| Lee Stecklein | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 Stecklein withPWHL Minnesota in 2024 | |||
| Born | (1994-04-23)April 23, 1994 (age 31) | ||
| 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 | ||
Lee Ethel Stecklein (born April 23, 1994) is an American professionalice hockeydefenseman for theMinnesota Frost of theProfessional Women's Hockey League (PWHL) and a former member of theUnited States women's national ice hockey team. Stecklein first represented the United States at the2011 IIHF World Women's U18 Championship, and went on to play at theWinter Olympics in2014,2018 and2022. She playedcollege ice hockey atMinnesota. Stecklein is the only player to win both theNCAA national championship and theIIHF World Women's Championship in the same year three times.[1]
Stecklein played in theNational Women's Hockey League (NWHL) with theMinnesota Whitecaps before joining theProfessional Women's Hockey Players Association (PWHPA), helping to advocate for the creation of a unified women's league. After the formation of theProfessional Women's Hockey League (PWHL) in 2023, Stecklein was one of the first players to sign with Minnesota.
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 in2013,2015, and2016. She was named team co-captain for her junior year and team captain for her senior year.[3]
Stecklein was selected second overall by theBuffalo Beauts in the2016 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 the2018–19 season. On June 20, 2018, Stecklein signed with the Whitecaps.[5] In her lone season with the team, Stecklein helped the team win theIsobel 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 the4th NWHL All-Star Game.[7]
In 2019, following the abruptcollapse 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 teammatesKendall Coyne Schofield andKelly Pannek.[11][12] Ahead of the team'sinaugural season, Stecklein was named an assistant captain.[13] Stecklein was also voted as Minnesota's player representative for thePWHL Players Association, the league's labour union.[14]
Stecklein scored her first goal with Minnesota on January 14, 2024, againstNew York.[15]
Stecklein made her senior national team debut at the2013 IIHF Women's World Championship, where she won a gold medal.[16][17] She further represented Team USA at theIIHF Women's World Championship in2015,2016,2017,2019,2021, and2022, and the2014,2018, and2022 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 the2025 IIHF Women's World Championship.
Stecklein is fromRoseville, Minnesota and attendedRoseville Area High School.[2]
She graduated from theCarlson School of Management at theUniversity of Minnesota with aBBA in entrepreneurial management in 2017. She was hired as a digital content specialist withClif Bar in 2018.[19]
| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 2012–13 | Minnesota Golden Gophers | WCHA | 41 | 3 | 9 | 12 | 8 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2014–15 | Minnesota Golden Gophers | WCHA | 40 | 5 | 22 | 27 | 4 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2015–16 | Minnesota Golden Gophers | WCHA | 40 | 8 | 22 | 30 | 8 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2016–17 | Minnesota Golden Gophers | WCHA | 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 | Team 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 | ||
| NWHL totals | 16 | 1 | 8 | 9 | 8 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | ||||
| PWHPA totals | 6 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||||
| PWHL totals | 54 | 5 | 12 | 17 | 22 | 18 | 4 | 7 | 11 | 4 | ||||
| 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 | ||||
| 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 |
