Brianna Decker, Ex-Olympian, New Assistant Coach at PWHL Frost

Brianna Decker Joins Minnesota Frost Coaching Staff

Despite how difficult it was for Brianna Decker to accept that her hockey career ended abruptly at age 30 due to a serious injury to her left leg during the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics, the forward for the United States national team found solace in knowing that she already had a Plan B: coaching. After six years as an assistant in the development categories with USA Hockey and at Shattuck-St. Mary’s prep school in Minnesota, Decker turns professional. The member of the 2025 Hockey Hall of Fame induction class joins the staff of head coach Ken Klee with the defending PWHL champion, Minnesota Frost, the team announced on Monday.

My passion for hockey hasn’t changed since I retired.
Brianna Decker

Decker, 34, joins Frost after three seasons as an assistant coach at Shattuck and four stints with the U.S. Under-18 team, where she coached rising stars like Caroline Harvey, Haley Winn, Casey O’Brien, and Hannah Bilka. Decker’s incorporation into the PWHL is facilitated by her familiarity with the Frost, replacing Mira Jalosuo, who was hired to coach at St. Cloud State. Decker will reunite with her former U.S. teammates, captain Kendall Coyne Schofield, forward Kelly Pannek, and defenseman Lee Stecklein. Decker previously played under Klee, who led the U.S. national team to gold medal victories at the 2015 and ’16 world championships. She also has ties to Frost assistant coach Chris Johnson, whose father Mark coached Decker at Wisconsin.

She has a remarkable track record of success, leadership, and vision both on and off the ice that will make her a great asset to our team.
Ken Klee

Klee anticipates that Decker will focus in part on the development of the younger players on the Frost, and noted that his veterans were excited to hear the news of his hiring. Decker is a three-time Olympian and six-time gold medalist at the world championships. Her career essentially ended after breaking her leg and tearing ankle ligaments in the opening match of the U.S. Olympics against Finland in 2022. Upon retiring a year later, Decker’s 68 points at the world championships ranked third at the time among U.S. players. She was twice MVP of the National Women’s Hockey League, voted the best college hockey player in 2012, and won a national title at Wisconsin a year earlier. When she began her coaching career with the U.S. Under-18 team in 2019, Decker didn’t realize how valuable the experience would become sooner than expected.

Training and playing at the same time benefited me as a coach. It has allowed me to make the transition a little easier. I didn’t expect my playing career to end like this… But once I was on the ice, being able to impact the players was really rewarding.
Brianna Decker

Decker’s hiring coincides with his induction into the Hockey Hall of Fame in a class that also includes Montreal Victoire general manager Danièle Sauvageau, the first woman included in the builders category. Decker laughed when asked if being a Hall of Famer could help convey her message as a coach.