For just the third time in league history, the WCHA is home to the three finalists for the Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award.
The USA Hockey Foundation announced Thursday that Taylor Heise (Minnesota), Gabbie Hughes (Minnesota Duluth), and Sophie Jaques (Ohio State) have been named the three finalists for the 2022 award.
Through 39 games played, Heise recorded 66 points for Minnesota behind 29 goals and 37 assists. 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. 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.
A forward from Minnesota Duluth, Hughes is currently tied for third in the nation with her 59 points by 22 goals and 37 assists in 38 games played. Hughes enters the Frozen Four ranked second in the NCAA with seven game-winning goals and was a first team all-WCHA member. Also a 2022 Hockey Humanitarian Award finalist, Hughes is a founder and board member of Sophies Squad, a nonprofit organization dedicated to improving the mental health of athletes from the youth level to college.
Ranking first among all defenders and tied for third in NCAA points is Jaques, with 59 in 36 games. Jaques enters the Frozen Four with 21 goals and 38 assists and is second in the nation with her 11 power play goals. Named WCHA defensive player of the year and the WCHA Final Faceoff’s most outstanding player, Jaques was an eight-time defender of the week and four-time defender of the month. A WCHA scholar-athlete, Jaques excels as an undergraduate teaching assistant in the Ohio State College of Engineering and volunteers with local literacy programs.
The winner of the 2022 award will become the WCHA’s eighth Kazmaier honoree, while Hughes and Jaques each look to become the first Patty Kazmaier player from their respective schools. Heise would become the third Gopher 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.
The honor, which began 25 years ago in 1998, is presented annually to the top player in NCAA Division I women’s hockey. The WCHA has only ever had the top three finalists in 2005 and 2013.
The award winner will be announced March 26 during an hour-long special on the NHL Network beginning at 11:30 a.m. EDT.
