Whitecaps re-sign Winny Brodt Brown, Stephanie Anderson, and Lisa Martinson
The enduring icon returns for another year with the Whitecaps
There aren’t many hockey teams that can claim they have hockey royalty on the roster, but that’s because there are only so many players like Winny Brodt Brown in the world. The Minnesota Whitecaps announced Tuesday that their 42-year-old captain has re-signed with the team. In addition to the Brodt Brown signing, the Whitecaps also re-signed key veterans Stephanie Anderson and Lisa Martinson.
The 2020-21 season will be Brodt Brown’s third in the NWHL. The first-ever recipient of the Minnesota Ms. Hockey Award for the state’s most excellent high school player, Brodt won two IIHF World Championship silver medals with Team USA and helped establish the Whitecaps in 2004 shortly after completing her standout collegiate career. An Isobel Cup champion in 2019, Brodt Brown has earned six assists through 34 regular season games in the NWHL.
Whitecaps co-head coach and general manager Jack Brodt is certainly glad to have her leadership back in the locker room, “We are pleased to have Winny back as our captain for the Whitecaps’ third season in the NWHL. With her great poise and vision, she is one of our key defenders.”
In addition to all of the intangibles she brings to the table, Brodt Brown also brings stability to a Whitecaps’ blue line that has been slow to come together in free agency. At this stage of her career the Whitecaps’ captain is a true defense-first defender but her experience and instincts with the puck on her stick, particularly in the defensive zone, are things that simply can’t be taught.
With Brodt Brown and Lisa Martinson now signed, the Whitecaps have six defenders under contract. The return of Stephanie Anderson is also good news for the team’s scoring depth, particularly after the departure of Nicole Schammel.
With 16 players inked for the 2020-21 season, the Whitecaps are really starting to come together as a team on paper. With two goalies and six defenders signed, the focus now turns to adding depth, especially at the forward position. At the moment Minnesota has eight forwards on its roster, including Anderson. If they want another trip around the ice with the Isobel Cup, they should be looking to add another skilled forward.
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