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Kelly Pannek, born and raised in Minnesota, had an easy time making the decision to sign with her home-state club. And that decisiveness made her the PWHL’s first player

BY IAN KENNEDY

IN THE HISTORY OF women’s hockey, there are many firsts. For the new Professional Women’s Hockey League, that history belongs to Kelly Pannek, who was the first player to sign a contract in the new league. Born in Plymouth, Minn., Pannek grew up living and playing in Minnesota, which is known as the ‘State of Hockey.’ Pannek moved from high-school hockey, to the University of Minnesota, through the PWHPA and now to the PWHL’s Minnesota franchise, where she signed alongside Kendall Coyne Schofield and fellow Minnesotan Lee Stecklein. According to U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame member and Minnesota hockey legend Natalie Darwitz, the franchise’s inaugural GM, the decision to sign local products like Pannek and Stecklein was simple. “For me, it was a no-brainer as far as Kelly and Lee being from…

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The Hockey News (Digital) - 1 Issue, Goalie Issue 2023

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