Lee Stecklein

Lee Ethel Stecklein (born April 23, 1994) is an American professional ice hockey defenseman for the Minnesota Frost of the Professional Women's Hockey League (PWHL) and a former member of the United States women's national ice hockey team. Stecklein first represented the United States at the 2011 IIHF World Women's U18 Championship, and went on to play at the Winter Olympics in 2014, 2018 and 2022. She played college ice hockey at Minnesota. Stecklein is the only player to win both the NCAA national championship and the IIHF World Women's Championship in the same year three times.^[1]

Lee Stecklein
Stecklein with PWHL Minnesota in 2024
Born	(1994-04-23) April 23, 1994 (age 31) Roseville, Minnesota, U.S.
Height	6 ft 0 in (183 cm)
Weight	170 lb (77 kg; 12 st 2 lb)
Position	Defense
Shoots	Left
PWHL team Former teams	Minnesota Frost Minnesota Whitecaps
National team	United States
Playing career	2012–present
Medal record Olympic Games 2018 Pyeongchang Team 2014 Sochi Team 2022 Beijing Team World Championship 2013 Canada 2015 Sweden 2016 Canada 2017 United States 2019 Finland 2023 Canada 2025 Czechia 2021 Canada 2022 Denmark

Stecklein played in the National Women's Hockey League (NWHL) with the Minnesota Whitecaps before joining the Professional Women's Hockey Players Association (PWHPA), helping to advocate for the creation of a unified women's league. After the formation of the Professional Women's Hockey League (PWHL) in 2023, Stecklein was one of the first players to sign with Minnesota.

Playing career

Stecklein playing for Team USA in 2017.

NCAA

Stecklein played in all 41 games of her freshman season (2012–13) at Minnesota, tallying three goals and nine assists.^[2] Stecklein went on to help the team win national titles in 2013, 2015, and 2016. She was named team co-captain for her junior year and team captain for her senior year.^[3]

NWHL

Stecklein was selected second overall by the Buffalo Beauts in the 2016 NWHL Draft.^[4] However, due to the consolidation of the national team ahead of the 2018 Olympics, Stecklein was not expected to join the team for several seasons.^[4] Stecklein's NWHL plans changed when the Minnesota Whitecaps were added to the league as an expansion team ahead of the 2018–19 season. On June 20, 2018, Stecklein signed with the Whitecaps.^[5] In her lone season with the team, Stecklein helped the team win the Isobel Cup, scoring the overtime winner in the championship game against the Beauts.^[6] Earlier in the season, Stecklein was named one of the team captains for the 4th NWHL All-Star Game.^[7]

PWHPA and the PWHL

In 2019, following the abrupt collapse of the Canadian Women's Hockey League, Stecklein joined more than 200 other prominent women's players in founding the Professional Women's Hockey Players Association (PWHPA), which vowed to boycott the NWHL with the goal of establishing a unified and financially stable professional league.^[8] Stecklein released a statement saying that it was not possible to make a "sustainable living in the current state of the professional game", and specifically noted the low salaries and lack of health insurance policies.^[9]

In 2023, the PWHPA and its partners announced the launch of the Professional Women's Hockey League (PWHL).^[10] On September 6, 2023, Stecklein was one of the first three players to sign with PWHL Minnesota, alongside national teammates Kendall Coyne Schofield and Kelly Pannek.^[11][12] Ahead of the team's inaugural season, Stecklein was named an assistant captain.^[13] Stecklein was also voted as Minnesota's player representative for the PWHL Players Association, the league's labour union.^[14]

Stecklein scored her first goal with Minnesota on January 14, 2024, against New York.^[15]

International play

Stecklein made her senior national team debut at the 2013 IIHF Women's World Championship, where she won a gold medal.^[16][17] She further represented Team USA at the IIHF Women's World Championship in 2015, 2016, 2017, 2019, 2021, and 2022, and the 2014, 2018, and 2022 Winter Olympics. In total, Stecklein won seven World Championships and one Olympic gold medal. She was named the World Championship's best defender in 2021.^[18]

In 2023, Stecklein stepped away from the national team.^[18] She returned to the team in time to be selected for the 2025 IIHF Women's World Championship.

