Three U.S. Olympians have signed three-year deals with the PWHL's Minnesota team, joining the new franchise in its inaugural season. General manager Natalie Darwitz has signed defender Lee Stecklein and forwards Kelly Pannek and Kendall Coyne Schofield.
"They're world-class players," Darwitz said of the three signees. "High-caliber on the ice, high character off the ice. We want to build a program of excellence and organization of excellence. These three are a testament, and we're going to build around them."
Darwitz stressed a sense of camaraderie and cohesiveness she hopes to build into her team, as well as a special energy they'll bring to the ice.
The trio became the first set of American-born players to be announced in the PWHL, as both Ottawa and Toronto had signed all Canadian national team members previously. Pannek, as it turns out, was the first official PHF signing across the league, per her agent.
"It was no secret that this is where I want to be," she said.
Like the other trios we've seen signed so far, these three players have spent the last several years playing together at various levels and are plenty familiar with one another. Stecklein and Pannek are both Minnesota natives and both played as Minnesota Golden Gophers. Stecklein and Coyne Schofield both played with the NWHL's Minnesota Whitecaps in the 2018-19 season, and all three have a wealth of U.S. national team experience at both Olympics and World Championships together, including the 2018 and 2022 Olympics and Worlds between 2017 and 2022.
Her teammates describe Stecklein as "hard to play against" and "severely underrated."
"If you want to prevent a goal, need a big stop, or in any big difference situation, she's the defender you have on the ice," said Pannek. Her consistency and ability to communicate on the ice were also noted as key attributes that help bring a confidence to the entire team.
Stecklein, 29, hails from Roseville, Minnesota and has spent the majority of her playing time in her home state, from high school, through college and beyond. She led all PWHPA defenders in scoring last season, with 15 points (4G, 11A) in 20 games. The former Golden Gopher was originally a draft pick of the Buffalo Beauts in 2016 before signing with the Whitecaps in 2018. She scored the championship-winning goal for the team as they captured the Isobel Cup that season. Previously, she had 93 points and was a plus-137 in 157 NCAA games.
Stecklein, meanwhile, calls Pannek "one of the smartest hockey players I think I've ever played with." Her hockey IQ, as well as versatility to play any role, were other notes. Coyne Schofield also mentioned her consistency and reliability, calling her "one of the greatest assets" you could have on a team, since you always know what you're getting.
The 27-year-old Pannek is a native of Plymouth, MN and, like Stecklein, has spent nearly all of her playing time in her home state. Last season, she put up 11 points (4G, 7A) in 20 PWHPA games as a member of Team Scotiabank, good for fifth on the team in scoring. She is also a former NWHL draft pick, selected fourth overall in 2018, but never played in the league, and had an incredible offensive output in her collegiate years: 186 points (72G, 114A) in 157 games. She was a finalist for the Patty Kazmaier Award and is a two-time NCAA champion.
Aside from highlighting her leadership abilities, Coyne Schofield was described as focused, dedicated and passionate by her teammates. Her integral role in the CBA negotiations was repeatedly mentioned, as well as generally how these players couldn't have reached this point without her. She also spoke about how she was able to leverage her experience in a similar situation with the U.S. national team in 2017 along the way.
"Negotiations definitely took more than a few weeks, more like a few months," she said. "It was an honor to sit in that room on behalf of all the players. I said it to the players before, well, there were five of us in there. If there could've been 100 or 200 of us in there, I think every single player would've been in that room if it was possible. They were very cordial conversations, collaborative conversations."
Although the new CBA may not be perfect – as Coyne Schofield says, they never are – it's a good start for a new league that will hopefully pave the way for generations to come.
"This was a blank sheet of paper when we started this, so it's not perfect," she said. "There's going to be things that we're going to look back on and say, okay, write it down... I think you have to remember, the vision is not year one, it's year 100. Where we start today is going to set us up for success in the future."
Coyne Schofield, 31, last played in December 2022 and is returning to the ice after giving birth to her son in July. While she wasn't initially sure if a PWHL team would be interested in her, she's clearly excited for the road ahead.
"It was definitely nerve-wracking," she said of heading into free agency. "I didn't know if the phone would ring, given I haven't played a game since December. I was like, I don't know if anyone will still value me, or see me like I was the player I was before."
She had 10 points (6G, 4A) in nine PWHPA games last season and has also spent the last three seasons as a development coach with the NHL's Chicago team.
Coyne isn't the only new Minnesota player with on-ice leadership experience. Both Stecklein and Pannek were captains in college, while Stecklein was also an alternate captain – to Coyne Schofield's captaincy – in their lone NWHL season. Coyne Schofield also captained the U.S. national team the past three years.
As Darwitz and her franchise head into the inaugural PWHL draft, they've established a player core with two of the most dominant offensive players in the game, and one of the top-ranked defenders in the world who also provides key scoring abilities from the blueline.