Former Princeton Defender, Kelsey Koelzer Re-Signs with the Metropolitan Riveters

The Metropolitan Riveters announced on Wednesday that former Princeton University defender and Rookie of the Year Finalist, Kelsey Koelzer, has returned to help keep Isobel Cup in Newark.

The 2016 first overall selection in the 2016 National Women’s Hockey League Draft played an important part in helping the Riveters hoist the Isobel Cup during her rookie campaign this past season. In additional to protecting the blue line, while providing that solid shot during the championship run, she represented Team NWHL in their two-game matchup with the 2018 United States Women’s Olympic team, at their training facility, Florida Hospital Center Ice in Wesley Chapel, Florida.

Koelzer also represented the Riveters at the 2018 NWHL All-Star Game at the Minnesota Wild’s new practice facility, TRIA Rink in St. Paul, Minnesota. She was named the game’s co-Most Valuable Player and won the GoodWood Hardest Shot competition during the 2018 NWHL Skills Challenge.

The Horsham, Pennsylvania native said, “I’m looking forward to continuing to grow with the Riveters as both an individual player and with the team. Having a full season under my belt, and a very successful one at that, I want to learn from the experiences and get better everyday to help the team in any possible way.”

During her rookie season with the Riveters, Koelzer put up five goals and nine assists in 15 games while protecting the blue line. As a star player with the Princeton Tigers, she scored 39 goals and 61 assists in 128 games.

She finished her senior season in second place amongst all National Collegiate Athletic Association defenders with a point 94 points per game average. She was named First Team All-Ivy League and a top ten finalist for the 2016-2017 Patty Kazmaier Award, presented to the most outstanding NCAA Division I women’s ice hockey player as well.

Prior to playing at Princeton, she developed her hockey skills with the New Jersey Rockets hockey club located in Bridgewater, New Jersey. Koelzer has also become one of the strongest role models in the game.

She even invited one of her fans, that she met at the series against Team USA, who has become known as “Mini Koelzer,” up to from North Carolina to meet her and the Isobel Cup, during her week with the Cup.

Koelzer said, “I’m very honored and humbled to be such a role model to other young players in the athletic community. Knowing that I can make a difference in a young athlete’s mind is very powerful for me and helps me push through the hard times. It definitely gives me an extra sense of motivation and reminds me why I sacrifice day in and day out to continue playing the game I love, as a part of the NWHL.”