This week on The IX Sports Podcast Hockey Edition, host Maya Smith is joined by Reid Lemker, The Ice Garden’s Minnesota Frost beat reporter.
Smith opened the episode with the big news story of the week, which is that the U.S. and Canadian women’s national collegiate and development teams will be competing against each other this week in Richmond, British Columbia.
“Basically, this is like a good time for both national team programs to kind of see who’s out there for set up for the U18 team tournament that will be this winter, and then kind of build towards the senior national teams,” Smith said.
Then, Smith and Lemker jumped into a discussion of the Minnesota Frost following the expansion process — beginning with a look at who is not currently signed to the team.
“Kendall Coyne Schofield, their captain, she’s been there since the very beginning. She was quite instrumental in even the PWHL becoming a thing. [And she] is not signed, not on the roster currently,” Smith said. Jincy Roese, who was traded to Minnesota right before the playoffs, also has not re-signed with the team.
“I think the Frost are definitely welcome to having Kendall Coyne Schofield back, as you would probably expect. But the ball is kind of in her court at this point, and she is sort of, I think, making a decision on kind of what she wants to do … for next season,” Lemker said.
The team lost Britta Curl-Salemme, Mae Batherson, Kendall Cooper, Nicole Hensley, Abby Hustler, and Katy Knoll to expansion this year. Lemker said that they view Cooper as the biggest loss to the team at this point.
“I think Kendall Cooper was the Frost first round pick last year defender, and I think, you know, we had a really good rookie class of defenders this season with with Haley Winn sort of headlining that. But Cooper had a great year. She was fifth in defender points. She led all defenders in assists last season,” Lemker said.
Smith brought up goaltending, noting that “for all of the time that the Frosts have existed, [Maddie] Rooney and Hensley have kind of been this like one-two punch.” With Hensley on her way to Las Vegas, Rooney will be sticking around. But how does she stack up?
Tune in to this week’s episode to hear Smith and Lemker’s takes on Rooney, as well as their thoughts on Daria Gredzen and other Frost draftees.
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