Seventeen hockey players with Minnesota ties, including 10 former or current Gophers, are among the 40 players invited to the U.S. Women's National Team selection camp, which will run June 1-6 at the National Sports Center in Blaine. The camp will be used to assist in selecting the 28 players who will train together in Blaine in preparation for the 2022 Winter Olympic Games.
Maddie Rooney, who backstopped the U.S. to the gold medal in Pyeongchang, South Korea, in 2018, is among four goalies in the camp. Joining the former Minnesota Duluth standout from Andover are Olympic gold medalists Alex Cavallini and Nicole Hensley, and Aerin Frankel.
Former Gophers Megan Bozek and Lee Stecklein, and Gracie Ostertag of the 2020-21 Gophers are among 12 defenders invited to the camp. The blue-line group includes 2018 gold medalists in Stecklein, Cayla Barnes, Kali Flanagan and Megan Keller, while Bozek won Olympic silver in 2014. Minnesota State Mankato defender Anna Wilgren also received an invitation.
At forward, former Gophers invited include Hannah Brandt, Dani Cameranesi, Amanda Kessel and Kelly Pannek, plus 2020-21 Gophers Taylor Heise, Abbey Murphy and Grace Zumwinkle. Also invited are former Minnesota Duluth standout Sydney Brodt, Ohio State's Liz Schepers from Mound, and former Shattuck-St. Mary's players Lacey Eden, Casey O'Brien and Makenna Webster. The forward invitees include seven 2018 gold medalists: Brandt, Cameranesi, Kessel, Pannek, Brianna Decker, Kendall Coyne Schofield and Hilary Knight.
Gophers associate head coach Joel Johnson is the interim coach of the U.S. Women's National Team, taking over for Bob Corkum, who resigned in April.
USA Hockey expects to announce the 28 players chosen for residency for Olympic team training in June, and the 25-player roster for the U.S. team at the 2021 Women's World Championship from Aug. 20-31 in Nova Scotia will be chosen from that group. The camp is closed to the public.
A complete camp roster can be found here.
