The University of Minnesota Duluth forward Caitlin Kraemer described her summer as “awesome”. After a season of adversity, hoping to make Canada’s Olympic team and trying to win a national championship, Kraemer was happy to find some time to relax.
The 20-year-old spent the summer hanging out with friends and family. She spent more time with her older sister, Kayla, which Kramer said was good bonding time.
The recently named co-captain of the Bulldogs accomplished a lot on the ice over the summer. She became one of the first women to ever participate in an NHL development camp. She also made her return to the summer select series, where she represented Canada’s collegiate team. The junior learned a lot over her busy summer of hockey while also working towards returning to a more confident version of herself.
“I made it a point to take time off and not find my love for the game again — because I always love the game — but last year did take a lot out of me mentally and physically,” Kraemer told The Ice Garden. “The whole thing with the Olympics — you spend how many months focused on this one thing, then for it not to kind of fall in your favor. It’s heartbreaking. It’s a huge setback. There’s no playbook for it.”
Finding a way back to herself
Kraemer missed portions of the first half of the 2025-26 season. She would leave every couple of weeks for two weeks at a time to attend Olympics camp. It hampered her ability to settle in and build a closer connection with her teammates.
The news of not making Canada’s Olympic team crushed Kraemer. She called it an honor that Team Canada considered her for a spot and enjoyed spending time with the coaches and players.
“It [caused] a step back in my confidence, and I feel you [could] see it in my play too,” Kraemer explained. “I didn’t feel like myself out there th[e] second half of the season. It made me strong mentally and a better player and person and teammate throughout the process. I’m grateful for the experience.”
Kraemer added that she was able to come back to herself and build confidence again. It started with changing her approach to training. She usually trains with boys over the summer, but this year she focused on individual training. She also worked with other women’s players that she has close friendships with, skating with Wisconsin’s Emma Venusio and Princeton’s Mackenzie Alexander. This added some fun to the training sessions.
In Kraemer’s individual training sessions, she worked on breaking down her game. Where she was already doing well, she wanted to get even better. In areas where she wasn’t as strong, she wanted to improve. Focusing on smaller group work and individual sessions allowed Kraemer the ability to identify and acknowledge the strengths in her game and what makes her successful. As the summer progressed, Kraemer continued to add to her summer training.
Time to go camping
In July, Kraemer, along with Minnesota defender Chloe Primerano and Seattle Torrent draft pick Abbey Murphy, attended NHL development camp. The three became the first women to ever attend camp when they joined the Edmonton Oilers. Kraemer grew up dreaming of playing in the NHL — dev camp was the closest thing to that.
“it’s kind of cool to live out that dream a little,” Kraemer said. “[The] Edmonton Oilers did such a good job with treating us so well and like we were one of their prospects, even though we weren’t. It was just surreal. I learned so much from the experience between off ice, on ice stuff and how the NHL pros are treated.”
While the online community had much to say about the women attending dev camp, everyone on the ice enjoyed the experience. Kraemer said the Oilers prospects were nice and welcoming. She liked learning about their hockey journeys, given that they have many more opportunities to develop and play than women do. Kraemer enjoyed talking with Primerano and Murphy the most — two players she’s played against often in the WCHA. She liked learning about their college journey and their future aspirations.
Learning from the Oilers
What Kraemer also liked about dev camp was what it taught her. The participants received mental, physical, and on-ice training. She learned more about mental training and nutrition. She also liked that development camp happened in the middle of the offseason. It helped her see where she was at in her fitness and evaluate her readiness for the upcoming season.
Development camp included on- and off-ice training, drills, and a three-on-three tournament. The three women’s speed and skating abilities impressed the prospects. Their abilities during fitness testing on the first day of camp led to shock as well. While Kraemer is grateful for the opportunity and all that it taught her, she was happy to share what she hoped she taught the guys on the ice.
“Our ability to keep up and do well on the fitness testing — I don’t think they realize how strong, especially, like, our lower body is,” Kraemer explained. “That probably opened some eyes.”
Making her return to Team Canada
A few weeks after Edmonton Oilers camp, Kraemer returned to Team Canada to take part in their development camp and summer collegiate series. Kraemer was excited to return to the camp after missing last year. She was happy to see her friends from her time with the U18 team and had a lot of fun rekindling friendships.
On the ice, Kraemer faced players she played both with and against. It added to the fun — and allowed her to reunite with Primerano again. Primerano was also in contention for a spot on Canada’s Olympic team, like Kraemer. The two continued to play against each other last season and spent this summer in the same training programs, including Oilers camp and Canada’s National Women’s Development Team camp.
“It was a lot of fun getting to hang out with her a lot more because we played against each other and played in a couple tournaments, but this past year we were spending months and months together,” Primerano said. “She’s such an amazing person. I’m looking forward to hopefully playing with her more in the future and seeing what she does this year because she’s an awesome player.”
Canada won the summer select series for the first time in a decade. It was an exciting accomplishment for the players, and a great way to help with the start of the season. “It’s fun to get those games in before a season even starts and to see where you are in terms of game shape and game readiness,” Kraemer said.
Looking forward to the Bulldogs’ season
The summer series was a great reminder of how prepared Kraemer is for the new UMD season. Kraemer was recently named a captain of the Bulldogs. She called the news a “high honor” and a privilege to wear the C on her jersey.
Last season didn’t fare well for Duluth. They finished in fourth place with a 15-10-3 overall record. The Bulldogs were eliminated in the first round of the conference playoffs by Minnesota State. Then, they had to scoreboard watch the final day of conference playoffs in order to know their NCAA tournament fate.
The team avoided a huge scare and qualified for their sixth straight postseason berth. But they were eliminated in the first round of the tournament in a 1-0 loss to Yale. It wasn’t the season expected of a roster like Duluth’s. Yet, Kraemer knows the Bulldogs are capable of more this season.
“I feel the fact that we didn’t reach our full potential and now we have a whole season with a good chunk of the same group — it just [adds to] how high our potential is,” Kraemer said of the way she’s looking at this season. “We have the talent and the culture to turn some heads this season and make a run,” Kraemer said. “I’m confident in what we have going on here.”
Leading a young team
The Bulldogs only have two seniors on the roster along with six upperclassmen and 10 freshmen. But Kraemer said the team is better prepared for the change in roster this season. She’s excited for the incoming freshmen class, which she called “great.” Kraemer feels the team is also in a great spot because the 2027 Frozen Four will take place in Duluth. It is the first time the city is hosting the event since 2023.
Kraemer spent the summer training and rebuilding her confidence after missing a spot on Canada’s Olympic team. Now, she’s ready to lead her team, help them have a successful season, and make the NCAA tournament for the seventh season in a row. She was already named to the 2026-27 Preseason All-WCHA team too.
For Primerano, she’s excited to face Kraemer again when the Bulldogs and Gophers meet in the regular season. Even if it isn’t the most appealing thing to Primerano.
“I hate playing against her. She’s so fast and physical. She can score from just about anywhere,” Primerano explained. “You got to be careful because if she gets a chance, she’ll put [the puck] in the net.”
“She’ll make you look bad.”
