’s no doubt that Klee is a good hockey coach, but she said his biggest strength comes in who he is as a person. She added that Klee respects the women as hockey players and people, treating them like professionals. Part of that means that every player will have a role on the team.

“Everyone’s role is important to ensure the success of the team,” Coyne Schofield said. “And he will bring that out in every single player.”

Plenty of Minnesota natives are part of the new PWHL
The Minnesota roster includes 12 natives of the state, including Stecklein and Lake City’s Taylor Heise, the first overall pick in the PWHL’s inaugural draft last summer. Former Gophers forward Grace Zumwinkle is another familiar name on the list.

PWHL Minnesota has talked about playing fast and free as they’ve come together as a group over the past few weeks of training camp and preseason games. As Stecklein noted, the team is a group mixed with hockey veterans – Stecklein and Coyne Schofield, plus goaltender Amanda Leveille were on the NWHL Isobel Cup-winning team in 2019 with the Minnesota Whitecaps, for example – and then other players who are a bit younger and fresh out of college, like Heise and Zumwinkle.

“You’re seeing a ton of skill combined with all of that experience and getting to learn from each other and push each other at practice, and I think that’ll translate well with fans,” Stecklein said.

When training camp opened in mid-November, players talked about how this new league was a long time coming to get to this point. And while this week marks the first games played in the PWHL, don’t mistake them for the first games in women’s professional hockey. That would be leaving out leagues of the past like the Canadian Women’s Hockey League and National Women’s Hockey League (later the Premier Hockey Federation).

Kendall Coyne Schofield (right) skates with the puck during the 2018-19 season with the Minnesota Whitecaps, part of the then-professional women’s hockey league, the NWHL. (MHM file photo)

“There’s been iterations of women’s professional hockey that won’t be forgotten,” Coyne Schofield said. “Those iterations helped get us to where we are today.”

As the puck dropped in Toronto on New Year’s Day to start the inaugural PWHL season, Coyne Schofield hopes that all the players who have come before this league’s players know that they’ve had a hand in the PWHL as well.

For Coyne Schofield, it’s those behind-the-scenes elements that are so important to the product on the ice. That includes having access to a weight room and being provided with nutritional meals. For so long, players juggled so many different things at once, with playing hockey being one of them. Having the resources, nutritional support, medical support and “everything that encompasses being a professional athlete” in place is a big deal, Coyne Schofield said.

“I think that’s what’s been lacking in women’s hockey, is the ability to prepare as a professional,” Coyne Schofield said. “To eat the right way, to train the right way, to have a strength coach, to have an equipment manager, to have multiple athletic trainers, to have a doctor if you need it.

“To have the resources to allow you to be the best that you can be. And I think we’re going to see that in the product this year.”

PWHL Minnesota roster (with hometowns listed for Minnesota natives)

Forwards:

Claire Butorac (Andover, Minn.)

Sophia Kunin (Wayzata, Minn.)

Kelly Pannek (Plymouth, Minn.)

Grace Zumwinkle (Excelsior, Minn.)

Clair DeGeorge

Brooke Bryant

Brittyn Fleming

Liz Schepers (Mound, Minn.)

Abby Boreen

Kendall Coyne

Taylor Heise (Lake City, Minn.)

Denisa Křížová

Susanna Tapani

Michela Cava

*Sydney Brodt (North Oaks, Minn.) Brodt starts the season on long-term IR with a broken foot.

Defensemen:

Lee Stecklein (Roseville, Minn)

Nikki Nightengale (Bloomington, Minn)

Abby Cook

Maggie Flaherty (Lakeville, Minn)

Natalie Buchbinder

Mellissa Channell

Emma Greco

Dominique Kremer

Goaltenders:

Amanda Leveille

Nicole Hensley

Lauren Bench (Eagan, Minn)

Maddie Rooney (Andover, Minn)

The post PWHL: Klee Comes In appeared first on Minnesota Hockey Magazine.

Now, the Whitecaps and its professional league are memories for Stecklein and hockey fans. The new women’s league – the Professional Women’s Hockey League – is off and skating to prepare for its inaugural season in 2024.

“It feels a little surreal,” Stecklein said while meeting with the media last week. “It’s been a long road to get here.”

The new six-team league was announced this summer led by Mark and Kimbra Walter, Billie Jean King and Premier Hockey Federation Governors Johanna and John Boynton. The league acquired the PHF and spent months negotiating a collective bargaining agreement with the Professional Women’s Hockey Players Association.

“The game has deserved this for a very long time,” said Kendall Coyne Schofield. “You look at a lot of the players who came before all of us who are walking into TRIA today who didn’t have the opportunity that we’re going to have moving forward.

“And I think even with the opportunity that we do have moving forward, we’re going to want to push for more. We’re going to strive for more.”

