Princeton University Athletics
Koelzer '17 Named ECAC Second-Team All-Decade
February 19, 2020 | Women's Ice Hockey
A two-time Patty Kazmaier finalist and first-team All-America, Koelzer was an ECAC Hockey three-time selection. The 2016 ECAC Best Defenseman of the Year, she was a finalist for the award again in 2017. The 2016 Ivy League Player of the Year finished her career playing in 128 games and is just the third defender in Princeton history to reach 100 points, scoring 39 goals and 61 assists. She had an incredible 203 career blocks and finished with a +46 on-ice rating. As both a junior and a senior, Koelzer ranked second nationally in points per game for a defender.
Following the 2016 season, Koelzer was selected for the US National Women's Ice Hockey Under-22 team and was a US Olympic tryout participant a year later. In 2016, the Metropolitan Riveters made Koelzer the first overall pick in the National Women's Hockey League (NWHL) Draft, making Koelzer the first African American to be the top selection in the highest level of American professional hockey. During the 2018 season, Koelzer led the Riveters to the NWHL Isobel Cup Championship and was named Co-MVP of the 2018 NWHL All-Star game. Â
Koelzer is preparing to take her hockey experience behind the bench, serving as head coach for a start-up program at Arcadia University outside Philadephia that will begin play in the 2021-22 season. She coached for three years with the Princeton Hockey Youth Camps and a summer with the National Collegiate Development Camp in 2017. Koelzer also serves on the NHL/NHLPA Female Hockey Advisory Committee, a group formed to accelerate the growth of female hockey in North America and ensure that girls experience all the opportunities and benefits that the sport provides.
