In so many ways, Minnesota Frost forward Peyton Anderson’s path to professional hockey has been anything but traditional. After a decorated five-year career at Northeastern University, she didn’t play organized hockey for a full year, sitting out the 2024-2025 season.
“I ended up taking a year off [from hockey] after college,” Anderson told The Ice Garden earlier this week. “I needed to go home, make some money, and kind of help out.”
Instead of playing professional hockey, Anderson worked a job in marketing after college. Though she wasn’t playing organized hockey, the sport remained a big part of her life. On top of her job, Anderson coached youth hockey, both private lessons and coaching a team. She was also working hard to improve her own game with the hopes of making a PWHL roster.
“It sucks not being able to play hockey,” Anderson said. “Obviously, I wanted to be going into the P-Dub and playing, but it ended up being a good year for me to just kind of reset. I was able to tweak my game in a couple of areas that I wanted to work on and really trained for that and pushed myself so that the following year I could go into the league, get a camp invite, and try and crack a spot on a roster.”
“It was a good year for me,” Anderson continued. “I ended up learning a lot working a big girl job.”
Taking a year off from organized hockey after college isn’t a typical path to the PWHL. However, Peyton Anderson’s path to professional hockey was atypical long before then.
Finding the right sport
Anderson grew up in Arvada, Colorado, a state that isn’t known as a hotbed for producing hockey players. In fact, Anderson is just the second player from Colorado to play in the PWHL, along with former Minnesota Frost goaltender Nicole Hensley.
“I was, what, nine at the time? Just, like, seeing all the gear and the speed and everything…Me and my parents were both like, all right, this is what I want to do.”
Peyton Anderson
One of four sisters, Anderson tried several different sports before landing on one she loved.
“I grew up dancing,” Anderson said. “My mom had all of us dancing, and that was clearly not for me. I was kind of a tomboy, so I just remember begging my mom, ‘Please get me into something else. I do not like this.'”
“There was a kid at the dance facility whose sister had danced with my sisters, and he played hockey,” Anderson continued. “My mom was like, ‘Why don’t you try hockey with him?’ So she [my mom] was the one that kind of pushed me to try it. And then he got me into it and gave me all of his old gear and stuff. From then on, that was it.”
It didn’t take long for Anderson to realize that she had found the right sport.
“I was, what, nine at the time? Just, seeing all the gear and the speed and everything…Me and my parents were both like, all right, this is what I want to do.”
Coast to Coast
After playing her youth hockey in Colorado, Anderson traded in the Rocky Mountains for the east coast when she went to Northeastern to play college hockey.
“I never really saw myself as a city girl, so that was a little bit of a change, but I ended up absolutely loving my time out in Boston,” Anderson said.
“I had a coach growing up that I really respected, and he knew the coaching staff over at Northeastern,” Anderson said. “So that was kind of like a no-brainer to me hockey-wise. Then, Northeastern is a really good school, so I think for my parents and me it was like all right, this is a great opportunity. Then we had a lot of success at Northeastern too, so that was incredible.”
A lot of success might be an understatement. In her five years with the program, the Huskies won the Hockey East regular-season title four times. They also won the Hockey East playoff title four times and qualified for three NCAA tournaments. In 2021, Anderson and the Huskies fell one goal short of an NCAA Championship, losing to Wisconsin in overtime.
Individually, Anderson was named a second-team Hockey East All-Star in her fifth and final season at Northeastern. During that season, Anderson led the Huskies with 15 goals. She was tied for second on the team with 28 points in 39 games.
Off the ice, Anderson also came to enjoy the big city of Boston.
“[Boston is] a very fun, lively city,” Anderson continued. “It’s nice being able to go out to a Red Sox game, or a Bruins game, stuff like that. I think I really ended up enjoying that there’s always kind of something to do outside of hockey.”
Anderson stepped away from hockey after the 2023-2024 season, but after a year off, she was ready to prove she could make a PWHL team.
Making the Frost
Anderson got her chance to prove she was ready for the PWHL when the Minnesota Frost invited her to training camp before the 2025-2026 season.
Minnesota Frost Head Coach Ken Klee’s connection to Colorado made Anderson’s first training camp with the Frost extra special.
“I was so excited. Being from Colorado, I feel like every hockey person that I know out there is always like, ‘Do you know Ken Klee?’ I had so many people and players that I played with or trained with in the summers, who had played with his kids or had been coached by him, just talking about how great of a coach he is. I was super excited coming in knowing all the stuff that people had told me about him,” Anderson said.
Anderson made her presence felt at training camp. She scored a goal in her first preseason game with the Frost, her first goal in over a year. In the end, Anderson did enough to make the team.
“It was exciting to come into a program with girls that you look up to,” Anderson said. “We have such an incredible leadership group with the Frost. Being able to go in and play on the ice with those girls and then come onto a team where the coach is so highly respected is super cool.”
Making an impact in the PWHL
In her first season with the Minnesota Frost, Anderson played in 28 of 30 regular season games. She tallied one goal and one assist in those 28 games.
Anderson also contributed in ways that don’t always show up on the scoresheet; she was a physical presence who used her speed and physicality to pressure opponents and create turnovers. She was responsible in her own zone, filling a bottom-six forward role for Minnesota throughout the season.
Anderson credits her work ethic for her success in her rookie season with the Minnesota Frost.
“I think my work ethic is one thing that I always bring with me on the ice, in the gym, in everything I’m doing to train and get ready…I have just always brought my work ethic,” Anderson said.
Anderson’s contributions last season were rewarded this offseason with a new contract. Compared to last season, Anderson will enter training camp under slightly more stable circumstances this time around. She is feeling confident about her ability to contribute again in year two.
“I’m not coming off a year off, so I feel just a little more confident going into this season, kind of knowing what to expect. Having a season under my belt, I know I’ve been here before, and I’ve done this. I know how the PWHL league plays, the physicality, and the speed of the game.”
Training camp opens for Peyton Anderson and the Minnesota Frost on Wednesday, November 18th.
