The Professional Women’s Hockey League (PWHL) is just about a month in, and there’s been a lot of action so far. PWHL Minnesota has been showing their talents, and despite some close losses, they are getting results. Many of their players are well-known around the state of Minnesota, but a couple of them have really made names for themselves so far this season.
These players have stepped up and led their team in scoring and made history along the way as well. Grace Zumwinkle and Taylor Heise are number one and two in both the points and goals categories for PWHL Minnesota through eight games played this season. We’ll take a closer look at both of these players, starting with the leader in points, Zumwinkle.
Grace Zumwinkle’s Talents Shine
Zumwinkle is a true Minnesotan born and raised in Excelsior, just a 34-minute drive west of St. Paul. However, she played her high school hockey at The Breck School, a private high school located in Golden Valley, another Twin Cities suburb. She won numerous awards for her play in high school and then moved on to college.
She continued to stay in her home state to attend the University of Minnesota (U of M), where she earned even more awards in her five years, with a stop at the 2022 Olympics, where she won a silver medal, before landing with PWHL Minnesota. She’s on her way to earning even more awards in her professional career, and she’s just getting started.
In eight games played, she’s scored six goals and two assists for eight points. She’s only taken one penalty, so she hasn’t hindered her team by spending too much time in the penalty box. She’s not afraid to shoot the puck, with 35 shots taken in those eight games. To show how strong that is, compare her shots to Mats Zuccarello, one of the top shooters on the Minnesota Wild, who had 32 in his first eight games this season.
As far as PWHL history goes, she didn’t score the first-ever PWHL Minnesota goal; that accolade belongs to a teammate, but she did register the first game-winning goal. PWHL Minnesota won their first game 3-2; her goal was the third and final that held on for the win. However, she did score the first-ever hat trick in the PWHL and hopefully will score another this season.
Taylor Heise Making Hometown Proud
Marie-Philip Poulin, Hilary Knight, Sarah Nurse, and Kendall Coyne Schofield are all big names in women’s hockey, and Heise is making her way onto that list. She is from Lake City, Minnesota, just over an hour south of St. Paul. She played her high school hockey for Red Wing, and just like her teammate Zumwinkle, she went to the U of M for college.
She became teammates with Zumwinkle in college and racked up all kinds of awards before they both went pro with PWHL Minnesota. She amassed over 200 points in her time at the U of M, including 97 goals and 130 assists, plus 800 shots in 173 games, which is a massive number of points.
Heise is right behind Zumwinkle with six points, three goals, and three assists in eight games at the professional level. She’s registered 25 shots on goal and two penalties, plus she’s won 53.4 percent of the 148 faceoffs she’s taken, which beat the Wild’s best center Joel Eriksson Ek’s 46.7 percent in the same time frame for comparison.
Related: Minnesota Dominates, but Loses to Montréal in PWHL Action
Heise set PWHL history by scoring the first-ever goal for Minnesota, plus she was the first player drafted in the PWHL when Minnesota took her first overall. Since then, she’s done nothing but show how great of a player she is and will be.
Zumwinkle & Heise Are the Future for Minnesota
The PWHL may be in its first year, and the same can be said for both Heise and Zumwinkle, but they’ve proven they are the future of the league. They’ve already set records and are just beginning, and soon, they will be household names like those before them.
It’s becoming more common for players to stay within their home state throughout their entire career from youth to adult, and Minnesota is a perfect example on both the men’s and women’s side. It’s a bit rare in the NHL because there are many more teams for players to land with.
On the NHL side, there’s Alex Goligoski and Brock Faber, both born in Minnesota, who played their high school and college in Minnesota and are now playing pro hockey for Minnesota. The same can be said for Zumwinkle and Heise, and all four played at the same college; the U of M, which has produced some very talented hockey players over the decades, with many more to come.
Zumwinkle & Heise’s Season
PWHL Minnesota has 16 games left which is plenty of time for Zumwinkle and Heise to show even more of their potential. They’ve barely gotten started, and the more consistently they play, the more they’ll hone their skills. Hopefully, they’ll be able to keep their scoring talents going all season long and can help their team secure more wins.
