Izzy Daniel could not believe it when her name was called as the 2024 Patty Kazmaier winner becoming the first Cornell player in history to win the award.
Izzy Daniel could not believe it when her name was called as the 2024 Patty Kazmaier winner becoming the first Cornell player in history to win the award.
DURHAM, New Hampshire -- Despite the heavy lifting she did in her senior season, Izzy Daniel was surprised by the weight of picking up yet another accolade.
Daniel captured the 2024 Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award, given to theNCAA's top women's ice hockey player, on Saturday.As she posed for photographs after accepting the award, the Cornell captain joked she "wasn't prepared" to be lifting the 20-plus pound trophy.
"I think I blacked out to be honest," Daniel said. "It's a tremendous honor to hear my name called and have it associated with Patty Kazmaier and her legacy, her family and USA Hockey. It's just a surreal experience.”
Leading up to the event, the native of Minneapolis, Minnesota swept her conference's awards, earning ECAC Player of the Year, Forward of the Year and a unanimous selection to the conference's first all-star team.
She posted 59 points (21 goals and 38 assists) in 34 games with the Big Red. Her 1.09 assists per game ranked second in the nation, whileher 1.72 points per game ranked third. She appeared in seven fewer games than fellow finalists Kirsten Simms and senior Casey O’Brien from Wisconsin.
A two-way workhorse forward, Daniel not only led Cornell in scoring, she accounted for 25 more points than any of her teammates. She also factored in 10 game winners for the Big Red, including two goals and eight assists.
Off the ice, she volunteered for the “Do It For Daron” campaign promoting mental health, “Feed My Starving Children” organization and participated in the Salvation Army’s Adopt a Family efforts.With Daniel’s NCAA eligibility exhausted, she will attend Team USA’s selection camp in late March to battle for a spot on the 2024 team.
The winger also plans to declare for the PWHL draft in the near future and is expected to be among the top selections. Among the plaques which honor Cornell's hockey history at Lynah Rink, there is one image where Daniel stands out -- for unfortunate reasons. The 2020-21 team is dressed in full uniform, masked and spread out in the neutral zone. In what would have been her sophomore season, Daniel is in the second row, second from the right.
Unlike many other players of her era who took advantage of an extra year of eligibility due to COVID-19, Daniel finishes her collegiate career with the standard four. Cornell opted out of the 2020-21 season. Daniel could have transferred to further her on-ice development, but chose to remain in Ithaca.
“I love Cornell," Daniel said. "I love my coaching staff, my teammates. I love the program and I didn't want to play anywhere else.
So I took that year off and decided to just do my four years at Cornell. I'm really happy with my decision. I love Cornell so much. They've done so much for me, that program and it is really such a special place to play."
As the first Big Red player to win the Kazmaier Award, she is now guaranteed to have an even larger, everlasting presence at Lynah Rink.
“There have been so many amazing players that played at Cornell. To be the first one to win it, I'm really proud of that. It's a privilege and such an honor and I hope there are many more to come."