It’s mail time! Last week, I opened up my inbox for Minnesota Frost questions, and Frost fans delivered. With training camp just one month away, let’s dive into what’s on Frost fans’ minds heading into the 2026-2027 season.
Note: Submitted questions have been edited for clarity and length
The Frost have lost several veterans to trades and expansion. How will they fill the holes?
Like all of the original PWHL teams, Minnesota has lost a ton of veterans over the past two seasons. With that said, the Frost have also held on to their core leadership group.
Retaining players like Lee Stecklein, Kendall Coyne Schofield, Taylor Heise, Kelly Pannek, Grace Zumwinkle, and Maddie Rooney gives Minnesota a solid foundation to build around. That core leadership group knows what it takes to have success in the PWHL. Like last season, I believe Minnesota will build around those established stars. The Frost will need a combination of rookies and established players to step into bigger roles and contribute.
The good news is that the organization has shown an ability to navigate a transition like this in the past. The Frost lost several key players during the 2025 expansion process and still had their best regular season in franchise history last year.
Keeping the front office and coaching staff together that oversaw that transition should give Frost fans hope that the Frost can be successful again this season.
Which camp invites should we keep an eye on?
There are a few camp invites I’ll be watching closely. Maude Poulin-Labelle was a fantastic offensive defender in college, and she has PWHL experience. Poulin-Labelle played 11 games for PWHL Toronto in the inaugural PWHL season. With only four defenders signed at the moment, I think Poulin-Labelle has a good shot at making the team and contributing.
Among the forwards, there are a number of camp invites I like. Clara Yuhn and Nara Elia are both strong power forwards who could contribute in a depth role. Lilli Welcke is an accomplished international player for Germany who scored three goals and five points in two games for EKU Mannheim this season.
Also, I’m really intrigued to see how Ellie Kaiser’s game looks in training camp. She’s less of a power forward and more of a scorer. If she can score at the PWHL level, she could be an under-the-radar candidate to break camp with the team.
Last week, I wrote about all 30 players attending training camp with the Frost.
Who are the most exciting rookies?
I’ve got two names for you: Viivi Vainikka and Maddy Christian.
Vainikka is a ton of fun to watch. She’s a dynamic player who will get Frost fans out of their seats when she has the puck. Vainikka has had incredible individual and team success in her seven seasons in the SDHL. She is playing for MoDo in the SDHL before training camp. Vainikka has scored five goals and ten points in eight games this season for MoDo.
I think Maddy Christian will also play a big role for the Frost. The Frost selected Christian in the third round of the 2026 PWHL Draft. The Elik River native was an integral part of Penn State’s run to the Frozen Four last season. Christian’s game is all about speed. I’ll be curious to see where she’s deployed in the lineup in training camp.
Who will be the new Katy Knoll?
I’m going to break this one into two parts: who can replicate Katy Knoll’s production, and who could be a new fan favorite this season.
In terms of production, Knoll scored seven goals and nine points last season. Beyond the points, part of what made Knoll so important for the Frost was her ability to play anywhere amongst the forward lines. I think players like Klára Hymlárová and Sam Cogan could replicate Knoll’s production and versatility. Like Knoll, both Hymlárová and Cogan are physical forwards with plenty of skill. Both players can produce offense when playing alongside talented offensive players.
In terms of a new fan favorite, I’ll switch it up a bit and go with a defender. I think 2026 fourth-round pick Tova Henderson has a chance to immediately endear herself to Frost fans with her physical style. Like Knoll, Henderson is a tough and physical player who doesn’t shy away from contact. Earlier this offseason, I spoke to Henderson about her excitement for the increased physicality of the PWHL.
Is Marlène Boissonnault the Frost’s second goalie, or will Daria Gredzen and Hope Walinski challenge for it?
I think it will be a competition between Marlène Boissonnault and 2026 fifth-round pick Daria Gredzen for the backup job. Gredzen is a bit of an unknown at this point. I haven’t seen her play in person; she’s spent her career playing in her home country of Russia. But everything I hear suggests she has the chance to be a legit number one goalie in the PWHL.
I could foresee a situation where Boissonnault begins the season as the backup because she has more experience with the Frost and the PWHL. This would also allow the Frost to ease Gredzen’s transition, both on the ice and to life in a brand new country. I’m really excited to see what Gredzen looks like in Camp.
It will also be worth keeping an eye on how head coach Ken Klee splits playing time in goal. In the past, Maddie Rooney and Nicole Hensley split playing time pretty evenly. I wonder if Klee and the Frost will lean on Rooney more this year.
Which defenders can lead the offensive charge, especially on the power play?
It’s a big question after the Frost lost their top two scoring defenders, Kendall Cooper and Mae Batherson, to PWHL Las Vegas in expansion.
I think replacing Cooper and Batherson’s offense will be a group effort this season. Expect familiar names like Lee Stecklein and Sidney Morin to once again be near the top of defender scoring for the Frost.
I think 2026 first-round pick Sara Swiderski should help as well. Swiderski had career highs in goals, assists, and points in her senior season at Ohio State. I don’t think Swiderski’s offensive game is quite as dynamic as Cooper’s was coming out of college, but somewhere around ten points feels like a reasonable expectation for Swiderski in year one.
As far as the power play goes, personally, I would like to see Sidney Morin on the top power-play unit. Last season, Lee Stecklein played a bunch on the top unit, I believe because the Frost like her shot. I think playing Morin with the top group in more of a quarterback role would make the power play less one-dimensional and give them more options, but I’m not sure the Frost agree with me.
What will the playoff structure look like with new conferences?
For the 2026-2027 season, the 12-team PWHL will be split into two conferences. The Frost are in the Western Conference along with Detroit, Las Vegas, San Jose, Seattle, and Vancouver. In the Eastern Conference, it’s Boston, Hamilton, Montréal, New York, Ottawa, and Toronto.
The top four teams in each conference will make the playoffs. In the first round, the top team in each conference will select its opponent between the third-place and fourth-place teams in their conference. Round one (the conference semifinals) will be a best-of-three series. Rounds two (conference finals) and three (the Walter Cup Final) will be best-of-five series.
Where will the Frost finish in the Western Conference?
The person who sent this question suggested first or second. I think that’s a fair expectation, though I might lean closer to second or third than first. Part of that has to do with the uncertainty of the Western Conference — three of the four expansion teams are in the West. I really like PWHL Detroit, especially up front, and I think Seattle and Vancouver will be better in their second seasons.
That said, I think Minnesota will challenge for the best in the West. With so much change across the PWHL this offseason, the fact that the Frost preserved much of their core will give them a leg up. I think that familiarity with each other and what it takes to win in the PWHL will be an advantage for Minnesota.
Also, the Frost’s ability to replenish the roster year after year gives me confidence that Minnesota will be among the West’s best this season.
Lastly, a massive thank you to all the Minnesota Frost fans who sent me a question! I wasn’t able to get to all of them, but hopefully we’ll do another one of these sometime during the season.
