Taylor Heise had as good of a rookie season as you could have. As the first overall pick in the historic PWHL draft for Minnesota, Taylor Heise had a phenomenal rookie season, culminating in a Walter Cup victory, and leading all players in scoring during the finals to claim the Finals MVP title. With such a strong start, the focus now shifts to how Heise can harness her potential and further enhance her performance.
Leadership Growth of Taylor Heise
As Heise enters her second year, the potential for her to evolve into a leader with her voice is an exciting opportunity to see a different side of her game. Her proven skills and experience as a rookie will now be invaluable in guiding the new draftees to Minnesota, making the transition to professional hockey as smooth as possible.
“It’s her first year being a pro, and taking on that responsibility of being the No. 1 overall draft pick, playing in your hometown, carries a lot of weight,” Coyne-Schofield told PEOPLE about Heise in January. “I think she’s carrying it well. She embraces that spotlight and the opportunity to have an impact on and off the ice.”
PWHL Minnesota has excellent veteran leadership, which is crucial in a budding league. Coyne-Schofield, Lee Stecklein and Kelly Pannek made it a point to be leaders. Add Heise to the mix and Grace Zumwinkle, and Minnesota will have a strong leadership core in place to lead the team to a potential championship repeat.
Elevating and Assisting Teammates
Her play will also help her fill her leadership role. Just look at her stats and watch a few clips of how she plays. She has a couple of other valuable traits that could rub off on her new teammates too. Former Minnesota GM Natalie Darwitz shared that Heise is good at turning her hockey “switch” off. She can be fully focused when at the rink but can also focus on other things outside of the arena. Being able to balance like that is valuable and has been proven to help her focus in games.
“If we’re going to pinpoint one thing that has happened between Game 2 and Game 3 against Toronto, it’s Taylor’s demeanor,” Darwitz said during Minnesota’s championship run to The Athletic. “With our backs against the wall it was, ‘Ladies, hop on my back and let’s go.’ And you can see that in her walking into the rink. You can see that in her practice play. You can see that just in her eyes.”
Skill Improvement
It is hard to pick on anything in Heise’s game because she is so skilled with the puck. Her shot flies off her stick, and she speeds up and down the ice. However, one area that could improve her game and help Minnesota repeat would be to improve her faceoffs. Out of 308 faceoffs Heise took, she won 163 (52.9%). While that is a win percentage that puts her at ninth in the league, Heise’s teammate Pannek finished fourth for faceoff wins across the entire league.
Improving on her faceoffs could also ensure she gets more time on the powerplay. She recorded one point on the power play this season. As she continues to grow and develop her game, she could see more powerplay time, which would help her have more opportunities to keep Minnesota winning.
Heise has laid her foundations from year one as the expectations surrounding year two grow. Although, if these things all improve with time, we could be seeing PWHL Minnesota repeat as champions. Heise will be exciting to watch as she works with new and returning teammates to improve the standard they have set in the league.
Main Photo: Daniel DeLoach/Utica Observer-Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK
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