Taylor Heise

Taylor Heise (/ˈhaɪziː/ HY-zee; born March 17, 2000) is an American professional ice hockey forward for the Minnesota Frost of the Professional Women's Hockey League (PWHL). A member of the United States women's national ice hockey team, she has won five IIHF medals—three consecutive U18 World Championship gold medals (2016–2018) and two Women's World Championship gold medals (2023, 2025). She was named Tournament MVP at both the 2018 U18 World Championship and the 2022 IIHF Women's World Championship, where she led the tournament with 18 points, the most by any player in nearly 30 years.

Heise played college ice hockey at the University of Minnesota, where she won the Patty Kazmaier Award in 2022 as the nation's top player. During her five-year collegiate career (2018–2023), she recorded 227 points on 97 goals and 130 assists in 175 games, setting a program record for most games played. She was a two-time CCM/AHCA First-Team All-American and two-time WCHA Forward of the Year (2022, 2023), leading the NCAA Division I in scoring as a senior with 66 points and in goals as a graduate student with 29.

Heise was selected first overall by PWHL Minnesota in the 2023 PWHL Draft. She helped lead the franchise to back-to-back Walter Cup championships in 2024 and 2025, becoming the first player in PWHL history to win consecutive titles with the same team. She was awarded the Ilana Kloss Playoff Most Valuable Player in 2024 after leading the playoffs with eight points in ten games.

Born in Lake City, Minnesota, Heise grew up in a basketball family but began playing hockey in first grade. She attended Red Wing High School, where she was a six-year varsity player. As a senior in 2018, she recorded 74 goals and 30 assists in 29 games, earning the Minnesota Ms. Hockey Award and USA Today High School Sports All-USA Girls Hockey Player of the Year honors.