Jamie Nelson is no longer trying to imagine what professional women’s hockey might look like. She is trying to get drafted into it.
The forward from Andover, Minnesota, is preparing for the PWHL Draft after a season at the University of Minnesota that put her on the map: 42 points in 39 games, 31 assists and a sixth-place national ranking in assists. Minnesota went 21-4-1 in games when Nelson recorded a point, a run that showed how often her production swung the Gophers’ results.
That was a long way from the three-year-old who first laced up skates because her father put them on her feet. Nelson said she grew up in a place where hockey was everywhere, and she did not truly take it seriously until her sophomore year of high school, when she had what she called her breakthrough season. One player she skated with later reached Division I at Minnesota State, and Nelson said that helped convince her she could push beyond high school too.
She spent five seasons at Minnesota State University, where she said she came into a leadership role in her final year and wore a letter on her jersey. Even so, Nelson decided she needed to leave. She transferred to Minnesota because she wanted more development before making the jump to the PWHL, saying she had hit a plateau and needed a challenge that would force her to be uncomfortable.
“I cannot say enough great things about Mankato and the five years that I had there,” Nelson said. “Being able to step into a leadership role in my last year, too, I had so much pride having a letter on my jersey and trying to lead that program.”
The move paid off in the numbers. Last season, Nelson finished with 42 points and 31 assists, then became the kind of playmaker that can tilt a game in a league where every goal matters. But she said the broader significance is bigger than one season or one draft class. When she entered college, there was no professional women’s hockey league, she said. Now the sport is filling NHL arenas, and the chance she is chasing exists because of the players who came before her.
“Sometimes, it’s still hard for me to wrap my head around that there’s a professional women’s hockey league because when I went into college, there wasn’t,” Nelson said. “And then all of a sudden, they’re reaching new heights, selling out NHL arenas, and it’s just mind-blowing to me.”
She said that reality changes the pressure, too. The women on the ice now are the face of the sport, and Nelson said that makes the standard personal. She wants to be the best player she can be, not only for herself, but because current players carry the representation of women’s hockey.
“I get to experience the benefits of all the work that people before me put in,” Nelson said. “It’s almost like I’m super excited and obviously grateful for the opportunity and grateful for those who paved the way. But it’s almost like imposter syndrome where I’m like ‘But why do I get to experience this and they didn’t didn’t.’ It should be the 15th year of professional women’s hockey.”
That is the backdrop to the draft now in front of her. Nelson has already shown she can change levels, change schools and change her own expectations. The next step is simpler to state and harder to earn: she has to turn a breakout collegiate season into a pro career.
