PITTSBURGH – Krissy Wendell-Pohl's illustrious career has a new chapter.
The Penguins have hired the two-time Olympian and NCAA champion as an amateur scout focusing primarily on the Minnesota area.
A standout at Park Center High School, the Brooklyn Park native co-captained the Gophers to back-to-back titles in 2004 and '05 — scoring a hat trick in the championship game vs. Harvard in 2005. She also received the Patty Kazmaier Award that year as the best player in women's college hockey.
Aside from multiple World Championship appearances, Wendell-Pohl, who is married to former NHLer Johnny Pohl, also represented the United States at two Olympics, winning silver in 2002 and bronze in 2006. In 2019, she was inducted into the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame.
The 40-year-old has also coached youth hockey and served as an assistant girls' coach at Cretin-Derham Hall.
Familiar face
Jason Zucker was traded from the Wild to the Penguins almost two years ago, but Saturday was the first time he faced off against his former team since the swap.
The winger was sent to Pittsburgh on Feb.11, 2020, in exchange for forward Alex Galchenyuk, defenseman Calen Addison and a first-round pick that the Wild used to draft defenseman Carson Lambos earlier this year.
"It's been a little bizarre," Zucker told reporters on Friday. "I feel like I've been here for 10 years now and still haven't played them. It's exciting. Still have a lot of good friends over there. I have a ton of respect for that organization and the way they treated me and the opportunity they gave me."