Taylor Heise, the PWHL first overall draft pick, meets with the media at TRIA Rink. (MHM Photo / Heather Rule)

While Stecklein and Coyne Schofield, along with some of their teammates, are professional-playing veterans, others like Taylor Heise get to start their professional careers with the new PWHL. They’re all signed to play for Minnesota’s team.

“My agent actually texted me this morning… ‘hey, happy first day of school,’ and I didn’t even think about it that way. But it makes sense,” Heise said.

First days often include introductions aplenty. Heise said she introduced herself to half of her teammates on day one.

Heise, the 23-year-old native of Lake City, Minn. and graduate of Red Wing High School, made history as the first overall pick in the inaugural PWHL Draft in September. In six years with Red Wing, she scored 180 goals and 316 points in 149 regular-season games. She then spent five seasons with the Gophers, scoring 97 goals and 227 points in 173 games.

Minnesota general manager Natalie Darwitz said there wasn’t much need for discussion for who Minnesota would select with its top lottery pick at the draft, held in Toronto.

“I have told everyone, I kind of blacked out when my name was said, especially since Billie Jean King was the one that said it,” Heise said.

Along with Heise and Stecklein, there are plenty of Minnesota natives on Team Minnesota, like forwards Kelly Pannek, Maggie Flaherty and Grace Zumwinkle. Susanna Tapani is from Finland, Coyne Schofield is from Palos Heights, Ill. and goaltender Nicole Hensley is from Colorado. As of early this week, these players are all signed to a standard player agreement.

A ‘fresh start’ for everyone
Minnesota welcomed 28 total players to training camp. Darwitz and head coach Charlie Burggraf will look for competition from these players and what they could provide for the team. While a player’s draft status and previous hockey resume are important, Minnesota wants to give every player a “start-from- scratch feel,” Darwitz said.

“Everyone’s at the same starting point,” Darwitz said. “You’re here to show us what you can do on the ice and hopefully for this organization and hopefully a consistent spot in the lineup.”

Minnesota will be led behind the bench by Roseau native and former University of North Dakota player Charlie Burggraf. He’s had a few stops in his coaching career, most notably and recently at Bethel University where he was an assistant men’s hockey coach from 2002-04, head women’s coach from 2006-10 and then the head men’s hockey coach starting in 2010. He was also an assistant for the Gophers women’s team from 2004-06.

Burggraf said they’re looking for strong locker-room players who are skilled and can skate fast, along with having great goaltending.

“We like to play a fast, aggressive style of hockey, and they’ll play different roles,” Burggraf said. “So, there’s going to be variation in the type of player that we have depending on where they fall.

“Speed kills is what we say in hockey. Because if you’re fast and quick and smart, you’re difficult to play against. That’s what we’re looking for in our players.”

Camp officially started Nov. 15. They’ll have a lot of meetings over the first couple of weeks to get on the same page, Darwitz said.

All six PWHL teams – Boston, Minnesota, Montreal, New York, Ottawa and Toronto – will meet Dec. 3-7 at the Utica University Nexus Center in New York for a pre-season evaluation camp. The days will be filled with training sessions, practices and scrimmages to help prepare for the inaugural season. Minnesota is scheduled to scrimmage against Ottawa, Toronto and Montreal.

The league announced earlier this month that TRIA Rink, also home to the Minnesota Wild, will be Team Minnesota’s practice facility. Regular season games start in January.  

Lee Stecklein meets with the media Nov. 15, 2023 at TRIA Rink as PWHL training camp opens. (MHM Photo / Heather Rule)

Minnesota needs to trim its roster to 27 players by the last week of November before the Utica trip. After those scrimmages, Minnesota will get down to its active roster of 23 players and two reserve players.

“This is new for everyone,” Darwitz said. “They’re coming from different colleges. Some have the luxury of this pro league started when they graduated college, and they don’t know anything else. Some of them, the last few years, they had to rough it. They were playing in men’s leagues, they were working out on their own.”

No logos, nicknames for 1st season
For this first season, there will be no team-specific logos or nicknames, although purple will be one of Minnesota’s team colors. Darwitz supports the league’s move to take its time and get these decisions right.

“I know people want names, they want jerseys,” Darwitz said. “They want all that stuff, they want apparel. I think it’s really important to do things the right way. … Our jerseys year one are inaugural jerseys. You won’t see these same jerseys year two.

“Years two and on, it’s going to be up to every market, I think, to establish their own identity.”

Whatever that new identity will be for Team Minnesota, the players hope to attract new fans to the new league. Heise has high expectations when it comes to support from “the best fans in the league” in Minnesota.

But the women’s hockey history already runs so deep in the land of 10,000 lakes. That shouldn’t be overlooked, Stecklein said.

“The Whitecaps were trailblazers for a really long time,” Stecklein said. “And I’m so grateful for what they did. Because we would not be here without them.”

The post ‘The Game Deserved This’ appeared first on Minnesota Hockey Magazine.