Minnesota Frost are the team entire PWHL is chasing

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The second in a series of six pre-season previews for the teams that make up the PWHL

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MINNESOTA FROST

LAST YEAR: Defending league champs finished fourth in regular season with eight wins and nine losses before defeating Toronto and then Boston 3-2 in best-of-five semi’s and final.

RETURNING CORE: Kendall Coyne Schofield, Kelly Pannek, Taylor Heise, Grace Zumwinkle, Lee Stecklein, Sophie Jaques and Nicole Hensley.

NEWCOMERS: Defender Claire Thompson should bring some depth to a blue line that was a little thin after Lee Stecklein, Sophie Jaques and Maggie Flaherty. Second-round pick Britta Curl-Salemme also should slot in nicely on the Frost second line. Third-round pick Klara Hymlarova slots in as a third-line forward for Minnesota while Brooke McQuigge, Minny’s fourth-round pick, goes into camp needing to earn a contract. Mae Batherson, a sixth-round pick, could also work her way into the top-six defenders, but also goes into camp without a contract.

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NOT RETURNING: She was a reserve for most of the season playing just nine regular-season games and five playoff games, but former third-round pick Abby Boreen has moved on, signing a three-year deal with the Montreal Victoire. Also moving on is defender Emma Greco, who signed a one-year deal with Boston. Clair DeGeorge is going to join Boreen in Montreal’s training camp, but goes in as a camp invite needing to win a job. Sophia Kunin announced her retirement in June while goalkeeper Amanda Leveille is trading in her skates for a whistle and starting up her coaching career.

BIGGEST QUESTION: The Walter Cup had not even made the rounds when the first whispers of drama swept through the locker room. GM Natalie Darawitz — the same Darawitz who is going into the Hockey Hall of Fame this weekend and the architect of the first ever PWHL champions — was pushed out the door ostensibly to give Ken Klee player personnel decision-making in addition to his coaching duties. New GM Melissa Caruso takes over the remainder of Darawitz’s old role. The question is whether this off-season drama will have any carry over once the team is back on the ice.

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BIGGEST AREA OF CHANGE: It probably comes in overall team depth with the draft providing head coach Ken Klee with two new forwards on his top three lines and perhaps as many as two new defenders on his three defence pairings.

TEAM STRENGTH: This team has proven they have the kind of perseverance that can overcome just about anything. Consider they needed help just to squeak into the playoffs last season after a lengthy losing skid to end the regular schedule almost completely undid what had been the best start among the six teams in the new league. Once in the playoffs, they came back from the brink of elimination to win three in a row against regular-season champion Toronto and oust the favourites before taking down Boston in a five-game final. You can never count this team out.

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TEAM WEAKNESSES: In Year 1 it was a lack of help from the back end, but that got addressed with the first ever trade in league history in which Darawitz (she deserves her due) brought in Sophie Jaques who, once she got rolling, was a force on the Minnesota blue line. Thompson, the team’s first-round pick, further addresses this and don’t be surprised if Batherson works her way into the mix.

THE MOTIVATION: Well, defending a title always is motivation, though there might be a little extra for Klee, who has a bigger say in things with Darawitz having been pushed out the door.

PRIMED FOR A BREAKOUT: Jaques has almost a full half season and a playoff run under her belt now with new club after the trade from Boston. The former Patty Kazmaier winner has only begun to show the fans in Minnesota of what she is capable. Consider her Darawitz’s parting gift to the club.

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PRE-SEASON ROSTER

FORWARDS (16)

Brooke McQuiggge

Katy Knoll

Claire Butorac (Camp Invite)

Sydney Brodt (Camp Invite)

Kaitlyn O’Donohoe (Camp Invite)

Kelly Pannek

Grace Zumwinkle

Dominique Petrie

Brooke Bryant (Camp Invite)

Liz Schepers

Kendall Coyne Schofield

Taylor Heise

Denisa Krizova

Klara Hymlarova

Britta Curl-Salemme

Michela Cava

DEFENCE (8)

Lee Stecklein

Sophie Jaques

Maggie Flaherty

Natalie Buchbinder

Melissa Channell-Watkins (Camp Invite)

Claire Thompson

Charlotte Akervik (Camp Invite)

Mae Batherson

GOALIES (4)

Nichole Hensley

Maddie Rooney

Lauren Bench (Camp Invite)

Lucy Morgan (Camp Invite)

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