PWHL expansion to Seattle and Vancouver could shake Frost’s championship team

The Frost celebrated their second consecutive Walter Cup trophy championship on Monday night, this one on home ice with teammates, family, friends and 11,024 fans filling up Xcel Energy Center with joyous noise and the hoisting of the cup, player by player getting their turn, trophy held high, to circle the rink.

Each one potentially a bittersweet moment.

Every sports offseason involves change, big or small. This one upcoming will bring change more than most.

That means Monday was the last time this group of 23 rostered players played together. The Frost will lose four players because of the PWHL’s expansion to eight teams, with Vancouver and Seattle added next season.

“It’s a really hard thing to deal with,” Frost star forward Taylor Heise said. “It’s not something players want to see when they see you’re going to be able to keep three people and maybe a fourth. There are a lot of people who could be gone or missing next year. This group is so special. I love these people. They’re my sisters. I’m going to miss them a lot. I wanted to win this for them.”

The Frost have a list of 15 players under contract from which only a handful can be protected during an exclusive upcoming signing period for the two new expansion teams and the expansion draft.

The list ranges from young, potentially foundational pieces for the franchise, such as Heise, defender Sophie Jaques and last year’s second-round draft pick Britta Curl-Salemme, to veterans such as Kendall Coyne Schofield, Lee Stecklein and Kelly Pannek.

In between are recently drafted prospects Katy Knoll, Brooke McQuigge and Dominique Petrie, gifted mid-20-something players Claire Thompson and Grace Zumwinkle or goalie Nicole Hensley.

“This group is so special, and it’s sad to think that we’ll never all play together again,” said veteran goaltender Maddie Rooney, who starred in the title-winning Game 4 duel vs. Ottawa’s Gwyneth Philips. “But this is the highest note we could have gone out on, to share this memory all together.

“We’ll remember this the rest of our lives and the celebration now to come. We’ll be in the moment and enjoy it with one another and with friends and family. We’ll wish the best to each going forward in the coming seasons.”

Rooney will be a forthcoming free agent. So are Frost players Michela Cava, Natalie Buchbinder, Mellissa Channell-Watkins and Maggie Flaherty.

General Manager Melissa Caruso, coach Ken Klee, coaches and scouts will make decisions on expansion draft and college draft matters.

“I don’t control those things,” Klee said about the changes coming. “Our team this year is different than it was last year. It’s still incredibly hard to win. With the expansion draft, it’s a new challenge. It’s sad because we’re going to lose some great teammates.

“But it’s exciting for the league. We’re getting 50 new players in the league and two new teams. We’ll try to manage who we’re losing and that sort of thing. And then we’ll have another draft class and look to win again. That’s the name of the game.”

June 3

Player protection lists are due. Each of the six inaugural PWHL teams will have the opportunity to initially protect three players from selection in the exclusive signing window and the expansion draft. After an inaugural team has relinquished two players — whether through the exclusive signing window or the expansion draft — that team will be permitted to protect one additional player, increasing its protected list to four players. Players eligible to be protected must either be under contract for the 2025–26 season or the team must hold their playing rights through the 2025–26 season.

June 4-9

Following the submission of protected player lists, the expansion teams will be granted a five-day exclusive window to sign a maximum of five players. There is no required minimum number of players who must be signed during this window. Any unprotected player or any player on an expiring contract is eligible to be signed.

June 9

The expansion draft will feature Seattle and Vancouver selecting a minimum of seven players each until each has reached a 12-player roster. If Seattle or Vancouver enters the expansion draft with fewer signed players than the other, it will be granted additional selections to reach their 12.

June 24

The 2025 PWHL player entry draft consists of six rounds and allows all eight teams to select eligible players from recent collegiate graduates and/or players from other professional leagues. The New York Sirens will pick first.