Minnesota Frost Set For Another PWHL Expansion Process

The NHL postseason is still moving along, but the PWHL officially wrapped up a couple of weeks ago with the Montréal Victoire winning their first Walter Cup after defeating the Ottawa Charge three games to one. Of course, the Victoire are still celebrating their win, but amongst that, they and the other 11 teams, including the four new expansion teams, have to get ready for the 2026 Expansion Roster Distribution System. 

The PWHL went away with the expansion draft they did last season in favor of a new signing window process. It is quite the process the PWHL has come up with to help build these four new expansion teams in Detroit, Hamilton, Las Vegas, and San Jose while also helping their current teams stay intact as much as possible. 

In this article, we’ll look at what this all means for the Frost and what they have to do in order to keep some of their team. It’s great that the PWHL is expanding, but that also means existing teams have to help make that happen by giving up some of their players. This is a crucial time for the Frost, and it’ll be interesting to see how this whole process works for all teams, but for this article, we’ll focus on Phase 1.  

PWHL’s Phase Process 1

So there are six phases to this process, and it’s a bit much even when you break it all down. In terms of the Frost, they have some pretty critical decisions to make going forward. Phase 1 is likely the most important for the Frost because that’s when they determine who stays and who they will possibly let leave. 

The number of players teams can protect is the same as the last expansion draft; they can only protect three players, and they have to be under contract, so they have to do some signing if they intend to keep some of their stars around. It’s almost unavoidable that they will lose at least one big part of their team going forward, as that’s what happens with expansion, but hopefully, they won’t lose too much. 

Through the first four phases of this process, teams can only lose four players under contract, but that’s still a big number depending on which players they lose. The Frost have a number of players who need new contracts, and while they would like to protect them all, they can only choose three. In Phase 1, however, they can only lose one player at most, but that could still be a crucial piece.

Frost Have to Choose Three

The Frost have 16 players on expiring contracts, and that includes four of their top five players in Kelly Pannek, Taylor Heise, Kendall Coyne-Schofield, and Grace Zumwinkle. Of course, the Frost would prefer to have all four of these players back with them next season, but not only are there other players to consider, but they can also only protect three. 

Other players on expiring contracts are Lee Stecklein, Katy Knoll, Nicole Hensley, Klára Hymlárová, Samantha Cogan, Jincy Roese, Peyton Anderson, Madison Bizal, Marlène Boissonnault, Claire Butorac, Élizabeth Giguère, and Kaitlyn O’Donohoe. A few of these players didn’t have much icetime this past season and may do better with different teams, but others were integral to the Frost’s lineup. 

Looking over the list, obviously, Taylor Heise is likely the first player the Frost will re-sign and protect. She’s been the face of the franchise and one of the faces of the league since its inception. She was the first player ever drafted in the PWHL, and she’s been a big piece of the Frost’s two Walter Cup wins. 

The next two spots are likely the most debated, as Pannek, Stecklein, and Coyne-Schofield are the most likely to take the final two spots. Of course, there are other players under contract as well who could be protected, but the Frost needs to keep certain players. Pannek seems like a no-brainer, especially after this past season when she led the league in scoring. 

It really comes down to Coyne-Schofield and Stecklein, but you could also argue for Knoll, as she could be part of the future of the Frost, being that she’s younger. However, there’s also Roese, whom they traded for, and then they also brought in Cogan; both of these players fit in quite seamlessly. 

The argument could be made for Coyne-Schofield because she’s been a captain of the team since they started, and she’s one of their best forwards. However, on the opposite side, Stecklein is one of their best defenders, and they need someone with experience and veteran leadership with their young defenders.

Frost Could Lose 

Just like last offseason, the Frost and a number of other teams are going to take a hit when it comes to this expansion, but that’s how you continue to grow a league. During this Phase 1, the Frost will only lose one player not on contract, but as the phases go on the more players will leave. 

While all teams can talk to players at this time who are on the 10-player negotiation list, only existing teams can sign players in Phase 1, according to Kyle Cushman of The Score, who did a full breakdown of the process. Starting in Phase 2, expansion teams can jump in and start signing players. When looking at these Phases all together, it can be quite complex, even breaking them down, there are still some questions that will only be answered once the process starts. 

It’ll be interesting to see who the Frost will actually sign and protect, but hopefully it’s Heise, Pannek, and there’s really no going wrong with either Coyne-Schofield or Stecklein as the final spot. While some would argue defense, others would argue offense and leadership. Regardless, it’ll be interesting to see how Phase 1 unfolds and the rest of the process as well.