Four Badgers named Patty Kazmaier Award top-ten finalists
March 05, 2026 | Women's Hockey
Eden, Edwards, Harvey and Simms up for hockey's top honor
MADISON, Wis. -- Four Badgers were named top-ten finalists for the Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award, USA Hockey announced this Thursday. Lacey Eden, Laila Edwards, Caroline Harvey and Kirsten Simms all made the the top-ten in voting for the NCAA DI's top individual honor.
Wisconsin is the most represented school in the top ten, and its four players tie a program record set last year.
Fifth year Lacey Eden cracks the top-ten for the first time in her career. Eden has finished with 55+ points in each of the last three seasons, including a national-best 70 points this season through 36 games. The Annapolis-native made the All-WCHA First Team for the first time in her career this season, and recently took home WCHA player of the month for February.
Senior Laila Edwards finished as a top-three finalist last season after leading the country in goals with 35. This season, Edwards has spent the majority of her playing time on defense, where she has 39 points in 23 games. The Cleveland Heights-native was an All-WCHA second team member and won a gold medal with Team USA at the 2026 Winter Olympics.
Captain Caroline Harvey was a top-three finalist last season as well, when she broke UW's single-season defensive scoring record with 63 points. Harvey is close to surpassing that mark with 58 points this season. Her performance was recognized by the conference, being named the WCHA Player of the Year yesterday. Harvey is third in the nation in points, second in assists, and leads all defenders in both marks. She also helped lead Team USA to a gold medal, where she earned Olympic MVP after recording nine points in seven games.
Senior Simms has been one of the nation's top point-producers in each of the last three seasons, winning the national scoring title in 2023-24 and finishing as runner-up in 2024-25. This season, Simms sits sixth this season with 51 points despite missing time with both Team USA and injury. Her 1.96 points per game ranks third in the nation. Simms was named to the All-WCHA second team.
Wisconsin has produced six Patty Kazmaier award winners in program history, most recently Casey O'Brien - who won the award last season, beating out teammates Harvey and Edwards.
