After Frost Roster Shakeup, Young Playoff Playmakers Could Keep Minnesota Competitive

Before the confetti had finished falling from the Xcel Center’s rafters on May 26, 2025, the fans, players, and front office of the now back-to-back Walter Cup-winning Minnesota Frost knew change was coming. The PWHL had already announced details for the 2025 expansion process, and it was clear the Inaugural Six would see significant roster reshuffling. Nowhere was this change more anxiety-inducing than in the State of Hockey. After all, Minnesota had a slate of two-time champions ripe for picking. Any Frost player not on a contract or the protected player list would not just be eligible for the expansion process—they’d be in high demand.

On opening day of the exclusive signing window, the first signings were Frost players: defenders Claire Thompson and Sophie Jaques went to PWHL Vancouver. Then, forwards Brooke McQuigge and Denisa Křížová were poached in the expansion draft, also by PWHL Vancouver. Vancouver GM Cara Gardner Morey is evidently hoping to make magic with a roster full of former champs because she signed forward Michela Cava and defender Melissa Channell-Watkins as free agents too. Gutsy center and two-time Finals-game-winning goal-scorer Liz Schepers was scooped up by Boston, and 7th defender Maggie Flaherty fled to Montreal. In all, the Frost lost nearly 45% of its team-wide points for the regular season, including 34% of its goals scored by forwards.

In encouraging news, Minnesota retains its top five forwards, as measured by time on ice per game: captain Kendall Coyne Schofield, Taylor Heise, Kelly Pannek, Grace Zumwinkle, and Britta Curl-Salemme. Defensive stalwart Lee Stecklein will still lock down the blue line.

There’s something else to consider. Coach Ken Klee’s occasionally frustrating approach of running four lines every game kept the full roster engaged throughout the season. That strategy paid off in the postseason with important contributions from the bottom lines. Two rookies in particular showed promise in the playoffs: Klára Hymlárová and Katy Knoll.

Hymlárová and Knoll brought scrappy fun to the ice. In Game 3’s third overtime, for instance, Hymlárová smashed a one-timer toward the net. Knoll, trying to create a shooting lane, instead took the puck to the chest. It dropped a few feet away. Off-balance, Knoll slapped it into the net and fell to the ice, securing the win. That kind of zany tenacity made for entertaining playoff hockey.

Their value, though, went beyond entertainment. Let’s start with Hymlárová’s impact. In the regular season, she averaged 11.5 minutes and just 0.07 points per game. In the postseason, her points per game shot up ninefold to 0.63 with similar playing time. Hymlárová scored in the third period to take the Frost to overtime in Game 1 of the Finals, and she had game-winning assists in Games 3 and 4.

Meanwhile, Knoll averaged just over 7 minutes of time on ice and 0.1 points per game in the regular season. In the postseason, while her time on ice increased to 11 minutes, she tripled her shots on goal per game and saw a six-fold increase to her points per game. Knoll’s game-winning goal in Game 3 and game-winning assist in Game 4 helped clinch the series for the Frost.

Hymlárová and Knoll were difference-makers in the postseason. Compare the duo’s combined 10 playoff points to the 11 points produced in the playoffs by Křížová, McQuigge, Schepers, and Cava combined. If their playoff production continues into the new season, Hymlárová and Knoll could help the Frost mitigate the loss of four established forwards. Certainly the departure of experienced international players like Cava and Křížová will hurt, but the Frost’s Team USA core should provide necessary leadership as the team moves forward with the next generation of players. And while McQuigge looks like a star, she was a 4th round pick in 2024, so the next McQuigge could be lacing up her skates at training camp this fall.

There is no doubt that the upheaval of Minnesota’s roster poses a challenge, but Hymlárová and Knoll showed what they can do when the pressure is on. If they can maintain that output, racking up point after gritty point to support the top lines, the Frost can be competitive in 2025-2026.