Gophers' Taylor Heise wins Patty Kazmaier Award as nation's top player

For someone who grew up in a basketball family — both her parents played college hoops — Taylor Heise turned out to be quite the college hockey player. She's now recognized as the best in the country, in fact.

Heise, a senior forward for the Gophers, on Saturday was named the winner of the Patty Kazmaier Award, which is given nationally to the top player in Division I women's college hockey. A Lake City native who played for Red Wing High School, Heise led the nation with 66 points on 29 goals and 37 assists for the WCHA regular-season champion Gophers. She also ranked second nationally in goals, tied for fourth in assists, tied for third with six game-winning goals and was first with five shorthanded goals.

"This has been a dream, really,'' Heise said. "I can't even put it into words. This doesn't feel real to me.''

Heise is the third Gophers player to win the award, presented by the USA Hockey Foundation, joining Krissy Wendell in 2005 and Amanda Kessel in 2013.

The other finalists were forward Gabbie Hughes of national runner-up Minnesota Duluth and defenseman Sophie Jaques of NCAA champion Ohio State. Hughes, of Lino Lakes, and Jaques tied for third nationally with 59 points.

Heise had a breakthrough senior season, earning first-team All-America honors and WCHA Player of the Year and Offensive Player of the Year accolades. She went from seven goals and nine assists in 20 games in 2020-21 to 29 and 37 in 39 games this season, helping the Gophers finish 29-9-1 and ascend to the nation's No. 1 ranking in the second half of the season.

"Assists are more important to me than goals, and it shows since I have more of those,'' Heise said. "I have such great linemates and such great teammates.''

Heise, whose parents, Tony and Amy, both played basketball at Wisconsin-River Falls, played hoops as a youth but committed to hockey as a seventh-grader. That required her to travel from Lake City, which does not have a hockey program, to Red Wing to play the sport.

"It's funny. I always think about the fact that I truly had a 50-50 decision to make,'' Heise said of choosing hockey over basketball. "My life would be dramatically changed if I chose a different path. I'm really grateful I'm on this path.''

Heise plans to return to the Gophers next season for a fifth year of eligibility granted because of the COVID-19-shortened 2020-21 season. Her aim is to win a national championship after the Gophers lost to Hughes and Minnesota Duluth in an NCAA regional final this year.

"I'm definitely going to come in next year with an attitude of, 'I haven't gotten a national championship yet,' '' Heise said. "That's something I want to accomplish.''