Wisconsin Women's Hockey 2022-2023

[Bonzo]

If Edwards does return, Helgeson likely would see the least amount of playing time. She might be OK with that, but she also might decide to join Toft and Grace Shirley in the portal.

Has it been confirmed that Grace is in the portal? Looking at the latest additions to the portal in the transfer portal thread I don't see her name. I wouldn't blame her as she never reached the expectations at UW that many had for her, and maybe a year on a less talented team will allow her to get more opportunities to put up some good numbers.

[Gargoyle]

I would hate to lose Sophie Helgeson. She is actually a Wisconsin resident (her folks live in Chippewa Falls) even though she attended high school in Roseau. Her family has been active with the the family group. Her sister is already in the portal (from Quinnipiac). I think she's a great Badger and is patiently waiting her turn.

[robertearle]

Has it been confirmed that Grace is in the portal? Looking at the latest additions to the portal in the transfer portal thread I don't see her name. I wouldn't blame her as she never reached the expectations at UW that many had for her, and maybe a year on a less talented team will allow her to get more opportunities to put up some good numbers.

Grace is now listed (how recently?) at one of the two portal web sites we had found. So, yeah, it looks to be official. Again, I hope she finds some more ice time. Once a Badger...

I see nothing anywhere about Chayla Edwards, one way or another. The only thing we know is she participated in Senior Day.

[Connaught Point]

There are a number of recent posts dealing with changes to the D corps for the coming season. One topic has been the confirmation of Anna Wilgren as an incoming portal transfer. Another is a claim, not yet verified to my knowledge, that Chayla Edwards has decided to return for her final year of eligibility. Mayson Toft has entered the portal which would leave the Badgers with 4 Ds from last year’s term and the incoming recruits of Potter and Murphy would round out the number of Ds to 6, enough for 3 full lines. So, we may end up with 7 or 8 Ds depending on things finally turn out.

Speaking for myself, I continue to see Harvey-Jungels and Potter-Murphy as 2 of the D lines regardless of whether the Badgers end up with 6, 7 or 8 Ds on the roster. Harvey-Jungels clearly established themselves as a premium line, and I am of the opinion that Potter-Murphy will follow suit with a similar blend of defensive and offensive skills. Both pairings should be playing for several more years and I see it as essential that the development of the Potter-Murphy tandem start this coming season from game 1. That will provide two solid D lines for the next 2 years – possibly 3 if the US Olympics team doesn’t raid the Badgers again.

So, what about Helgeson, Kotlowski, Wilgren, and possibly Edwards?

If Edwards does return, Helgeson likely would see the least amount of playing time. She might be OK with that, but she also might decide to join Toft and Grace Shirley in the portal. Depending on her view of what the addition of Wilgren will mean for her without adding Edwards, she still might try the portal. I think Helgeson played well the latter part of the season, so she might attract a transfer offer. If Edwards doesn’t return and Helgeson stays, or Edwards stays and Helgeson leaves, that would leave 3 D to share playing time on the 3^rd D line. It simply becomes a matter of distributing ice time.

So, depending on what happens with Helgeson and Edwards, we may or may not have a crowd seeking playing time on the 3^rd D line. That is OK with me if it is for them. But don’t tamper with those first 2 lines - they are young, but it will be fun to watch them continue to develop throughout the season.

As a final note, Bucky has one D recruit in the 24-25 group. If Helgeson does leave, the Badgers will need to look for a portal transfer or a commitment flip to get to 6 Ds.

Emma Venusio is the incoming Defensemen in 2024 - 25.

[Bonzo]

I would hate to lose Sophie Helgeson. She is actually a Wisconsin resident (her folks live in Chippewa Falls) even though she attended high school in Roseau. Her family has been active with the the family group. Her sister is already in the portal (from Quinnipiac). I think she's a great Badger and is patiently waiting her turn.

Sophie's dad was a member of the 1990 UW Men's NCAA championship. Her mom was also a UW athlete and a Madison native. So while that doesn't guarantee she sticks around, she certainly has deep ties to UW/Madison that may make it difficult to leave. I guess there could also be the possibility of redshirting next year if they have 8 D on the roster. If Edwards returns, next year will certainly be her last. Kotlowski I believe only has 1 year of eligibility left. So patience should be rewarded.

[Timothy A]

Sophie's dad was a member of the 1990 UW Men's NCAA championship. Her mom was also a UW athlete and a Madison native. So while that doesn't guarantee she sticks around, she certainly has deep ties to UW/Madison that may make it difficult to leave. I guess there could also be the possibility of redshirting next year if they have 8 D on the roster. If Edwards returns, next year will certainly be her last. Kotlowski I believe only has 1 year of eligibility left. So patience should be rewarded.

RS Helgeson is a great idea if CE comes back. I believe you can yank the RS anytime in the season if there were a lot of injuries. Kotlowksi is another D they have nicely developed and I
I agree that her development should be rewarded.

[Timothy A]

It's official.....the highest attended college hockey game in WI was the women's poop the bowl game. The men vs the rodents couldn't even topple it.

[robertearle]

(Go to the final photo of the post.)

SMH... Kids these days.... this may not be your best idea, guys. LOL

https://www.instagram.com/p/Crr35i_Ob1w/

[Timothy A]

(Go to the final photo of the post.)

SMH... Kids these days.... this may not be your best idea, guys. LOL

https://www.instagram.com/p/Crr35i_Ob1w/

The hockey players are all smarter than this.

[robertearle]

The hockey players are all smarter than this.

Well, at least two of them aren't. It's Eden and O'Brien in the photo.

[Timothy A]

Well, at least two of them aren't. It's Eden and O'Brien in the photo.

I guess I didn't pick up on that l o l.

[Timothy A]

Kronish did a Podcast with a vb players from nc and talked about some interesting things. The most interesting thing that I found was that she really wanted to go to BC, but when she visited Wisconsin she really fell in love with it. She was offered by both teams on the same day. It was also interesting to hear her say that when she was playing in high school, it was hard to get teams to come and watch her play. They kind of skirted around the topic of the transfers coming in and making it harder for her to earn ice time. I would have liked them to go into that further as to how did that make her feel seeing these players transfer in and beat her out. You can check out her twitter page and find a link to interview.

[robertearle]

Kronish did a Podcast with a vb players from nc and talked about some interesting things. The most interesting thing that I found was that she really wanted to go to BC, but when she visited Wisconsin she really fell in love with it. She was offered by both teams on the same day. It was also interesting to hear her say that when she was playing in high school, it was hard to get teams to come and watch her play. They kind of skirted around the topic of the transfers coming in and making it harder for her to earn ice time. I would have liked them to go into that further as to how did that make her feel seeing these players transfer in and beat her out. You can check out her twitter page and find a link to interview.

Thanks for the tip; that was really interesting, particularly (to me) how they could relate to one another, volleyball to hockey.

(They were/are from U of Kentucky, and won the national championship in the weird "2020 season" that was playing in the spring on 2021 - Wisconsin lost to Texas in the semi, and then Texas lost to Kentucky in the final. I don't recall the 'backrow' blonde woman, but the black woman, Azhani Tealer is *really* good.)

[Scott_TG]

Congratulations to Sis Paulsen on her election to the WI Hockey Hall of Fame!

https://www.wqow.com/sports/three-we...a9d56134c.html

[Timothy A]

There's another great Cami AKA MOP interview available if you check out her twitter feed. I enjoyed her further tearing BC to shreds when she discussed being offered by both and the slam dunk decision to pick UW over BC. It seems like these "break out sessions guys" may have other interesting women's college hockey player interviews in the archives. They did mention they did a Zum Sisters interview.