Difficult as it was for Brianna Decker to accept her hockey playing career being cut short at 30 by a devastating left leg injury at the 2022 Beijing Winter Games, the United States national team forward was comforted in knowing she already had a Plan B in coaching.
Following six years as an assistant in the developmental ranks with USA Hockey and at Minnesota’s Shattuck-St. Mary’s prep school, Decker is going pro. The member of the 2025 Hockey Hall of Fame induction class is joining head coach Ken Klee’s staff with the two-time defending PWHL champion Minnesota Frost, the team announced Monday.
“My passion for hockey has not changed since I retired,” Decker told The Associated Press last week.
“I’m very OK with not playing any more. I’ve come to terms. I’ve enjoyed coaching quite a bit, almost as much as playing,” she added. “I want to have a great influence on these players that are going through this league.”
The 34-year-old Decker joins the Frost after three seasons as associate head coach at Shattuck, and four stints with Team USA’s Under-18 squad, where she coached up-and-coming stars such as Caroline Harvey, Haley Winn, Casey O’Brien and Hannah Bilka.
Familiar faces Helping ease her transition to the PWHL is Decker’s familiarity with the Frost in replacing Mira Jalosuo, who was hired to coach at St. Cloud State.
Decker is reuniting with former U.S. teammates in captain Kendall Coyne Schofield, forward Kelly Pannek and defenseman Lee Stecklein. Decker previously played under Klee, who coached the U.S. national team to gold-medal victories at the 2015 and ’16 world championships. And she has ties to Frost assistant coach Chris Johnson, who’s father Mark coached Decker at Wisconsin.
“She has a remarkable record of success, leadership and vision both on and off the ice that will make her a huge asset for our team,” Klee said, noting he’s kept in touch during Decker’s time at Shattuck.
Klee foresees Decker focusing in part on developing the Frost’s younger players, while noting his veterans were excited to hear the news of her hiring.
“They know how driven she is to try to help and get better,” Klee said.
Accomplished career From Wisconsin, Decker is a three-time Olympian and six-time gold-medal winner at the world championships. Her career essentially ended after breaking her leg and tearing ligaments in her ankle in Team USA’s Olympic-opener against Finland in 2022.
Upon retiring a year later, Decker’s 68 career points in the world championships ranked third at the time among U.S. players. She was a two-time National Women’s Hockey League MVP, voted college hockey’s top player in 2012 and won a national title at Wisconsin a year earlier.
In launching her coaching career with the U.S. U-18 squad in 2019, little did Decker realize how valuable the experience would become sooner than anticipated.
“Coaching and playing at the same time benefited me as a coach. It’s allowed me to transition a little bit easier,” Decker said. “I didn’t expect my playing career to be done like that. … But once I got on the ice, being able to impact players, it was really rewarding.”
Hall of Fame resume Decker’s hiring coincides with her induction into the Hockey Hall of Fame in a class that also includes Montreal Victoire general manager Danièle Sauvageau – the first women inducted in the builder’s category.
Decker laughed when asked whether being a Hall of Famer might help get her message across as coach.
“I guess it helps. I guess it might add more pressure, too, right? So I really got to know what I’m talking about,” Decker said.
“The one thing I learned is it didn’t matter if it was a dad in jeans coaching you or a hall of famer. You have to respect them, as you can always learn one thing from them,” Decker said. “And that’s what I’m hoping I can do is help these kids learn some things they don’t know.”
