Swedish goalie Felicia Frank, one of many Europeans in NCAA women's hockey, is making a big early impact with Quinnipiac. Here, Frank (#30) faces U.S. captain Joy Dunne (#21) at the 2023 U18 Women's Worlds.
photo: © International Ice Hockey Federation / Andrea Cardin
A quarter of a century ago, University of Minnesota-Duluth head coach Shannon Miller was one of the few NCAA bench bosses who had an eye on overseas talent. Today, Division I is replete with international skaters, and the college game has become the stronger for it.
Among the top 36 teams in U.S. women’s college hockey this season, there are now 67 non-North Americans from 17 countries, including Korea, Japan, and China. Sweden leads the way with 17 players and Finland has 11. Surprisingly, Austria is well represented with six, followed by Czechia with five. Germany, Switzerland, and Hungary all have three players; Russia has two; and six countries have one (China, Japan, Korea, Latvia, Slovakia, Slovenia).
Only ten of these 36 Division I teams have no Europeans—Brown, Harvard, Princeton, Clarkson, and Cornell, from the ECAC; Connecticut, BC, and Holy Cross, from Hockey East; and, Wisconsin and Minnesota State, from the WCHA.
The 12 ECAC teams have a total of 13 players, while the 10 teams in Hockey East have 18. The eight WCHA teams have 16 Europeans, and the six AHA teams have a whopping 20 players.
Not surprisingly, goalies by ratio are the best-represented position among the Europeans in the NCAA. Of the 67 total players, some 14 are goalies. Another 23 are defenders, and 40 are forwards.
But beyond the numbers, we can see a trend of NCAA teams wanting to incorporate Europeans into their rosters and, equally, Europeans wanting to make the move to North America to pursue the combination of education and hockey development. There's no doubt that as the PWHL gains further traction, this trend will increase accordingly as women see the NCAA as a path to scouting, drafting, and a pro career.
The quality of the Europeans in the NCAA is what really stands out, however. Finnish goalie Emilia Kyrkko, who plays for St. Cloud State, is among the leaders with a 0.97 GAA. She helped Finland win bronze at the 2022 Women’s U18 Worlds, where she was named IIHF Directorate Best Goalie, and she is early in her first year with the Huskies. Denmark's Emma-Sophie Nordstrom is in her third year with St. Lawrence and her second as the number one goalie. She also already has two IIHF Ice Hockey Women's World Championships to her credit and was also part of the Danish Olympic team in 2022.
And 19-year-old Felicia Frank is having a stellar start to her NCAA career. She already has two shutouts in her first three games to go with an extraordinary .981 save percentage. Frank was the IIHF Directorate Best Goalie at the 2023 WW18 when Sweden advanced to the gold-medal game against Canada, finishing with an historic silver medal.
Jiahui “Grace” Zhan is also a familiar name in IIHF circles. She was the starting goalie for China at last year’s Women’s Worlds at age 18, and she is now starting her NCAA career with Dartmouth College. Margaux Favre (Switzerland/Merrimack) and Michaela Hesova (Czechia/Dartmouth) are two other up-and-comers in the NCAA who both played at the 2022 and 2023 WW18. And then there is the unique case of Magdalena Luggin. The Austrian helped Team Yellow win gold at the 2020 Youth Olympic Games and is now sharing the goaltending duties at Mercyhurst.
Skaters are equally making an impact, starting with Czechia’s Kristyna Kaltounkova. The forward is in her fifth and final year with Colgate and is currently tied for 11th in NCAA scoring with 14 points in her first 10 games. She also tied an IIHF record by playing in four WW18 tournaments (2017-20) where she averaged a point a game.
Meanwhile, over at Boston University in ECAC play, Luisa and Lilli Welcke have been impressing local fans. The 22-year-old twin forwards have years of IIHF experience with Germany, from WW18 to Women’s Worlds, and they are both in their second year with the Terriers, who are in first place in the conference.
Sweden’s 19-year-old sensation Mira Jungaker is also just starting out with Ohio State. One of Sweden’s top blueline prospects, she has already played in two WW18 tournaments and three Women’s Worlds despite still being a teen. She will grow and develop on a Buckeyes team that includes the likes of Joy Dunne, Mackenna Webster, Maddi Wheeler, and Jenna Buglioni.
Two Danes who hope to develop their skills in the U.S. are Sofie Skott (University of Vermont) and Frederikke Foss (U of Maine). They have ample Women’s Worlds experience, and, although their nation will play in Division I Group A in 2025, they hope to help the team back to the top division for the following year.
No team has made a push into Europe to the same extent as Mercyhurst. In addition to Luggin in goal, they have seven skaters from overseas: Sofia Ljung (SWE, D), Emmi Mourujarvi (FIN, D), Thea Johansson (SWE, F), Regina Metzler (HUN, F), Sofia Nuutinen (FIN, F), Julia Perjus (SWE, F), and Julia Schalin (FIN, F). The strategy is a work in progress so far for coach Mike Sisti, who has been the only coach in the program’s 26-year history. Of note, Sisti’s assistant is Scott Spencer, who coached China at last year’s Women’s Worlds.
