BLOG: Ten Most Influential Figures In Minnesota Women's Hockey

Last week, I joined my friends Giles Ferrell and Ben Remington on the "Giles and the Goalie" podcast to help rank the ten most influential figures in Minnesota hockey.

As the second-biggest guest* of the week, it was an honor to give my opinion and discuss what makes a figure influential. Doing so made me think who the most influential figures in Minnesota women's hockey history would be.

So I made a list.

There are plenty of influential figures who have impacted the sport in such a short time. 25 years ago saw the first Minnesota Girls' HS Hockey State Tournament take place. Predating the establishment of college teams in the state of Minnesota, much has changed.

These days the state produces more collegians than any other. Minnesotans frequently make up a large number of players on the national team, a far cry from the 1990s.

Given the shorter timeframe, this list will look different in 10 or 20 years. Several players currently making their mark have the potential to be among the most influential. (A few current players - Gigi Marvin and Hannah Brandt, in particular - were difficult to leave off the Top 10.) At this time, it says a lot that a number of figures currently on my list began in the 90s/00s and remain influential today.

10. Laura Halldorson

Minnesota's first head coach, Halldorson led the Gophers to three national championships (2000 AWCHA and 2004-05 NCAA). A Princeton alum who played with Patty Kazmaier, Halldorson set up the "U" as one of the top programs in a short time despite the East's head start. Even after stepping down as Minnesota's head coach, Halldorson continued to be influential, helping with the Minnesota Whitecaps.

9. Kathleen Ridder

Every influential list needs an off-ice backer. This list has Kathleen Ridder, whose contributions to women's hockey in Minnesota cannot be understated and go far beyond being a benefactor and namesake (along with husband Robert) of the first facility specific to women's NCAA hockey.

8. Ronda Curtin Engelhardt

The 1999 Minnesota Ms. Hockey winner, Curtin Engelhardt is among the top all-time girls' HS hockey players in the state. Her influence goes beyond being one of the top MN players in the 90s and 2000s. After suiting up for the Gophers and being a Patty Kazmaier Award finalist, she's coached champions in high school (Breck) and NWHL (Minnesota Whitecaps in its first season in the league).

7. Brad Frost

Minnesota's current head coach, Frost has been behind the bench for four national championships between 2012 and 2016. The stretch includes a perfect season and a record 62 game winning streak. Under his helm, the Gophers have been a perennial national championship contender, producing Olympians and a number of coaches in the high school and college ranks.

6. Shannon Miller

No one has won more national championships than Miller, the architect behind UMD's 2000s dynasty. The coach of Team Canada's 1998 Olympic team, Miller went on to win five national titles, including three straight from 2001-03. She deserves credit for building and making both Duluth and Minnesota a destination for players around the world, along with her fight for equality off the ice.

5. Krissy Wendell-Pohl

When the St. Paul Pioneer Press made a list of the top 25 players to ever play Minnesota girls' HS hockey, Wendell topped the list. Playing only two years with girls, she scored a whopping 219 goals. At the University of Minnesota, she was named the 2005 Patty Kazmaier Award winner and won two national championships. Captaining Team USA during the 2006 Olympics, Wendell has been influential at the highest levels.

4. Jenny Schmidgall-Potter

One of two Minnesotans on the 1998 US Olympic Team, Schmidgall-Potter was 19 when she won a gold medal. By the time she played in her fourth Olympics at age 31, she was the most decorated Minnesotan on the ice. Potter is one of the very few women to win Olympic gold, World Championship gold, and the Clarkson Cup (with the Minnesota Whitecaps, the team her father co-created). Add in four Patty Kazmaier Award finalist nods, two six-goal games, and a national championship at UMD to a lengthy career and it's safe to say the Edina native has left her mark.

3. Lee Stecklein

All Lee Stecklein does is win. The 26 year-old elite defender has won championships in high school (Roseville), college (3x), international - both the World Championship (5x) and Olympic (2018) - and NWHL, where she scored the 2019 Isobel Cup game-winning OT goal for the Whitecaps. Still playing, there's plenty of time for Stecklein to add to being Minnesota's most accomplished player.

2. Natalie Darwitz

Long before an international career and being named the 2010 US Olympic captain, Darwitz was being talked about as the next big thing when she was in 7th grade. She's lived up to the hype. Second on the Pioneer Press all-time HS list behind Wendell, a two-time collegiate national champion and three-time Olympian, Darwitz sits at or near the top of several career point categories. The Eagan native has also been a successful coach in the state for high school and college (an assistant on Frost's staff at Minnesota and currently having led Hamline to Division 3 Frozen Four), lending her US Hockey Hall of Fame credentials to the next generation of players.

1. Winny Brodt Brown

Winner of the first Minnesota Ms. Hockey Award in 1996, Winny Brodt Brown continues to play to this day. In a career spanning four decades, she's won a Minnesota HS state title, an AWCHA championship, the Clarkson Cup, and won the Isobel Cup in 2019 at age 41.

Brown may not have the same international accolades as some members of this list, but her influence on the current generation of players cannot be understated. (One of those being the #3 player on this list.) A constant presence on the Minnesota Whitecaps (her father being the other co-founder), the team's existence since 2004 allowed for elite women's hockey players in the Midwest to play after college (whether there was a league or not). OS Hockey and the Jr. Whitecaps have been home to the vast majority of elite players in the state over the years. The generation growing up went from seeing Brodt Brown as a role model and coach. Several now see her as a teammate.

Touching every level and being an elite player in her own right leads Winny Brodt Brown to the top of the most influential list.

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*Former Minnesota Wild head coach Bruce Boudreau was a guest on the other GATG episode released the same week.