Neal: Ken Klee finds the right formula at the right time for the Frost

A year ago, Ken Klee had to go to a party at goalkeeper Nicole Hensley’s home in Denver to hang out with the Walter Cup as it was passed along from player to player following Team Minnesota’s run to the PWHL title.

“I brought my 87-year-old father and 85-year-old mother,” he said, “and they got to get pictures with me with it, which was really cool.”

Klee learned this week that the league is now allowing coaching staffs to have a day with the trophy as well. So Walter will make a second stop in the Denver area — Klee lives in Castle Rock — this offseason.

Progress. Maybe Klee will find out how many ounces that cup can hold.

“I think that was definitely some feedback that, hey, it’d be cool for the coaches to be able to celebrate with their families for a day, or a half-day, or anything, right?” Klee said. “Just to be able to have that. Because during the celebration itself on the ice, it’s just pandemonium and crazy, right?”

“I left the ice almost immediately after, just because I was like, I need to take a breath and go crack a Coors Light.”

Champagne problems for the only champion the PWHL has had. The Frost have set the standard on the ice and now get to establish how to enjoy it.

It’s surprising that Klee did not win PWHL coach of the year honors last season and wasn’t a finalist this season. Then again, it’s not. One trait both title teams share is scrambling just to make the postseason. Title team No. 1 was hindered by injuries. It took a while for title team No. 2 to find its game.

But when this season’s Frost got going, they were unstoppable. Klee had the talent to run out four lines and got scoring from multiple defenders.

“I just think this year we were just better,” Klee said. “We were deeper. It was crazy, but I knew everyone else was going to be better as well. I really think the league took a big kind of step up in the level of play top to bottom, and which is pretty neat. And so it was good, but it was a big challenge for us, because we knew everyone else got better as well.”

Each season, Klee found the right formula at the right time to win a championship. His coaching acumen is the product of a 14-year NHL career during which he played for seven different teams and 11 different coaches, including Pat Quinn and Joel Quenneville. In his final season in 2008-09, Klee played for Wayne Gretzky in Phoenix. Klee learned the value of player management, skills he uses today.

“I think it was paramount to see the way they treated you, they treated myself, they treated other players,” Klee said. “I’m not shy about saying that Pat Quinn was a huge influence on me. Joel Quenneville was a big influence on me, you know, and they were coaches who treated me like a pro.”

It wasn’t as if Klee was planning to pursue coaching. He just wanted to work with his sons. But he got a call in 2014 about helping out the women’s Under-22 Select Team. That’s where he met Kendall Coyne Schofield and Lee Stecklein. So he had instant credibility and buy-in when he arrived to coach PWHL Minnesota.

Klee returned to his suburban Denver home recently after guiding the Frost to a 3-1 Walter Cup series win over Ottawa. In addition to his gear, he also brought a sore back and neck from the 13-hour drive from the Twin Cities that required a trip to the chiropractor on Monday.

A busy summer requires him to be in proper alignment. This weekend, he’s headed to Las Vegas to attend a Kenny Chesney concert at The Sphere. Then there’s the PWHL expansion draft on June 9, where Klee will find out which players from his deep lineup will be selected by Seattle or Vancouver.

Following the draft, he’s scheduled to make an appearance on behalf of the league in Aspen, Colorado. Then there’s the June 24 draft of college players and players from other professional leagues. There’s a trip to Costa Rica planned, then the summer winds down with taking his son, David — a seventh-round pick of San Jose in 2023 — to North Dakota.

Sometime in November, the Frost will open training camp to prepare for a run at a three-peat.

Next season will be Klee’s biggest challenge. A third title would establish the Frost as a dynasty. But every team stands to look much different following the expansion draft and free agency. Klee will have to adapt.

Based on the last two seasons, he’ll find the right formula at the right time.