According to USA Olympian Kelly Pannek, PWHL Minnesota is being very "intentional" with their time as they prepare for the inaugural PWHL season.
The on ice energy and intensity has been high at TRIA Rink in St. Paul, as PWHL Minnesota speeds toward puck drop.
According to Kelly Pannek, the first player to officially sign a PWHL contract, the players and staff are being very "intentional" with their time as they prepare not only for December's preseason camp in Utica, New York, but for the inaugural PWHL season beginning in early January.
"It's been a great week; it's flown," said Pannek. "It feels like it's been a lot longer with the amount of stuff we've been able to get done. Our coaching staff and the rest of our staff have all been trying to be very intentional with our time and making all of the on ice and off ice sessions very productive."
With that time, Minnesota has completed medical and fitness testing, off-ice training sessions, and mixed in battle drills, competitive situations, and the foundation of systems in their on-ice practices.
"It's a crash course in a lot of it," said Pannek. That crash course involves integrating more than 30 players from different professional leagues and the NCAA into one program, with all new facilities, new coaches, and no pre-existing set up of any sort. Despite that, Pannek feels the start to camp in Minnesota has gone well, and says you can feel the energy among the players.
"It's been pretty seamless, it's been fun," she said. "The excitement level has been super high, and everyone has been really excited to get to know each other, get to the rink, and are excited to get to play with new players."
Those new moments also included interacting with their new rink-mates at TRIA, the NHL's Minnesota Wild, who also use the facility. Wednesday was the first day the two teams had overlapped in their training, making for an interesting moment as goaltenders Maddie Rooney from PWHL Minnesota, and Wild netminder Marc Andre Fleury connected for a conversation as they cross paths.
While Minnesota's camp has been filled with excitement and fun, there's still a lot of work to be done, including formalizing on-ice systems, and of course, fighting for roster spots. As Pannek, who is a member of USA's national team, and played in the PWHPA last season said, the group is well aware that only a short time remains before they'll be facing off against other PWHL teams.
"We'll be using that time wisely and being very intentional, trying to blend getting on the same page in terms of structure, offensively, defensively, on the puck and off the puck. Obviously the final roster isn't set, so people are still competing for spots within our team, not just contracts, but what their role and spot on our roster will be."
Those competitions will continue as Minnesota prepares for the opening of the 2024 PWHL season.