Krissy Wendell to be inducted into U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame

Minnesota Golden Gopher legend Krissy Wendell will be inducted into the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame on Dec. 12, 2019. Wendell will be inducted along with former NHL players Brian Gionta and Tim Thomas, as well as NHL commissioner Gary Bettman and Neal Henderson.

Presenting the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame Class of 2019 ➡️ https://t.co/gKb2P29jGq#USHHOF 🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/C5AGIIEfMd

— USA Hockey (@usahockey) September 4, 2019

Wendell, a dangerous forward in her playing career, led Minnesota to back-to-back national championships (2004, 2005) and, along with her longtime linemate Natalie Darwitz, was the first three-time All-American in the storied program’s history. Prior to her collegiate career, she was named Minnesota’s Ms. Hockey as the best high school hockey player as a result of averaging over four goals per game. Just five years later, Wendell added the 2005 Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award to her trophy case.

Impressively, Wendell still ranks fourth all-time in points among Gophers despite the fact that she graduated in just three seasons. She scored a staggering 104 points (43 goals, 61 assists) in 40 games in her final season at Minnesota, which remains the second highest-scoring scoring season in program history. She finished her collegiate career with 237 points in 101 games and is ranked second, behind only Darwitz, with a career average of 2.35 points per-game.

At the international level, Wendell was a fixture on Team USA for nearly a decade. She served as the team’s captain at the 2006 Olympics in Torino, where the U.S. won bronze, and was also a member of the team that won silver at the 2002 Olympics in Salt Lake City.

In addition to those two Olympic medals, Wendell also won five silver medals and one gold medal with Team USA at the IIHF Women’s World Championship. She is ranked fifth all-time in scoring and has the highest Pts/GP (2.03) in Worlds competition for the U.S. Women’s National Team. She is also just one of 10 players in Team USA’s history to score 10 or more points for her country in her Olympic career.

Wendell will be the sixth woman inducted into the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame. Last year, fellow Golden Gopher and Team USA legend Natalie Darwitz was inducted.

Data courtesy of gophersports.com, IIHF.com, EliteProspects.com, and TeamUSA.org.