COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – Behind her 66-point season, Minnesota's Taylor Heise has been named the 2022 Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award winner. Becoming the third Gopher and eighth WCHA representative in the award's 25 years, Heise earns the title as the top player in NCAA Division I women's hockey.
Through 39 games played, Taylor Heise recorded 66 points for Minnesota behind 29 goals and 37 assists to be named a First Team All-American and the WCHA Scoring Champion. She ranked second in the NCAA in goals and was named both WCHA Offensive Player of the Year and overall WCHA Player of the Year. A three-time WCHA Forward of the Month selection, Heise earned national recognition for her November play by the Hockey Commissioners Association when she was named National Player of the Month. An active volunteer, Heise has worked Food Donation Drives, with Girls in Hockey Weekend with the Minnesota, and has made multiple Feed My Starving Children trips.
Heise becomes the third Gopher to receive the prestigious honor all-time, joining Krissy Wendell (2005) and Amanda Kessel (2013), while this year marks the WCHA's first Patty Kazmaier Award winner since Wisconsin's Ann-Renee Desbiens won in 2017.
While the WCHA had six representatives in the top-10, it was just the third time in league history that the WCHA was home to the Top-3 Finalists as Heise was joined by Ohio State's Sophie Jaques and Minnesota Duluth's Gabbie Hughes.
For more information on the Western Collegiate Hockey Association, follow the league on Twitter and Instagram @WCHA_WHockey, and online at wcha.com.
Selection Process
The selection process commenced earlier this month when NCAA Division I women's ice hockey coaches were asked to nominate players for the award. Players who were nominated by multiple coaches were then placed on an official ballot, which was returned to the coaches to vote for the ten finalists. The three finalists, including the recipient of the 2022 Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award, is chosen by a 13-person selection committee made up of NCAA Division I women's ice hockey coaches, representatives of print and broadcast media, and an at-large member and representative of USA Hockey, the national governing body for the sport of ice hockey in the United States.
About the Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award
An award of The USA Hockey Foundation, the Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award is annually presented to the top player in NCAA Division I women's ice hockey. Selection criteria includes outstanding individual and team skills, sportsmanship, performance in the clutch, personal character, competitiveness and a love of hockey. Consideration is also given to academic achievement and civic involvement. 2022 marks the 25th anniversary of the award. For a full list of previous honorees, click HERE.
About Patty Kazmaier
The Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award is named in honor of the late Patty Kazmaier, who was a four-year varsity letter-winner and All-Ivy League defenseman at Princeton University from 1981-86. An accomplished athlete who helped lead the Tigers to the Ivy League Championship in three consecutive seasons (1981-84), Patty Kazmaier-Sandt died Feb. 15, 1990, at the age of 28 following a long struggle with a rare blood disease.