Previous ranking: #8
2026-27 team: University of Minnesota (NCAA)
Chloe Primerano is back in eighth place on The Ice Garden’s Top 25 Under 25 list, this time as a 19-year-old. With six more years of eligibility, there’s no question she’ll be vying for the top spot in a few years’ time. Her tenure in the NCAA has led to a decrease in her point production, but not because she hasn’t been playing well. After putting up a whopping 89 points in her final season of minor hockey in the CSSHL, it was likely she’d produce less as a defender in the NCAA.
However, this 2025-26 season shows that Primerano is consistent in her NCAA production. She had 30 points in 34 games last season as a sophomore, a one-point drop-off from her freshman year, but enough to place her third among defenders on her team. Only Sidney Morrow and Nelli Laitinen were ahead of her, and both were selected in the PWHL Entry Draft in 2026. The Gophers were at their best when Primerano was at hers, going 16-4-1 when she recorded a point.
After narrowly missing out on making the Canadian Olympic team, and with IIHF Women’s World Championships moving to November, Canadians really haven’t had a chance to see Primerano on the national stage since last year’s Top 25 Under 25 ranking. Primerano did make Canada’s Collegiate Showcase roster in August, where she scored a goal in the shootout against the U.S. It was announced that she’ll be at Canada’s national team camp this fall, with the hopes of making the senior national team for Women’s Worlds in November. But if University of Minnesota head coach Greg “Boom” May is to be believed, Primerano’s ceiling will only continue to rise.
“[Primerano’s] ceiling is incredibly high. If you ask me, her ceiling is probably that she could go down as one of the greatest women’s hockey players of all time,” May said in a recent interview.
He stressed that she improved immensely through her sophomore season and is learning to make smart decision with the puck, both offensively and defensively. May said that he expects Primerano to step up and take over the top defender spot now that her older teammates have moved on to the PWHL, adding that there will be a high expectation for her level of play and he wants to see her continue to grow and mature as a defender.
Going into 2026-27, with Morrow and Laitinen gone, Primerano will step into their shoes and take on a lot of responsibility. In fact, most of Primerano’s biggest competition will be moving on to the PWHL, leaving her the best time to shine. The Golden Gophers head into the 2026-27 season with a new coach and a chance to win an NCAA title for the first time since 2016 and earn a WCHA Championship for the first time since 2021. Primerano will be a huge part in getting the team to these milestones. She’s already kicking off 2026-27 on a high note, making the All-WCHA team in pre-season this fall.
Add on the likely chance to showcase her talents at the Women’s Worlds this fall, Primerano has a great chance to move up in the Top 25 Under 25 rankings in 2027.
Too high or too low? I had Primerano ranked at sixth on my list. However, that might have been slightly too high, and a little bit of Canadian bias on my part. When you have a player like Primerano who has been making Top 25 Under 25 lists since before she was in the NCAA, it’s hard to place her among players six years her senior. For now, I think a solid eighth place on the list is a good ranking, and leaves her plenty of room to grow in the next few years.
