Frost re-sign Grace Zumwinkle, Lee Stecklein to contracts
A couple of mainstays in the State of Hockey is sticking around for the foreseeable future.
On Friday, the Minnesota Frost announced that the team has re-signed forward Grace Zumwinkle and defender Lee Stecklein to multi-year contracts.
The two have been with the Frost since their inaugural season, and are the team’s first signings of Phase 3 of the Expansion Roster Distribution Process, protecting her for the remainder of the offseason. They are the fourth and fifth players Minnesota has protected during the process, joining fellow forwards Taylor Heise and Kelly Pannek, as well as goaltender Maddie Rooney.
The 27-year-old Zumwinkle agreed to a three-year contract, as she was required to sign a deal before the end of the third phase, as she received a foundational player offer during Phase 2 last weekend.
Zumwinkle was Minnesota’s third draft pick in the inaugural PWHL Draft in 2023 and made an immediate impact in her pro debut, scoring the league’s first-ever hat trick. It catapulted her toward being named the first-ever rookie of the year. The Excelsior, Minn., native had a bit of a sophomore slump, largely due to an injury that sidelined her for eight games.
She found her groove this past season, posting career highs in goals (13), assists (10) and points (23), finishing tied for fourth on the team in scoring with captain Kendall Coyne Schofield, with the two tied for seventh among PWHLers in points. Zumwinkle was also tied with Heise for fourth in goals. She was part of a high-powered offense that scored a PWHL record 91 goals, leading to a third-place finish. The Frost were ultimately eliminated in the first round of the Walter Cup Playoffs by the Montreal Victoire.
Zumwinkle did take home some hardware this year, as she helped the United States win the gold medal at the 2026 Winter Olympics.
Along with winning two Walter Cups with Minnesota, the Zumwinkle has scored 28 goals and 24 assists for 52 points in 75 regular-season games, notching six points in 23 postseason contests.
Stecklein, who signed a two-year contract, is coming off her most productive season, offensively, scoring a goal and 14 points in 2025-26. In 82 regular-season games, she has notched six goals and 25 assists for 31 points, with another 13 points in 23 postseason affairs.
The Frost haven’t gone through the first few phases of this year’s expansion process unscathed. The team lost forward Britta Curl-Salemme to Detroit and goaltender Nicole Hensley to Las Vegas.
The Frost can protect one more player during this phase. Phase 3 of the expansion process continues through 3 p.m. ET on June 12.