Lee Stecklein

Lee Ethel Stecklein (born April 23, 1994) is an American professional ice hockey defenseman for PWHL Minnesota of the Professional Women's Hockey League (PWHL) and a former member of the United States women's national ice hockey team. Stecklein first represented the United States at the 2011 IIHF World Women's U18 Championship, and went on to play at the Winter Olympics in 2014, 2018 and 2022. She played college ice hockey at Minnesota. Stecklein is the only player to win both the NCAA national championship and the IIHF World Women's Championship three times.

Stecklein played in the National Women's Hockey League (NWHL) with the Minnesota Whitecaps before joining the Professional Women's Hockey Players Association (PWHPA), helping to advocate for the creation of a unified women's league. After the formation of the Professional Women's Hockey League (PWHL) in 2023, Stecklein was one of the first players to sign with Minnesota.

NCAA
Stecklein played in all 41 games of her freshman season (2012–13) at Minnesota, tallying three goals and nine assists. Stecklein went on to help the team win national titles in 2013, 2015, and 2016. She was named team co-captain for her junior year and team captain for her senior year.

NWHL
Stecklein was selected second overall by the Buffalo Beauts in the 2016 NWHL Draft. 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. Stecklein's NWHL plans changed when the Minnesota Whitecaps were added to the league as an expansion team ahead of the 2018–19 season. On June 20, 2018, Stecklein signed with the Whitecaps. In her lone season with the team, Stecklein helped the team win the Isobel Cup, scoring the overtime winner in the championship game against the Beauts. Earlier in the season, Stecklein was named one of the team captains for the 4th NWHL All-Star Game.

PWHPA and the PWHL
In 2019, following the abrupt collapse 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. 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.

In 2023, the PWHPA and its partners announced the launch of the Professional Women's Hockey League (PWHL). On September 6, 2023, Stecklein was one of the first three players to sign with PWHL Minnesota, alongside national teammates Kendall Coyne Schofield and Kelly Pannek. Ahead of the team's inaugural season, Stecklein was named an assistant captain. Stecklein was also voted as Minnesota's player representative for the PWHL Players Association, the league's labour union.

Stecklein scored her first goal with Minnesota on January 14, 2024, against New York.

International play
Stecklein made her senior national team debut at the 2013 4 Nations Cup and, later in that season, won a gold medal at the 2013 IIHF Women's World Championship. She represented Team USA at the IIHF Women's World Championship in 2015, 2016, 2017, 2019, 2021, and 2022, and the 2014, 2018, and 2022 Winter Olympics. In total, Stecklein won six World Championships and one Olympic gold medal. She was named the World Championship's best defender in 2021.

In 2023, Stecklein stepped away from the national team. She has been referred to as one of the programs best defenders of all-time.

Personal life
Stecklein is from Roseville, Minnesota and attended Roseville Area High School.

She graduated from the Carlson School of Management at the University of Minnesota with a BBA in entrepreneurial management in 2017. She was hired as a digital content specialist with Clif Bar in 2018.

Regular season and playoffs
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International
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Weekly awards
WCHA Defensive Player of the Week
 * Week of October 7, 2014
 * Week of January 31, 2017

WCHA Rookie of the Week
 * Week of November 28, 2012