She is the Next Big Thing.
So says Art Berglund, USA Hockey’s senior director, who has been involved with international ice hockey for parts of five decades.
“She can beat you one-on-one,” Berglund said. “Not a lot of women can do that. She has the strength, speed and moves to play on a men’s collegiate team. Maybe not Division I, but she’s special.”
So says Cammi Granato, the Downers Grove native who is captain of the U.S. women’s hockey team, which will be looking for a matching pair of gold medals in Salt Lake City starting Tuesday against Germany.
“She’s the real deal,” Granato said. “I don’t care where you give her the puck, she’s still dangerous. I’ve never seen anyone with such great hand-eye coordination. She’ll lose it, then she’ll find it again. She’s so athletic. She’s a beautiful player to watch.”
And so says U.S. women’s coach Ben Smith.
“When she gets a game that’s well-rounded, I think she can be one of the top players in this sport for a long time,” he said.
That’s a coach speaking. Coaches always are looking for more from their players. But you ask around and you keep hearing it: Krissy Wendell is the Next Big Thing.
And maybe the best woman hockey player on the planet.
She certainly has some numbers to back up that claim. Wendell, 20, was named USA Hockey’s 2001 Female Athlete of the Year after scoring 37 goals with 35 assists for 72 points in 38 games to lead the 2000-01 U.S. women’s national team in all three categories. A center from Brooklyn Park, Minn., she has averaged nearly two points a game since joining Team USA in 1998.
She finished the U.S. women’s 31-game pre-Olympic tour with 24 goals and a team-leading 30 assists. Her 54 points in 28 games left her tied for second in team scoring behind Granato, which figures, because Granato plays wing on Wendell’s line. Wendell, Granato and Natalie Darwitz combined for 20 points in a 16-0 pre-Olympic win over China.
“She’s growing a lot and really rounding into a dynamic player and an offensive force,” Smith said.
And what does Wendell think of people saying she might be the world’s best woman hockey player?
“I’d say they haven’t watched much hockey,” she said with a laugh. “At this level, I don’t think you can say there’s one best hockey player.”
Yet people have been saying it about Wendell for a while. At Park Center High School, she scored 110 goals and 166 points in just 27 games in 1999-2000. The previous season she scored 109 goals and 149 points in 25 games.
She even scored 12 goals and 20 points in an injury-shortened 1997-98 season on the Park Center High boys team.
“I received more hits than I gave,” Wendell said, smiling. “I thought of it as a great opportunity. I made a lot of improvement when I played with the guys. I really enjoyed it.
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“Growing up playing with boys, I never felt any discrimination or anything. My teams were totally accepting in baseball and hockey. They just treated me like another player.”
Oh, yes, baseball. In 1994 she played in the Little League World Series. She didn’t play right field either. She was the catcher. And she batted third.
“It seems so long ago,” Wendell said. “I still watch it on TV. It was a fun experience.”