The Minnesota Frost are returning nine players crowned two-time Walter Cup champions to the 2025-26 roster: captain Kendall Coyne Schofield, alternate captains Kelly Pannek and Lee Stecklein, forwards Claire Butorac, Taylor Heise and Grace Zumwinkle, defender Natalie Buchbinder, and goaltenders Nicole Hensley and Maddie Rooney.
It’s not uncommon across sports for championship teams (especially back-to-back championship teams) to see roster turnover and, with PWHL expansion launching an eventful offseason, the Frost are no exception.
No team in the PWHL had had more skaters record 10 or more points than Minnesota last season and, despite all of the roster changes, no other team retained more 10-point scorers heading into the 2025-26 campaign.
That list interestingly does not include Stecklein, who was on the double-digit threshold with a modest 9 points (3G, 6A) last season. She contributed to a Frost blue line that delivered more offense than any other team, largely in part by the efforts of the departed Sophie Jaques and Claire Thompson—both Defender of the Year finalists. But the 31-year-old veteran from Roseville, MN, stepped up when the games mattered the most and put together one of the best five-game stretches of any blue liner last season. Her three goals in the final two games of the season solidified the Frost’s postseason positioning, then her three goals and three assists in the first three games of the playoffs provided the necessary spark to take down Toronto. In total, Stecklein led all playoff performers in scoring with eight points (4G, 4A) in as many games.