Denisa Křížová

Denisa Křížová (born 3 November 1994) is a Czech ice hockey player for PWHL Minnesota of the Professional Women's Hockey League (PWHL) and a member of the Czech Republic women's national ice hockey team.

Ice hockey career
Across four years of college ice hockey with the Northeastern Huskies women's ice hockey program, Křížová put up 169 points in 143 games, the sixth-highest scorer in the university's history.

Křížová became the first player born in the Czech Republic to be drafted into the National Women's Hockey League (NWHL; renamed PHF in 2021) when the Connecticut Whale selected her with the thirteenth pick overall in the 2017 NWHL Draft. She signed her first professional contract with the Boston Pride on 2 August 2018.

After only one year with the Pride, she returned to Europe to play with Brynäs IF Dam in the Swedish Women's Hockey League (SDHL). She scored 47 points in 34 games in her first season with the team, good for seventh in league scoring.

Křížová returned to the PHF in 2022 to play one season with the Minnesota Whitecaps.

She was drafted in the eighth round of the 2023 PWHL Draft by PWHL Minnesota. During the 2023–24 season, she recorded three goals and three assists in 24 regular season games. During the playoffs she recorded two goals in ten games, and helped Minnesota win the inaugural Walter Cup. On June 21, 2024, Minnesota re-signed Křížová to a one-year contract for the 2024–25 season.

International play
As a junior player with the Czech national under-18 team, Křížová participated in IIHF U18 Women's World Championships in 2010, 2011 and 2012.

With the senior national team, she represented the Czech Republic in the women's ice hockey tournament at the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing and at the IIHF World Women's Championship Top Division tournaments in 2013, 2016, 2017, 2019, and 2021; the Division I Group A tournaments in 2012, 2014, and 2015; and the Division II tournament in 2011.

Ball hockey career
Křížová is also an elite ball hockey player and has represented the Czech Republic at the Ball Hockey World Championship for more than a decade, winning a gold medal in 2017, silver in 2022, and bronze medals in 2011, 2013, 2015, and 2019. She was named Best Forward of the tournament in 2017 and was selected to the All Star team in 2019 after leading all players in scoring.

Awards and honors

 * 2017 Ball Hockey World Championship Best Forward
 * 2019 Ball Hockey World Championship Scoring Champion
 * 2019 Ball Hockey World Championship Tournament All-Star Team
 * 2023 Premier Hockey Federation Foundation Award