Minnesota Frost Survive Phases 1-4 of PWHL Expansion Process

The PWHL’s Phase 4 is officially over, and now Phase 5 will begin on Tuesday, June 16. The Minnesota Frost made their protections in Phase 1 and then faced their losses in Phase 2. Britta Curl-Salemme was the first player to leave, and she was followed by Mae Batherson and Kendall Cooper. 

They also had another player get an offer but declined and had to sign in Phase 3, that was Grace Zumwinkle. She signed with the Frost and was part of their second round of protections. On the first day of Phase 3, the Frost lost another player, and her loss will be noticeable, and that is Nicole Hensley. They went on to lose a few more players but also protected some, and we’ll look at how Phases 2-4 went and what’s up next. 

Frost Lose in Phase 2

Every team had a chance to lose in Phase 2 when expansion teams had a chance to sign players. Just like in the first expansion, the Frost took a hit in the defense department as they lost both Mae Batherson and Kendall Cooper. Batherson was with the Frost for the past two seasons as she joined them in the league’s second draft.

It was Cooper’s first season with the Frost after being selected in the 2025 PWHL draft, and she did quite well. Both Cooper and Batherson accumulated similar point totals and scored almost the same number of goals as well. Cooper had the slight advantage with 19 points while Batherson had 15, but both will be missed on the Frost’s blue line. 

While the defense took a hit, so did the offense as Britta Curl-Salemme was the first to leave. She signed with PWHL Detroit, and there will be a void in the Frost’s offense with her absence. She was third in points among Frost players with 29 points, just behind Taylor Heise and Kelly Pannek. She also had a physical side that at times helped her team and at times hurt her team. Now, the Frost will be on the opposite side of her game, and it’ll be interesting to see how her style changes. 

Frost Win & Lose Phase 3

The Frost did take some big losses in Phase 2 that will hurt them somewhat. In Phase 3, there was another punch, and a rather surprising one to many. On June 10, the first day of Phase 3, it was announced that goaltender Nicole Hensley had signed a contract in PWHL Vegas. Hensley and Maddie Rooney made quite the tandem, and it’s going to be hard for the Frost to find a tandem like that again. 

They worked so well together because they were close friends as well. It was great that the Frost protected Rooney, and realistically, it would’ve been amazing if they’d been able to keep both goaltenders, but again, that likely would’ve been almost impossible given they had other players to protect. 

Hensley’s leaving will be rough for the Frost, but one bright side is who they were able to keep. At the end of Phase 3, the final protection lists were announced, and by the end, the Frost were able to re-sign and protect Grace Zumwinkle, Lee Stecklein, and their final slot went to Sidney Morin. 

Everyone knows the impact that Zumwinkle and Stecklein have had on the Frost over the three seasons they’ve been with the team. Zumwinkle has a powerful shot and bounced back strong after an injury and struggles in the 2024-25 season. Stecklein has been a steady presence on the Frost’s blue line since their very first game. 

Morin is the outlier here, but after losing two young defenders in Phase 2, the Frost knew they needed more and elected to protect Morin, who was very big in the postseason for them with four goals in five games played. Alongside Stecklein, she’ll be a welcome veteran presence who the Frost will need to step up even more this coming season. 

Frost Lose Again in Phase 4

The Frost made it through the first three phases of the expansion process, and they were fairly intact. They lost Curl-Salemme, Batherson, Cooper, and Hensley, but they could only lose one more player on a contract, as Batherson, Cooper, and Curl-Salemme were all on contracts when they signed with other teams. 

This phase was about the expansion teams again, as they signed players to build their rosters to 10 players and a minimum of two of them in Phase 4. Any player who wasn’t protected or signed in the first three phases and was on a PWHL roster last season could be signed. Expansion teams couldn’t sign anyone who was on their Exclusive Negotiation Target Lists (ENTL) at this point. 

The Frost lost two more players during this process, which brought their overall total to six. They lost forwards Abby Hustler and Katy Knoll before all four expansion teams reached their 10-player limit. Every player they’ve lost has been a hit to their roster, of course, but these two will leave a big void behind. They’re both young, strong, offensive-minded forwards who can score goals and use their physicality. The Frost are going to miss their skills and will have to be ready when they face them on their new teams next season. 

The PWHL did use its mandatory selection process because PWHL Las Vegas and PWHL Hamilton were each a player short, but the Frost were not affected. Now the league will move to an exclusive re-signing period for existing teams that will take place on Tuesday, June 16, and then Thursday, June 18. This window will give existing teams like the Frost a chance to sign a player like Kendall Coyne-Schofield, who wasn’t signed during the first four phases. 

However, that doesn’t mean Coyne-Schofield or other players in the same situation have to sign with their respective teams. They can wait until phase 6, which is the open signing period for all teams, and players can sign with whomever they want following the draft and Phase 5 ending. 

The re-signing period will pause for a day so the PWHL’s entry draft can be held on Wednesday, June 17, in Detroit, Michigan. The Vancouver Goldeneyes will have the first overall pick because they finished first in the “gold plan,” which rewards the team that wins the most games following elimination from the postseason. 

The Frost have the 9th overall pick in round one, and there are a lot of talented players to choose from. Now that they have voids in their lineup, they’ll be looking to try to fill those through the draft and then free agency following the draft. It’ll be interesting to see how phases 5 and 6 go along with the draft. Hopefully the Frost can fill the holes that need to be filled and have a competitive team next season.