PWHL Minnesota’s Taylor Heise wins first Ilana Kloss Playoff MVP Award
The first-ever player drafted into the Professional Women’s Hockey League was named the best postseason performer in the league’s first year.
After Minnesota beat Boston in Game 5 of the PWHL final, becoming the first team to win the Walter Cup, forward Taylor Heise was honored by winning the first Ilana Kloss Playoff MVP Award.
From 1st Overall Pick to Playoff MVP. ☑️
Taylor Heise is the 2024 Ilana Kloss Playoff MVP Award winner. 🏆 pic.twitter.com/RDNmNnLZXa
Heise was a big-time player for Minnesota during the playoffs, which was expected after the former Minnesota Golden Gopher was taken by the team first overall in the inaugural PWHL Draft. The 24-year-old scored five goals and eight points in Minnesota’s 10 postseason games, including three goals and six points in the final. She assisted on Michela Cava’s insurance goal in the period, leading to a 3-0 win.
Heise admitted this season, through all of its ups and downs, has been a blast.
“It’s been a roller coaster of emotions,” Heise told TSN’s Tessa Bonhomme after receiving the award. “I wouldn’t want to do it with anyone else. This team is special. We are all over the place, but Minnesota’s our home right now, and that’s something we’re going to bring [the Walter Cup] back to. It’s that State of Hockey, and I think that proves it.”
The 2022 Patty Kazmaier Award winner finished tied for first in postseason scoring, with eight, as she and Cava each registered eight points.
Heise’s two best games of the playoffs game in back-to-back games. She scored two goals in Game 5 of the semifinals to help Minnesota upset Toronto, before scoring two goals and an assist in Game 1 against Boston.
Heise was solid during the regular season. She started off by scoring five points over the first five games. However, the injury she suffered in Game 7 of the Rivalry Series forced her to miss five games, and while she scored five points in her first three games back, Heise registered just two assists in the last six games heading into the postseason. She ended up notching four goals and 13 points in 19 games.
The award is named after tennis great Ilana Kloss, who, along with Billie Jean King, is a member of the PWHL’s advisory board.