PWHL Minnesota re-signs Liz Schepers, Michela Cava and Denisa Krizova to one-year contracts

The first-ever Walter Cup champions have locked down a few players for next season.

On Friday, PWHL Minnesota announced it has re-signed forwards Liz Schepers, Michela Cava and Denisa Křížová. All three will be under one-year contracts for the 2024-25 season.

All three players provided the necessary secondary scoring that Minnesota needed to get through Toronto and Boston to become the first champions in the new league.

Cava might have been arguably the team’s best player during the Final. The 30-year-old registered just eight points in 24 regular-season games, but come the series against Boston, she turned her game up. Cava ended up scoring eight points in the five-game series, including the game-winning goal in Game 2 and a goal and an assist in the championship-clinching fifth game.

The Thunder Bay native ended up tied with Taylor Heise, who won the first Ilana Kloss Playoff MVP Award, for most points in the playoffs.

Liz Schepers struggled to find her offensive touch during the regular season, but that all changed in the postseason. The 25-year-old, who missed a few games due to injury, registered only three assists in 19 regular-season games. Then, in the playoffs, on a line with Cava, Schepers posted a goal and four assists. That goal ended up being the game-winner in Game 5 against Boston.

“I couldn’t be more excited for another season in the State of Hockey,” Schepers said in a release. “It is an honor to play in front of the best fans every night, and I’m looking forward to doing everything I can to help defend our Walter Cup Championship.”

Křížová entered the PWHL after proving her ability to play at the pro level, playing two seasons in the Premier Hockey Federation, and three more in the SDHL before that. The former Northeastern standout scored three goals and three assists in 24 games during the regular season. Křížová also potted a pair of goals in the playoffs.

“I’m really excited to be extending my time on PWHL Minnesota through a third season,” Křížová said. “We have a great team, great players, great fans, and we’ll be working hard on winning another Walter Cup! I’m looking forward to seeing all of our fans at the rink next season.”

Křížová has also played for native Czechia on multiple occasions, representing her country at the 2022 Beijing Olympics, helping the team win bronze medals at the 2022 and 2023 IIHF Women’s World Championships.

Minnesota now has 15 players signed through next season. The roster includes players like Heise, PWHL Rookie of the Year Grace Zimwinkle and captain Kendall Coyne Schofield.

Check out DFO for more PWHL stories