Wednesday, June 17, 2026
Northeastern alum Frankel named PWHL MVP, Goaltender of the Year
Fellow ex-NCAAers Keller, Pannek, Winn Also Nab Individual Hardware
The PWHL announced its 2025-26 postseason awards Tuesday night, with all five major individual player accolades going to former NCAA Division I hockey players.
Boston Fleet goaltender Aerin Frankel, a five-year standout at Northeastern from 2017-22, took home a pair of awards by winning both the Billie Jean King MVP and Goaltender of the Year honors. Frankel won a PWHL record-tying 19 games in her 26 appearances to go with her 1.17 goals against average and .953 save percentage. She also had eight shutouts, including a league-record three in a row.
Former University of Minnesota captain Kelly Pannek (2014-19) was named PWHL Forward of the Year after racking up a PWHL-record 33 points in 30 games for the Minnesota Frost. She topped the league with 16 goals and a shooting percentage of 27.6 percent.
Boston veteran Megan Keller, who starred at Boston College from 2014-19, captured PWHL Defender of the Year honors. She set a PWHL single-season record for defenders with 22 points in 30 games, scoring seven times and adding 15 assists.
Boston defender Haley Winn, the league’s No. 2 overall draft pick out of Clarkson (2021-25) one year ago, won PWHL Rookie of the Year honors after setting a PWHL single-season record with 802:42 time on ice (26:45 per game). The first defender in league history to capture top rookie honors, Winn had 19 points in 30 games for the Fleet.
Additionally, Ottawa’s Rebecca Leslie (Boston University, 2014-18) won the PWHL “Hockey for All” Award, while Minnesota’s Marlène Boissonnault (Cornell, 2015-19), Montreal’s Shiann Darkangelo (Syracuse, 2011-13; Quinnipiac, 2013-15), Toronto’s Emma Woods (Quinnipiac, 2013-17), and Vancouver’s Ashton Bell (Minnesota Duluth, 2017-21) all received the Intact Impact Award.
The PWHL also announced its all-star teams and all-rookie team; all 18 selections were former college hockey players:
2025-26 PWHL All-Star First Team (alma mater in parentheses)
G: Aerin Frankel, Boston (Northeastern)
D: Sophie Jaques, Vancouver (Ohio State)
D: Megan Keller, Boston (Boston College)
F: Taylor Heise, Minnesota (Minnesota)
F: Brianne Jenner, Ottawa (Cornell)
F: Kelly Pannek, Minnesota (Minnesota)
2025-26 PWHL All-Star Second Team
G: Ann-Renée Desbiens, Montreal (Wisconsin)
D: Nicole Gosling, Montreal (Clarkson)
D: Haley Winn, Boston (Clarkson)
F: Britta Curl-Salemme, Minnesota (Wisconsin)
F: Rebecca Leslie, Ottawa (Boston University)
F: Laura Stacey, Montreal (Dartmouth)
2025-26 PWHL All-Rookie Team
G: Hannah Murphy, Seattle (Colgate)
D: Nicole Gosling, Montreal (Clarkson)
D: Haley Winn, Boston (Clarkson)
F: Kristýna Kaltounková, New York (Colgate)
F: Abby Newhook, Boston (Boston College)
F: Casey O’Brien, New York (Wisconsin)
For more information on today’s award recipients, visit ThePWHL.com.