***In May of 2019, Kate Schipper announced she would be sitting out the next season(s) in solidarity with over 200 other players pushing for long-term sustainable changes to women's ice hockey leagues in North America. It is unfortunate that this needs to be said and done. Let’s wish the best for these athletes that play for the love of the game and are looking for simple protections and assistance that a member of any workplace organization would expect. ***
So while Kate Schipper may or may not be done playing professional hockey, let’s look at the unbelievable ride it has been for her so far. Honestly, it would be hard to pack more hockey excitement into one decade than what she has. She attended Breck High School and was a star. She was a five-time varsity letter winner, twice an all-state awardee, three times an All-Tri Metro Conference awardee, and helped her team to three consecutive state tournaments, finally winning her Championship in 2012 (2nd place finish in 2010 and 3rd place finish in 2011). In her next four years with the Lady Gophers, she was an electric scorer who helped to bring home two National Championships (2015 and 2016).
After college, Kate was recruited to the Minnesota Whitecaps then-independent team. She had played previously with the Junior Whitecaps club. During the anticipatory period before the Whitecaps fully joined the National Women’s Hockey League, the NWHL held its 2018 All Star Game at TRIA Rink in St Paul and invited two Whitecaps to participate. Kate Schipper was one of these players. She was still playing for the Whitecaps less than a year later when they did join the league for the 2018-19 season. She was there from the very beginning, scoring a goal in the inaugural game: a sold-out trouncing (and eventual weekend series sweep) of the prior year’s champions the Metropolitan Riveters. She was also there at the end. She was in fact the closest player to the puck that went into the Buffalo Beauts net in overtime of the deciding 2019 championship game. Former Gopher defender Lee Stecklein shot the puck, former Gopher and Buffalo center Dani Cameranesi accidentally tipped the puck, and Buffalo goaltender Nicole Hensley missed the puck…but former Gopher Kate Schipper had the best view of the puck crossing the line. She was doing a fly-by with her stick on the ice (atta girl) looking for a rebound, but the puck went in without her help…and she had another championship.
Kate had now won at all three levels and all in Minnesota. How many people have these three trophies in the case?:
State Tournament (2012)
NCAA National Championship (2015 AND 2016)
Professional Championship (2019)
The fact that this jersey is from the Whitecaps’ Inaugural/Championship season (this one worn in the championship game) and this is a player that has had this kind of multi-level home-state success in her sport made this an easy choice to add to this collection. It’s a great example of that first season’s championship set. In that game, the Whitecaps became the only women’s professional team to win both the Clarkson Cup AND the Isobel Cup. This is a very historic jersey in the context of women’s hockey in the state of Minnesota.
This is a player that has had success at the international level as well, and I hope she gets her chance on both that stage and the professional stage again. Let’s all do our best to support equality in this section of the hockey world. This is an exciting brand of hockey that does nothing but good for the players and the fans. Go ‘Caps!
For more of the story, following is a brief history of the Minnesota Whitecaps hockey club:
The Minnesota Whitecaps hockey club was founded in 2004 by two dedicated fathers of elite female hockey players. Jack Brodt (father of Winny Brodt-Brown) and Dwayne Schmidgall (father of Jenny Schmidgall-Potter) wanted to give their daughters a place close to home where they could compete after they had graduated from college. Jack, Dwayne, and their daughters subsequently took a huge step: they created out of thin air a brand new sporting franchise.
The Whitecaps played in the Western Women's Hockey League (WWHL) from the fall of 2004 until the summer of 2011 when the league folded. In 2010, they had reached the pinnacle of the sport, winning the Clarkson Cup Championship to become the first American team to accomplish that honor.
There were two notable possible league mergers that both fell through, not through any fault of the Whitecaps.
In 2015, a new NWHL was formed in the Northeast United States. The Whitecaps played some exhibition games against a few of that league’s teams in those early seasons, and it would make sense that there would be enough mutual interest between the Whitecaps and the NWHL to work out some type of adoption/acquisition. A league would be the way to grow this section of the sport and to play equal competition on a regular basis. It would make a lot of sense if it were equitable. The league and the Whitecaps test drove what the future in Minnesota could look like when the NWHL All-Star Game and Skills Challenge was played at TRIA Rink in Saint Paul in February of 2018. The league even invited two Whitecaps’ players to compete: Kate Schipper and Sadie Lundquist. In May of 2018, the NWHL brought the Whitacaps into their league. It was thought at the time that the league would acquire the team financially, but it came out later that the NWHL had not signed the sale documents, so the team is still privately owned.
In their inaugural season in the NWHL, Minnesota won the Isobel Cup as league champions. This made them the only club to ever hoist both the Clarkson Cup and the Isobel Cup. In the 2019 championship, they got an overtime goal from former Gopher Lee Stecklein in the TRIA Rink to complete a long road from inception to what we hope is stability. Super hockey dad Jack Brodt is still the General Manager and Co-Head Coach and his daughters Winny and Chelsey still play for the team. Jenny Schmigdall-Potter played for 7 seasons.
The Whitecaps have been home to many players for the US National and Olympic teams, and also some non-US stars. Notable players include:
Angela Ruggiero
Julie Chu
Lisa Chesson
Manon Rheaume
Caroline Ouellette
Jenny Schmigdall-Potter
Karen Thatcher
Caitlin Cahow
Gigi Marvin
Molly Engstrom
Brooke White-Lancette
Renee Curtin
Ronda Curtin
Jinelle Zaugg
Krissy Wendell-Pohl
Natalie Darwitz
Tricia Dunn
Satu Kiipeli
And of course, Winny Brodt-Brown and Chelsey Brodt-Rosenthal
So while Kate Schipper may or may not be done playing professional hockey, let’s look at the unbelievable ride it has been for her so far. Honestly, it would be hard to pack more hockey excitement into one decade than what she has. She attended Breck High School and was a star. She was a five-time varsity letter winner, twice an all-state awardee, three times an All-Tri Metro Conference awardee, and helped her team to three consecutive state tournaments, finally winning her Championship in 2012 (2nd place finish in 2010 and 3rd place finish in 2011). In her next four years with the Lady Gophers, she was an electric scorer who helped to bring home two National Championships (2015 and 2016).
