Taylor Heise’s hockey career has been a roller coaster for the last few seasons.
After not being selected for the 2022 U.S. Olympic Women’s Ice Hockey Team, Heise returned to college at the University of Minnesota where she did not win the national championship she craved despite leading the nation in points and winning the 2022 Patty Kazmaier Award.
That August, Heise played for the U.S. at the 2022 IIHF Women’s World Championship where she scored seven goals, added 11 assists and earned tournament MVP honors while Team USA took home the silver medal.
Then at the 2023 tournament, Heise won her first gold medal with the U.S. Women’s National Team.
Five months later, she was the first overall pick in the inaugural PWHL draft by her hometown team in Minnesota. In the middle of the PWHL season, she once again had to settle for silver at the 2024 World Championship.
Six weeks later, she earned the Ilana Kloss Playoffs MVP Award as her PWHL Minnesota team won the inaugural Walter Cup.
As she prepares for the 2024-25 Rivalry Series, presented by Discover, which begins Nov. 6 in San Jose, California, Heise reflected on what those moments taught her and how they prepared her to help lead PWHL Minnesota to a championship last season.
The wild swings of elation and sadness, of satisfaction and disappointment, taught Heise lessons that have helped her grow as a person, a player and a teammate and put her in a great position to shake off a regular season that didn’t live up to her own standards.
During the PWHL regular season, Heise tallied four goals and nine assists in 19 games. In the playoffs, she led all skaters with five goals and tied for the postseason lead with eight points.
Heading into the playoffs, she took time to refocus and reframe her approach.
“I just started thinking about how much I love the game. You have to remind yourself it’s something you love to do,” she said.
As the PWHL season wound down, Minnesota lost seven games in a row — five to close out the regular season and two to start the playoffs — before reeling off three straight wins to reverse sweep top-seeded Toronto and then winning a best-of-five series against Boston in the Finals.
Heise said the improbable road to the title happened because Minnesota worked together as a team, not as individuals.
“In the playoffs, in those high-pressure situations, you just have to show up,” she said. “There’s no ifs, ands or buts about it. You show up. You do what you need to do for your team, and you hopefully win for them, not just for yourself.
“Being a part of USA Hockey and playing on such a huge stage against some of the best definitely helped me in those playoff spots. I would definitely say that is part of what helps me to push through and what helps me to love that competitive edge.”
Time with the national team — and away from it — helped Heise understand the value and necessity of collaboration and playing for the women on either side of her.
“Competing against the best every time I’m able to put on the USA sweater not only made me a little bit stronger, but also getting cut and being able to see how that feels and how losing feels in the biggest competitive stages truly helped me to just see that it’s more fun to play as a team and to win,” she said.
With the national team, there’s always an interesting dynamic where Heise said everyone is performing at their best and competing against each other for a roster spot, but they’re also trying to be at their best for their teammates so that the team can win as a group.
There’s a push and pull that everyone understands and accepts as part of the process and it’s easier, Heise said, because the national team just feels like home and her teammates feel like sisters.
“There’s such a family atmosphere. It never feels draining,” Heise said. “It’s just super exciting to be there with your buddies and to learn and to know that everyone who’s there with you is there for the same reason and has that same dedication factor.”
Being so closely aligned helps the players gel during the short stints they’re together as a national team in between time with their college or PWHL squads.
The November Rivalry Series is the first national team event in a season that will culminate at the 2025 IIHF Women’s World Championship Czechia in April.
“These games are super special. They’re our way to compete, to be on this team and also a way to show people how important this rivalry is,” Heise said. “They’re part of the lead up to the Olympics. Every single game we have, it matters.”
Story from Red Line Editorial, Inc
