PWHL Minnesota’s Grace Zumwinkle Earns Rookie of the Year Nomination

All three players are worthy of the award, and choosing which one will be hard. Zumwinkle and Maltais are tied for the lead in rookie points with 19, while Zumwinkle leads in goals, and Maltais has more assists. Müller was in third with 16 points, tied with PWHL Montréal’s Maureen Murphy, who just missed the cut. In this article, we’ll look at why Zumwinkle earned this nomination. 

Zumwinkle’s a Natural Scorer

While the Minnesota Wild have a Calder Trophy candidate in defenseman Brock Faber, PWHL Minnesota has one in forward Grace Zumwinkle. The even cooler part is that they’re both from Minnesota. Zumwinkle has shown her scoring talents throughout the season, even more so when she was used in a shootout, where she made it look easy. 

In just 24 games, Zumwinkle has scored an impressive 11 times and provided eight more assists, totaling 19 points. This puts her a mere eight points away from being tied for the league lead. She’s led her team at various points throughout the season, and while she may not score in every game, her consistent effort is always evident. She even tied for first in shootout goals with three, showcasing her versatility and skill.

Zumwinkle’s goal-scoring prowess is a testament to her natural talent. While scoring in a professional game is no easy feat, it’s clear that some players are simply born with a gift. Zumwinkle always gives 110 percent, and it shows in her ability to score goals.  

Zumwinkle’s All-Around Talented

While we’ve seen all season long the type of scorer Zumwinkle is, she’s also important on the defensive side. She’s not afraid to get in the way of a puck and blocks shots whenever she can. She also creates turnovers in their favor as she gets her stick in the passing lanes and can steal the puck and head the other way. 

She also doesn’t take unnecessary penalties, with just four penalty minutes all season. Most of PWHL Minnesota has stayed out of the box as much as possible, but being a star forward tends to make you a target, and as a result, retaliatory penalties can occur. Zumwinkle is not that type of player, and while she did hit Natalie Spooner in Game 3, which led to Spooner leaving the game, she is normally not that type of player. 

One final note on her offense is the number of shots she takes. While PWHL Minnesota isn’t shy about taking shots except on the power play, she’s the leader. She took 98 shots during the regular season; during the playoffs, she has 10 shots in three games. In nearly every offensive area, she’s the leader. 

Zumwinkle Earned the Nomination

As dynamic a player as she is, it would’ve been shocking not to see her name as a finalist for the Rookie of the Year award. She scored the PWHL’s first hat trick and helped her team get off to a fast start at the beginning of the season. She quickly established herself as one of the best players on the team, and she continues to do so, even though she’s only 25 years old. 

PWHL Minnesota is lucky to have her, and as far as the award winner goes, I would think Zumwinkle is favored as she had the most goals from rookies and tied for the most points. Plus, she’s stood out all season and has been at the top for most of that time. Of course currently she’s been in a slight drought but she’s still giving as much effort as she can, the puck just hasn’t gone in. 

Zumwinkle Has Potential 

Hopefully, Zumwinkle is just starting a long career with PWHL Minnesota. She has many years left in her career, and seeing what she can do with more time will be fun. It would also be great if she could find her scoring touch for Game 4 of the postseason and help her team pursue Game 5. Whether she wins the award or not, she’s a great player and will lead PWHL Minnesota.