After college, Kate was recruited to the Minnesota Whitecaps then-independent team. She had played previously with the Junior Whitecaps club. During the anticipatory period before the Whitecaps fully joined the National Women’s Hockey League, the NWHL held its 2018 All Star Game at TRIA Rink in St Paul and invited two Whitecaps to participate. Kate Schipper was one of these players. She was still playing for the Whitecaps less than a year later when they did join the league for the 2018-19 season. She was there from the very beginning, scoring a goal in the inaugural game: a sold-out trouncing (and eventual weekend series sweep) of the prior year’s champions the Metropolitan Riveters. She was also there at the end. She was in fact the closest player to the puck that went into the Buffalo Beauts net in overtime of the deciding 2019 championship game. Former Gopher defender Lee Stecklein shot the puck, former Gopher and Buffalo center Dani Cameranesi accidentally tipped the puck, and Buffalo goaltender Nicole Hensley missed the puck…but former Gopher Kate Schipper had the best view of the puck crossing the line. She was doing a fly-by with her stick on the ice (atta girl) looking for a rebound, but the puck went in without her help…and she had another championship.
Kate had now won at all three levels and all in Minnesota. How many people have these three trophies in the case?:
State Tournament (2012)
NCAA National Championship (2015 AND 2016)
Professional Championship (2019)
The fact that this jersey is from the Whitecaps’ Inaugural/Championship season (this one worn in the championship game) and this is a player that has had this kind of multi-level home-state success in her sport made this an easy choice to add to this collection. It’s a great example of that first season’s championship set. In that game, the Whitecaps became the only women’s professional team to win both the Clarkson Cup AND the Isobel Cup. This is a very historic jersey in the context of women’s hockey in the state of Minnesota.
This is a player that has had success at the international level as well, and I hope she gets her chance on both that stage and the professional stage again. Let’s all do our best to support equality in this section of the hockey world. This is an exciting brand of hockey that does nothing but good for the players and the fans. Go ‘Caps!
For more of the story, following is a brief history of the Minnesota Whitecaps hockey club:
The Minnesota Whitecaps hockey club was founded in 2004 by two dedicated fathers of elite female hockey players. Jack Brodt (father of Winny Brodt-Brown) and Dwayne Schmidgall (father of Jenny Schmidgall-Potter) wanted to give their daughters a place close to home where they could compete after they had graduated from college. Jack, Dwayne, and their daughters subsequently took a huge step: they created out of thin air a brand new sporting franchise.
The Whitecaps played in the Western Women's Hockey League (WWHL) from the fall of 2004 until the summer of 2011 when the league folded. In 2010, they had reached the pinnacle of the sport, winning the Clarkson Cup Championship to become the first American team to accomplish that honor.
There were two notable possible league mergers that both fell through, not through any fault of the Whitecaps.
- In 2007, the first league known by the name ‘NWHL’ folded…as did their plans to bring the Whitecaps into their league.
- In 2011, the CWHL essentially cherrypicked several of the WWHL teams and brought them in to their league. They would have taken all of the teams, but there were problems with the transaction. The CWHL was accused of unfair treatment toward the Whitecaps and the Manitoba Maple Leafs regarding the terms of their inclusion. The other teams did leave the league for the CWHL and the Whitecaps and Maple Leafs were left with a league of their own, which did not survive. The two teams played some exhibition games and tried to add more teams to preserve the league, but it did eventually fold.
In 2015, a new NWHL was formed in the Northeast United States. The Whitecaps played some exhibition games against a few of that league’s teams in those early seasons, and it would make sense that there would be enough mutual interest between the Whitecaps and the NWHL to work out some type of adoption/acquisition. A league would be the way to grow this section of the sport and to play equal competition on a regular basis. It would make a lot of sense if it were equitable. The league and the Whitecaps test drove what the future in Minnesota could look like when the NWHL All-Star Game and Skills Challenge was played at TRIA Rink in Saint Paul in February of 2018. The league even invited two Whitecaps’ players to compete: Kate Schipper and Sadie Lundquist. In May of 2018, the NWHL brought the Whitacaps into their league. It was thought at the time that the league would acquire the team financially, but it came out later that the NWHL had not signed the sale documents, so the team is still privately owned.
In their inaugural season in the NWHL, Minnesota won the Isobel Cup as league champions. This made them the only club to ever hoist both the Clarkson Cup and the Isobel Cup. In the 2019 championship, they got an overtime goal from former Gopher Lee Stecklein in the TRIA Rink to complete a long road from inception to what we hope is stability. Super hockey dad Jack Brodt is still the General Manager and Co-Head Coach and his daughters Winny and Chelsey still play for the team. Jenny Schmigdall-Potter played for 7 seasons.
The Whitecaps have been home to many players for the US National and Olympic teams, and also some non-US stars. Notable players include:
Angela Ruggiero
Julie Chu
Lisa Chesson
Manon Rheaume
Caroline Ouellette
Jenny Schmigdall-Potter
Karen Thatcher
Caitlin Cahow
Gigi Marvin
Molly Engstrom
Brooke White-Lancette
Renee Curtin
Ronda Curtin
Jinelle Zaugg
Krissy Wendell-Pohl
Natalie Darwitz
Tricia Dunn
Satu Kiipeli
And of course, Winny Brodt-Brown and Chelsey Brodt-Rosenthal