Patty Kazmaier Award

The presentation of the 2025 Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award, which honors the top player in the NCAA Division I women’s ice hockey, will take place Saturday, March 22, on the campus of the University of Minnesota. The ceremony, which is open to the public and is free to attend, will begin promptly at 11:30 a.m. CT and will be televised live on NHL Network. A free autograph signing with women’s hockey legends will be held immediately following the ceremony.

O’Brien, who finished among the top three for last year’s Kazmaier Award before helping the Badgers finish second in the NCAA Tournament, said there was never a doubt in her mind that she’d return to Wisconsin and use her fifth year of eligibility.

“I want to go out on a high note, hopefully winning a national championship, but the personal development and being here with my teammates brought me back,” O’Brien said. “This is the place that helps you become the best version of yourself, both on and off the ice.” 

Still, it wasn’t a given that O’Brien would be ready and able to return to form for her final season. O’Brien suffered slipped discs in her back that required care and rest as Wisconsin fell 1-0 to Ohio State in last year’s national championship game. She also had wrist surgery on her left hand to take care of a nagging issue.

The surgery greatly affected how she prepared for the season. However, those limitations helped O’Brien strengthen parts of her game she might not normally have worked on.

“Everything I did on the ice was with just my top hand,” she said. “At the time, it was very frustrating. The injury was obviously not something I wanted, but it helped make me better in different ways. My hands have felt so much stronger and cleaner than they ever were before.”

O’Brien also spent a lot of time focusing on skating, which she calls the foundation of her game. Already one of the quickest players in the game, she believes she got faster and, maybe more importantly, she was able to get her skating and puck handling on the same level. Previously, she would often have to slow down her skating to make a play.

The result is that she’s more comfortable with the puck at her top speed. Decision-making, playmaking and speed are all in sync, she said, and that has helped her take her game to another level.

Prior to last season, O’Brien said she set out to improve on faceoffs and be, in her own words, “the best center in the country.” Her recovery made practicing in the circle more difficult this offseason, so instead she worked on hand-eye coordination.

“Last year with my faceoffs, you saw a lot of me being quicker in the sense that I can hit their stick before they hit mine and pull it back,” she said. “A lot of faceoffs this year, especially on my forehand side, which tends to be my weaker side, I have the puck back before even needing to touch my opponent or them touching my stick first.”

An unexpected side-effect of working on her right/top hand and her deftness is that O’Brien’s shot improved. She has a quicker release, a harder shot and more control, meaning her shots have been more accurate. Where last season was a lot of O’Brien setting up linemate Kirsten Simms, this yearO’Brien has felt more comfortable putting the puck on net.

“I’m really proud of the fact that when we go on a two on one, I’m as much of a threat to score as I am to make a pass,” O’Brien said. “Having the dual threat of a playmaker and a goal scorer this year has really shown and a lot of my goals this year just come off a straight shot, rather than maybe on a back door tap-in or a rebound.

“That’s been one of my greatest strengths this year, being able to adapt and be versatile and kind of step into whatever role that they need. My end goal is always to make the people around me better.”

This season that goal extends beyond the ice. O’Brien was voted co-captain alongside Harvey and has had to take a more active role in leadership. 

As one of the oldest players on the roster, O’Brien said she has worked to keep the team focused and consistent throughout the whole year in playing “Badger hockey” and with a “we before me” mentality.

“My biggest goal has been to make sure that everybody feels their importance on the team and keeping everybody together and focused on the team goals and not any of that other noise,” O’Brien said. “I’m not the loudest person, but I try to take my moments and make them count.

“Our team has been able to block everything else out and just focus on having fun. And when we are having fun, that’s when we’re playing our best.”

Story from Red Line Editorial, Inc.