Personal life

Stecklein is from Roseville, Minnesota and attended Roseville Area High School.^[2]

She graduated from the Carlson School of Management at the University of Minnesota with a BBA in entrepreneurial management in 2017. She was hired as a digital content specialist with Clif Bar in 2018.^[19]

Stecklein with the Whitecaps in 2019.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

				Regular season						Playoffs
Season	Team	League		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
2009–10	Roseville Raiders	MNHS		27	8	5	13	4		—	—	—	—	—
2010–11	Roseville Raiders	MNHS		22	11	13	24	12		3	2	1	3	0
2011–12	Roseville Raiders	MNHS		20	12	15	27	6		6	3	4	7	4
2012–13	University of Minnesota	NCAA		41	3	9	12	8		—	—	—	—	—
2014–15	University of Minnesota	NCAA		40	5	22	27	4		—	—	—	—	—
2015–16	University of Minnesota	NCAA		40	8	22	30	8		—	—	—	—	—
2016–17	University of Minnesota	NCAA		36	4	20	24	12		—	—	—	—	—
2018–19	Minnesota Whitecaps	NWHL		16	1	8	9	8		2	1	1	2	0
2019–20	Independent	PWHPA		—	—	—	—	—		—	—	—	—	—
2020–21	Minnesota	PWHPA		6	1	1	2	0		—	—	—	—	—
2023–24	PWHL Minnesota	PWHL		24	2	6	8	16		10	0	3	3	2
2024–25	Minnesota Frost	PWHL		30	3	6	9	6		8	4	4	8	2
PWHPA totals				6	1	1	2	0		—	—	—	—	—
PWHL totals				54	5	12	17	22		18	4	7	11	4

Sources: ^[20][21]

International

Year	Team	Event	Result		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
2011	United States	U18			5	0	1	1	2
2012	United States	U18			5	0	3	3	0
2013	United States	WC			3	0	1	1	2
2014	United States	OG			5	0	1	1	0
2015	United States	WC			5	0	4	4	0
2016	United States	WC			5	0	2	2	0
2017	United States	WC			5	0	0	0	0
2018	United States	OG			5	0	0	0	0
2019	United States	WC			7	2	2	4	4
2021	United States	WC			7	2	5	7	0
2022	United States	OG			7	1	0	1	0
2022	United States	WC			7	1	3	4	2
2023	United States	WC			7	0	1	1	0
2025	United States	WC			6	2	1	3	0
Junior totals					10	0	4	4	2
Senior totals					69	8	20	28	8

Sources: ^{[22][23][24][25]}

Awards and honors

Award	Year
College
NCAA Women's Ice Hockey Tournament Champion	2013, 2015, 2016
Big Ten Distinguished Scholar	2012–13, 2014–15, 2015–16, 2016–17
AHCA All-American Second Team	2014–15,[26] 2015–16[27]
All-USCHO First Team	2014–15[28]
Academic All-Big Ten	2014–15, 2015–16, 2016–17
All-WCHA First Team	2014–15, 2015–16, 2016–17
WCHA All-Academic Team	2014–15, 2015–16, 2016–17
WCHA Scholar Athlete	2014–15, 2015–16, 2016–17
All-USCHO Second Team	2015–16, 2016–17[29]
NCAA Frozen Four All-Tournament Team	2016[30]
CoSIDA Academic All-America At-Large Second Team	2015–16,[31] 2016–17[32]
CoSIDA Academic All-District At-Large First Team	2015–16, 2016–17
AHCA All-American First Team	2016–17[33]
Big Ten Medal of Honor	2016–17[34]
Patty Berg Legacy Award	October 2016[35]
NWHL
Isobel Cup Champion	2019
Isobel Cup Playoffs MVP	2019
NWHL All-Star	2018–19
PWHL
Walter Cup Champion	2024, 2025
International
World Championship Best Defender	2021
World Championship All-Star Team	2021