All in all, the NCAA is thriving as a new season begins, and non-North Americans are contributing more and more games and goals and minutes to the league. Yes, Americans and Canadians still lead the way. But given the progress Europe has made in the last quarter-century, things are looking promising as teams from overseas try to close the gap and as the PWHL looks to take firmer root in the North American women’s pro sports world.
Among the top 36 teams in U.S. women’s college hockey this season, there are now 67 non-North Americans from 17 countries, including Korea, Japan, and China. Sweden leads the way with 17 players and Finland has 11. Surprisingly, Austria is well represented with six, followed by Czechia with five. Germany, Switzerland, and Hungary all have three players; Russia has two; and six countries have one (China, Japan, Korea, Latvia, Slovakia, Slovenia).
Only ten of these 36 Division I teams have no Europeans—Brown, Harvard, Princeton, Clarkson, and Cornell, from the ECAC; Connecticut, BC, and Holy Cross, from Hockey East; and, Wisconsin and Minnesota State, from the WCHA.
The 12 ECAC teams have a total of 13 players, while the 10 teams in Hockey East have 18. The eight WCHA teams have 16 Europeans, and the six AHA teams have a whopping 20 players.
Not surprisingly, goalies by ratio are the best-represented position among the Europeans in the NCAA. Of the 67 total players, some 14 are goalies. Another 23 are defenders, and 40 are forwards.
But beyond the numbers, we can see a trend of NCAA teams wanting to incorporate Europeans into their rosters and, equally, Europeans wanting to make the move to North America to pursue the combination of education and hockey development. There's no doubt that as the PWHL gains further traction, this trend will increase accordingly as women see the NCAA as a path to scouting, drafting, and a pro career.
The quality of the Europeans in the NCAA is what really stands out, however. Finnish goalie Emilia Kyrkko, who plays for St. Cloud State, is among the leaders with a 0.97 GAA. She helped Finland win bronze at the 2022 Women’s U18 Worlds, where she was named IIHF Directorate Best Goalie, and she is early in her first year with the Huskies. Denmark's Emma-Sophie Nordstrom is in her third year with St. Lawrence and her second as the number one goalie. She also already has two IIHF Ice Hockey Women's World Championships to her credit and was also part of the Danish Olympic team in 2022.
And 19-year-old Felicia Frank is having a stellar start to her NCAA career. She already has two shutouts in her first three games to go with an extraordinary .981 save percentage. Frank was the IIHF Directorate Best Goalie at the 2023 WW18 when Sweden advanced to the gold-medal game against Canada, finishing with an historic silver medal.
Jiahui “Grace” Zhan is also a familiar name in IIHF circles. She was the starting goalie for China at last year’s Women’s Worlds at age 18, and she is now starting her NCAA career with Dartmouth College. Margaux Favre (Switzerland/Merrimack) and Michaela Hesova (Czechia/Dartmouth) are two other up-and-comers in the NCAA who both played at the 2022 and 2023 WW18. And then there is the unique case of Magdalena Luggin. The Austrian helped Team Yellow win gold at the 2020 Youth Olympic Games and is now sharing the goaltending duties at Mercyhurst.
Skaters are equally making an impact, starting with Czechia’s Kristyna Kaltounkova. The forward is in her fifth and final year with Colgate and is currently tied for 11th in NCAA scoring with 14 points in her first 10 games. She also tied an IIHF record by playing in four WW18 tournaments (2017-20) where she averaged a point a game.
Meanwhile, over at Boston University in ECAC play, Luisa and Lilli Welcke have been impressing local fans. The 22-year-old twin forwards have years of IIHF experience with Germany, from WW18 to Women’s Worlds, and they are both in their second year with the Terriers, who are in first place in the conference.
Sweden’s 19-year-old sensation Mira Jungaker is also just starting out with Ohio State. One of Sweden’s top blueline prospects, she has already played in two WW18 tournaments and three Women’s Worlds despite still being a teen. She will grow and develop on a Buckeyes team that includes the likes of Joy Dunne, Mackenna Webster, Maddi Wheeler, and Jenna Buglioni.
Two Danes who hope to develop their skills in the U.S. are Sofie Skott (University of Vermont) and Frederikke Foss (U of Maine). They have ample Women’s Worlds experience, and, although their nation will play in Division I Group A in 2025, they hope to help the team back to the top division for the following year.
No team has made a push into Europe to the same extent as Mercyhurst. In addition to Luggin in goal, they have seven skaters from overseas: Sofia Ljung (SWE, D), Emmi Mourujarvi (FIN, D), Thea Johansson (SWE, F), Regina Metzler (HUN, F), Sofia Nuutinen (FIN, F), Julia Perjus (SWE, F), and Julia Schalin (FIN, F). The strategy is a work in progress so far for coach Mike Sisti, who has been the only coach in the program’s 26-year history. Of note, Sisti’s assistant is Scott Spencer, who coached China at last year’s Women’s Worlds.
All in all, the NCAA is thriving as a new season begins, and non-North Americans are contributing more and more games and goals and minutes to the league. Yes, Americans and Canadians still lead the way. But given the progress Europe has made in the last quarter-century, things are looking promising as teams from overseas try to close the gap and as the PWHL looks to take firmer root in the North American women’s pro sports world.