Girls' hockey gets third jewel in crown of greats

John Donovan had heard it all before: You've got to see this player, she's the next Darwitz or Wendell.

Donovan coached Krissy Wendell, who was so far ahead of her high school girls' hockey peers that she started her career on the boys' team. He coached against Natalie Darwitz, who left her team after 10th grade to focus on playing with Wendell on the U.S. Olympic team. Together those players set a standard for high school girls' hockey greatness in the state.

So each time a candidate for Minnesota's third transcendent player name came up, Donovan wiped away the comparisons like snow off a skate blade.

Last summer another name surfaced: Hill-Murray forward Hannah Brandt. Donovan just chuckled to himself. Then he watched her play.

Here was someone with Wendell's quick and powerful shot and Darwitz-esque rink vision and explosiveness.

A few months into the season he conceded, "I think she's the one."

"Hannah is that rare find who seems to just get it," Donovan said. "She's a woman among children."

Yet she remains reluctant hockey royalty. When asked about the Darwitz-Wendell comparisons, Brandt said she has not heard them. She would dispel them if she did. Staying grounded, she said, "is not really that hard to do because there are always things that you can do better. Until you're the best, you can't really feel like you're that great."

Opposing coaches, who love her tenacity and bond with teammates, believe she's achieved plenty. They roundly endorsed Brandt as the Star Tribune Metro Player of the Year.

Brandt, who will skate for the Gophers next season, fueled the Pioneers' rise to the No. 1 ranking this season with 59 goals, including 13 hat tricks. Several of those hat tricks came against top-caliber opponents. In a 6-3 victory against defending Class 1A champion Warroad, she assisted on every goal.

"If she doesn't score, you still have to chase her all over the ice," Hill-Murray coach Bill Schafhauser said. "She's as good defensively as she is offensively. Those are the things that set her apart and put her on a good path to the Olympics someday."

Humble nature

"It's against our uniform policy, but I'm always so cold," Brandt said.

She felt a similar chill when a loss to Roseville in last week's Section 4 championship game ended her varsity career. But her prospects at the collegiate and national levels remain white-hot.

Schafhauser said he has "zero doubt" about Brandt making the 2014 U.S. Olympic team. Her teammates and classmates concur.

"Everyone is always asking, 'When are you going to be in the Olympics?'" Brandt said. "I try to explain to them that you've got to keep working for it."

Endless accolades and high expectations are tough for the humble Brandt to bear. Grateful for her gifts, she is learning to honor her abilities while remaining a good teammate.

Anticipated debut

In seventh grade, Brandt attempted her one and only cross-country race. Unaware of the need to pace herself, she shot from the pack and kept sprinting to the finish line. Told she missed a record by mere seconds, she lamented not running even faster.

Darwitz, who won two NCAA championships with Wendell and the Gophers and is now the head coach at Lakeville South, expects Brandt to charge from the gate next fall. She called Brandt "above her peers not only in skill but in her mind for the game."

Darwitz also appreciates Brandt's high-effort, low-ego approach on the ice and an unassuming personality away from the game.