Frost protect three veterans ahead of PWHL expansion draft

The Minnesota Frost on Tuesday protected veteran U.S. national team members Kendall Coyne Schofield, Lee Stecklein and Taylor Heise from selection by incoming PWHL expansion teams Vancouver and Seattle.

Coyne Schofield, Stecklein and Heise have helped the Frost win back-to-back Walter Cup titles, but Minnesota is bracing to lose four other top players in the expansion process.

Vancouver and Seattle have an exclusive signing window to add unprotected players between Wednesday and Sunday, and the expansion draft follows on Monday.

“We know we’re going to lose four great players, and so is everyone else,” Frost coach Ken Klee said. “It’s just as interesting for us I think as anybody. ... “We have no idea how these franchises are going to put their teams together.”

With three Frost players protected, that leaves 12 members of this year’s championship team eligible to be plucked away by an expansion team, either in the exclusive signing window or the expansion draft. Vancouver and Seattle will each have 12 players on its roster after the expansion draft.

One unprotected player to watch is Frost co-captain Kelly Pannek, another U.S. national team member.

Other notable unprotected Frost players include Sophie Jaques, Nicole Hensley, Claire Thompson, Grace Zumwinkle, Britta Curl-Salemme and PWHL Finals star Katy Knoll.

In the expansion draft, after an original six team loses two players, it can protect one additional player, for a total of four protected players.

The Frost also left Mae Batherson, Klára Hymlárová, Denisa Krizova, Brooke McQuigge and Dominique Petrie unprotected.

Eleven other Frost players are eligible for the signing window only, including Maddie Rooney, Michela Cava and PWHL Finals Game 4 star Liz Schepers.

Frost General Manager Melissa Caruso called it a “roller coaster” week, between winning the title last Monday and then deciding who might stay or go.

“We are fortunate to be in a situation where we have so many impact players on this roster,” she said in a team statement. “Unfortunately, we’re just not able to protect them all.”

Caruso said Coyne Schofield, Stecklein and Heise built “the foundation and culture” for their championship teams.

“They will continue to uphold as leaders on and off the ice as we move forward into Season Three,” Caruso said. “They are all proven winners whose experience will be invaluable as we evolve toward the next phase of the Minnesota Frost.”

Boston: Aerin Frankel (G), Megan Keller (D), Alina Müller (F)

Montreal: Ann-Renée Desbiens (G), Marie-Philip Poulin (F), Laura Stacey (F)

New York: Sarah Fillier (F), Ella Shelton (D), Micah Zandee-Hart (D)

Ottawa: Emily Clark (F), Gwyneth Philips (G), Ronja Savolainen (D)

Toronto: Renata Fast (D), Blayre Turnbull (F), Daryl Watts (F)