Consistent Cooper
The Minnesota Frost rookie defender set a PWHL record for the longest assist streak.
Only 10 games into her professional hockey career, Minnesota Frost defender Kendall Cooper set a league record. Her assist in the Jan. 4 overtime loss in Montreal helped her set the PWHL record for the longest assist streak in league history at six games; she had seven assists during that stretch.
Cooper had no idea about the record.
“Honestly, I didn’t even know that there was some sort of record when it first happened, but then people told me about it,” Cooper said after Frost practice this week. “I’m not really focused on that though. I think that it’s obviously great to contribute on the scoresheet, but I think just contributing to the team in any way I can is kind of how I want to play.”
The focus is more about the Frost winning games, she added.
The Frost hope to do that and get a winning streak going again after a dominant 6-2 victory against Seattle on Sunday, which started a stretch of four-of-five games on home ice after being on the road for most of December. Ironically, in a game when nine Frost players recorded a point, Cooper’s assist streak ended in that contest vs. Seattle. The Frost face the New York Sirens for a road game at 6 p.m. CT Friday.
Cooper has been a consistent contributor alongside her latest defensive partner, Mae Batherson, who also had a six-game point streak going at the same time.
The Frost selected Cooper, from Oakville, Ontario, with the sixth overall pick in the 2025 PWHL Draft. She joined a roster full of experienced veterans, Olympians and those newer to the professional ranks. Cooper played the season opener opposite experienced defender Lee Stecklein, then slotted in with Brooke Becker for three games before pairing up with Batherson starting with the game against Boston on Dec. 19.
Cooper earned her first PWHL point with an assist on Kendall Coyne Schofield’s goal to make it 1-0 in that game. She later assisted on Katy Knoll’s empty-netter in the 5-2 win over the Fleet. Cooper picked up an assist per game in the next five games, giving her that PWHL assist record.
Getting her consistency each shift is something Frost coach Ken Klee is focused on for the “super-skilled” Cooper.
“I think she shows flashes every game of how good she can be,” Klee said. “Then sometimes she looks a little more like a rookie where she makes mistakes that she doesn’t need to make.
“For me, it’s just about her growing her game, get her consistency. Just keep getting better.”
Cooper is still looking for her first PWHL goal, but points, and likely goals, are going to come because she’s such a good player, Klee said.
Learning curve
Shifting to professional hockey this season for the 23-year-old is an adjustment, but a good one, and a lot of learning, Cooper said. Having so many great players and coaches on the Frost to learn from has helped put her at ease, she added. She can appreciate the growth of her game so far.
“Obviously, getting to play against some of the best players in the world each game, it makes you also have to develop your game,” Cooper said. “So, that’s what I really like about it. It’s been fun.”
She’s learned a lot so far, watching her teammates and how they prepare for games, observing how some of her older teammates prepare their bodies for play with treatment and warm-ups. It also starts with the practices that are intentional and hard practices.
On the ice, she’s watched the tendencies of players like Stecklein. It’s all in the little details like stick position or body position, Cooper added.
“That’s what makes her such a great player,” Cooper said. “Just picking up on those little cues is what’s helped me.”
On the recent Frost road trip, the Frost played at Toronto on Dec. 30 and in Ottawa Jan. 3. As one of only a couple of Canadian players on the Frost roster, those contests were like home games for Cooper, having grown up about 45 minutes away from Toronto’s Coca-Cola Coliseum, in Burlington, Ontario. She had about 35 family and friends for the Toronto game and about 50 people attend in Ottawa.
“It was super fun just seeing all the support from my family and friends,” Cooper said. “Also, all the Canadian crowds are great, so just the atmosphere at those games is really fun.”
Playing hockey as a kid, just like her older brother, Cooper started in the Timbits community-oriented hockey program for boys and girls ages 4-8. She moved on to the Rep (Representative) hockey level, then played hockey with boys until eighth grade before switching to girls’ hockey where she played for the Stoney Creek Sabres. She was also the captain of Hockey Canada’s U18 National Team.
She had a five-year collegiate career at Quinnipiac, where she’s the highest-scoring defender in program history. She scored 33 goals and 116 points in 158 career games, including a career-best senior season in 2023-24 with 11 goals, 22 assists and 33 points. She was named captain for the 2024-25 season as a graduate student, scoring seven goals and 26 points to rank third on her team.
Playing women’s professional hockey wasn’t something Cooper thought about until the PWHL started and she saw a few of her friends getting opportunities to play in the new league.
“I just thought that university was going to be really my last time playing,” Cooper said. “It was basically just university aspirations and then the Canadian Olympic team.
“So now to have this (PWHL)… I was like, ‘ok, this is cool.’ Now we’re here.”