Jonna Albers and Allie Thunstrom are two of the best professional women's hockey players from the last decade, but are unlikely to continue their careers in the PWHL.
Jonna Albers and Allie Thunstrom are two of the best professional women's hockey players from the last decade, but are unlikely to continue their careers in the PWHL.
Few played the game with the speed and skill of Jonna Albers and Allie Thunstrom over the last decade.
Albers and Thunstrom however, are both likely to retire from professional hockey instead of joining the new PWHL. The Minnesota products will leave behind a legacy in the State of Hockey as two of the most skilled players to lace them up in Minnesota women's hockey history.
Albers, 29, sits third all time in NWHL / PHF scoring, hitting the 100 point mark last season. She was the fastest player in league history to reach that mark, spending her entire professional career with the Minnesota Whitecaps.
In 2018-2019, Albers made her professional debut earning NWHL Newcomer of the Year honors while leading Minnesota in scoring with 19 points in 16 games. That season, she outscored her Whitecaps teammates including Kendall Coyne Schofield, Hannah Brandt, and Lee Stecklein.
Last season, Albers finshed with 20 points in 24 games, and followed it up with five goals and six points in three playoff games leading Minnesota to the Isobel Cup final. Prior to turning pro, Albers played high school hockey in Elk River, followed by a standout NCAA career at New Hampshire, where as a senior she captained the Wildcats.
Thunstrom, 35, played five of her six professional seasons with the Minnesota Whitecaps before joining the Boston Pride last season. Thunstrom sits seventh all time in PHF scoring, twice leading the league in scoring and earning MVP honors in 2020.
Alongside Albers, Thunstrom won the 2019 Isobel Cup.
As a high school student at North St. Paul High, Thunstrom won the prestigious Ms. Hockey Award as Minnesota's top high school player before playing four seasons at Boston College.