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Casey O’Brien Named 2025 Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award Winner
Milton, Mass., Native is Sixth Badger to Win Prestigious Award Honoring the Top Division I Women’s Hockey Player
MINNEAPOLIS – Wisconsin forward Casey O’Brien (Milton, Mass.) was named the winner of the 2025 Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award today before a capacity crowd at the McNamara Alumni Center on the campus of the University of Minnesota.
The ceremony, which was broadcast live on NHL Network, highlighted Saturday at the NCAA Women’s Frozen Four festivities, which included an opportunity for youth hockey players to skate on the ice at Ridder Arena and an autograph session with former Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award winners.
O’Brien is the sixth player from the University of Wisconsin to win the honor, which is presented annually by The USA Hockey Foundation to the top player in NCAA Division I women’s ice hockey.
The dominant season of the fifth-year forward has helped lead the Badgers to a 37-1-2 record, a WCHA regular-season championship, a WCHA Final Faceoff Championship, and an appearance in the NCAA National Championship Game tomorrow (March 23).
An American Hockey Coaches Association All-America First Team selection, O’Brien enters the final game of the season with 88 points (26 goals, 62 assists), leading the nation with an impressive 2.20 points per game. The WCHA Player of the Year and Forward of the Year, who is attempting to earn her third NCAA title with the Badgers, also tops the county with 62 assists.
Off the ice, O’Brien volunteers at the American Family Children’s Hospital and with the Ronald McDonald House Charities of Madison. She also assists with the Augie’s Lunches of Love initiative that provides lunches to parents with children staying at American Family Children’s Hospital.
O’Brien was selected as the 2025 Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award recipient from a group of three finalists that included junior forward Laila Edwards (Cleveland Heights, Ohio/University of Wisconsin) and junior defender Caroline Harvey (Salem, N.H./University of Wisconsin).
NOTES: O’Brien is the 28th recipient of the Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award … The recipient of the 2025 Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award was chosen by a 13-person selection committee made up of NCAA Division I women’s ice hockey coaches, representatives of the print and broadcast media and an at-large member and representative of USA Hockey, the national governing body for the sport of ice hockey in the United States.
THE PATTY KAZMAIER MEMORIAL AWARD
An award of The USA Hockey Foundation, the Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award is annually presented to the top player in NCAA Division I women's ice hockey. Selection criteria includes outstanding individual and team skills, sportsmanship, performance in the clutch, personal character, competitiveness and a love of hockey. Consideration is also given to academic achievement and civic involvement. For a full list of previous honorees, click HERE.
ABOUT PATTY KAZMAIER
The Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award is named in honor of the late Patty Kazmaier, who was a four-year varsity letter-winner and All-Ivy League defenseman at Princeton University from 1981-86. An accomplished athlete who helped lead the Tigers to the Ivy League Championship in three consecutive seasons (1981-84), Patty Kazmaier-Sandt died Feb. 15, 1990, at the age of 28 following a long struggle with a rare blood disease.
Recipients
| Year | Name | School | Position | Hometown |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Casey O'Brien | University of Wisconsin | Forward | Milton, Mass. |
| 2024 | Izzy Daniel | Cornell University | Forward | Minneapolis, Minn. |
| 2023 | Sophie Jaques | Ohio State University | Defender | Toronto, Ont. |
| 2022 | Taylor Heise | University of Minnesota | Forward | Lake City, Minn. |
| 2021 | Aerin Frankel | Northeastern University | Goalie | Briarcliff Manor, N.Y. |
| 2020 | Elizabeth Giguere | Clarkson University | Forward | Quebec City, Que. |
| 2019 | Loren Gabel | Clarkson University | Forward | Kitchener, Ont. |
| 2018 | Daryl Watts | Boston College | Forward | Toronto, Ont. |
| 2017 | Ann-Renée Desbiens | University of Wisconsin | Goalie | La Malbaie, Que. |
| 2016 | Kendall Coyne | Northeastern University | Forward | Palos Heights, Ill. |
| 2015 | Alex Carpenter | Boston College | Forward | North Reading, Mass. |
| 2014 | Jamie Lee Rattray | Clarkson University | Forward | Kanata, Ont. |
| 2013 | Amanda Kessel | University of Minnesota | Forward | Madison, Wis. |
| 2012 | Brianna Decker | University of Wisconsin | Forward | Dousman, Wis. |
| 2011 | Meghan Duggan | University of Wisconsin | Forward | Danvers, Mass. |
| 2010 | Vicki Bendus | Mercyhurst College | Forward | Wasaga Beach, Ont. |
| 2009 | Jessie Vetter | University of Wisconsin | Goalie | Cottage Grove, Wis. |
| 2008 | Sarah Vaillancourt | Harvard University | Forward | Sherbrooke, Que. |
| 2007 | Julie Chu | Harvard University | Forward | Fairfield, Conn. |
| 2006 | Sara Bauer | University of Wisconsin | Forward | St. Catharines, Ont. |
| 2005 | Krissy Wendell | University of Minnesota | Forward | Brooklyn Park, Minn. |
| 2004 | Angela Ruggiero | Harvard University | Defender | Harper Woods, Mich. |
| 2003 | Jennifer Botterill | Harvard University | Forward | Winnipeg, Man. |
| 2002 | Brooke Whitney | Northeastern University | Forward | Snohomish, Wash. |
| 2001 | Jennifer Botterill | Harvard University | Forward | Winnipeg, Man. |
| 2000 | Ali Brewer | Brown University | Goalie | Racine, Wis. |
| 1999 | A.J. Mleczko | Harvard University | Forward | Nantucket, Mass. |
| 1998 | Brandy Fisher | University of New Hampshire | Forward | Potsdam, N.Y. |
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