The Patty Kazmaier Award is down to ten finalists in the running to be named the best player in NCAA women's hockey. Among the finalists are WCHA Player of the Year [https://thehockeynews.com/womens/college/harvey-named-player-of-the-year-as-wcha-hands-out-major-awards] and Olympic MVP Caroline Harvey who is a senior with the University of Wisconsin. She was joined by Wisconsin teammates Kirsten Simms, Laila Edwards, and Lacey Eden. The Badgers ended the regular season as the top ranked team in the nation and led the way in Patty Kazmaier recognition with four of the top ten nominees. Quinnipiac junior Kahlen Lamarche is the nation's leading goal scorer this season recording 42 goals in 37 games for the Bobcats. The Sudbury, Ontario product is one of only two underclass players nominated this season. The other underclass player is fellow junior Joy Dunne from the Ohio State Buckeyes. Dunne is one of six Olympic gold medallists from the American national team named top ten finalists. Abbey Murphy of the University of Minnesota and Tessa Janecke of Penn State University were the other American national team members and Olympic gold medalists named finalists. Tia Chan highlights Tia Chan, a netminder for UConn was the lone goaltender named a top ten Patty Kazmaier Award finalist. The Hamilton, Ontario product posted a 1.59 GAA and .948 save percentage along with five shutouts in 34 appearances this season for Connecticut. Rounding out the top ten finalists is Princeton's Issy Wunder. The Toronto product was a force in her senior season for the Tigers recording 27 goals and 43 points in 32 games. Among the finalists, eight are set to enter the 2026 PWHL Draft headlined by Harvey, Edwards, Murphy, and Janecke who are expected to be the first four picks in the 2026 Draft. They'll be quickly followed by Simms, Wunder, and Eden, while Tia Chan has the chance to be one of the first goaltenders selected.
