The Minnesota Frost’s first game of the season is under a month away now, and while there were still a handful of grades to hand out, it’s time to get excited about the preseason, which starts on Nov. 20. It’s easy to assume the handful of players who were left to get a grade would have all had A’s or A+ as it was the top scorers who were left to receive their grades.
In this piece, we’ll examine why the Frost could repeat as Walter Cup Champions and make history once again as the first team to repeat. Those top players are one of the main reasons, along with a few others, and those stars will be who gets this article started.
Frost’s Stars Return
The Frost may have lost a handful of players this offseason, but they are lucky in that their main scoring core has remained. Taylor Heise, Kendall Coyne-Schofield, Grace Zumwinkle, Kelly Pannek, and Michela Cava are all returning to wear the purple and white. They led the team last season and will likely lead the team again.
These players were not only great at scoring, but they also had great chemistry. They always knew where each other would be and where to send a pass to. Similar to the Minnesota Wild’s line of Kirill Kaprizov, Mats Zuccarello, and Marco Rossi, they have the same chemistry and can do outstanding things.
These players are the top reason they can be repeat champions. They led them to their first Walter Cup despite having to come back in both postseason rounds. These players never gave up and led the team from the worst to the best.
Frost Add & Keep Top Defensive Talent
The Frost can have all the offense in the world, but they will not win games if they have no defense. They had a strong defense last season, but they made it even stronger with the addition of Claire Thompson, their first-round pick in the 2024 PWHL Draft. She’s a skilled defender who can handle things both defensively and offensively.
While her number one priority will be defense, she can score a fair number of points. She averaged 15+ points in college at Princeton University from 2016-2020. She’s a fast skater who will greatly add to the Frost’s defensive core. The Frost’s defense didn’t change much from last season to this season, but a few players left, and a few joined, aside from Thompson.
They did keep Sophie Jacques, Lee Stecklein, Maggie Flaherty, Natalie Buchbinder, and Mellissa Channell-Watkins but lost Emma Greco, Dominique Kremer, and Nikki Nightengale. The new additions apart from Thompson are Mae Batherson and Charlotte Akervik. Luckily, the Frost have their main defenders back, and the new additions will hopefully fit in seamlessly so they can have another strong season.
Frost Know What it Takes
The first season of the PWHL was a new process for everyone and a learning experience for every team. Now that the first season is over, the main members of the Frost know exactly what it takes to win games in the PWHL and how to get to the postseason. They didn’t have it easy either; they had to fight back from behind.
With all the adversity the team faced, they have been in almost every situation they could be in, and they know how to win. Even in the postseason, they got behind not just once but twice and nearly eliminated, but again, they came back. That commitment and ability to come back isn’t easy and requires a team effort. The Frost believed in themselves and knew they could get through anything, so they know what it takes to win the Walter Cup back-to-back.
Frost Start Soon
The Frost will start the preseason on Wednesday, Nov. 20, against the Toronto Sceptres at the Ford Performance Center in Toronto. They’ll play again the following day against the New York Sirens at the Ford Performance Center. After those games, they’ll have practices until their first game on Sunday, Dec. 1, to kick off the season against the New York Sirens at their home arena, the Xcel Energy Center.
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Hopefully, the Frost can show they’ve kept some of that magic from last season and start on the right foot with a win. It’ll be interesting to see how the new players fit into the system and if they can make it to the Walter Cup again.
