Kirsten Simms injury: How Wisconsin women's hockey responds

Kirsten Simms’ injury halts her 'best' stretch for Wisconsin women's hockey. With Laila Edwards also out, can the Badgers' second line step up for the defending champs?

With the 2026 Winter Olympic Games in February, Wisconsin women’s hockey head coach Mark Johnson knew he would be missing his All-American contributors at times this season. Still, injuries have taken some of UW’s key pieces out of the lineup earlier than expected.

First, it was Laila Edwards. The do-it-all Wisconsin Badgers alternate captain, who, at forward, led the nation in goals last season. Now she is trying to make the Olympic roster for Team USA as a defender, but she suffered an MCL injury earlier this month that Johnson says will keep her sidelined “for a little while.” Edwards was seen on Tuesday with her right leg in a boot.

Now, it is Kirsten Simms. The high-scoring winger exited the 2025 Ice Beaker Tournament championship game on Saturday with what Johnson called “a lower-body injury.” Simms’ timeline to return is unknown, but unanimously top-ranked Wisconsin hopes that “over the next few days, period of time, we’ll get a better feel” for how long the two-time first-team All-American will be out.

Johnson was impressed by his team's response after Simms left the game. The winningest coach in the history of NCAA Division I women’s ice hockey called his team’s 4-0 victory over the Union Garnet Chargers “the most complete” of UW’s eight wins in as many games.

With upcoming series against the Minnesota State Mavericks and the third-ranked Minnesota Golden Gophers, however, the challenge ahead for the Badgers will be greater.

Kirsten Simms’ injury halts ‘best’ stretch for Wisconsin women’s hockey

Kirsten Simms skates in warmups before the Wisconsin Badgers face the Ohio State Buckeyes in the 2025 Women’s Frozen Four national championship game inside the University of Minnesota’s Ridder Arena. Photo credit: Aaron Frey

Simms, who suited up in four of seven games at the IIHF World Championships this past summer, might not be a lock for USA Hockey’s Olympic roster; her absence from Wisconsin’s lineup adds another challenge to a team trying to win back-to-back national titles. The Badgers will likely be without their Olympians for more than 25% of their 28 conference games this season.

Between their senior season in Madison, potentially spending February in Milan, finding time to do some schoolwork, and now injuries on top of it, both Simms and Edwards face a tremendous mental challenge, as much as a physical one.

“Well, if I’m sitting in their shoes,” Johnson said of his injured stars, “There’s a lot of things going on between my ears.”

Being injured is one thing, but having it interrupt a tremendous start to a senior season is another. Before Simms’ injury, she had just earned WCHA Forward of the Week honors after her four-point weekend helped the Badgers secure a two-game series sweep of the No. 4 Minnesota Duluth Bulldogs. The Plymouth, Michigan native, who led the country in scoring her sophomore year, had been scoring at a 2.0 points-per-game pace, good for third in the country.

At her very best, there are few, if any, players in the NCAA who can match Simms’ combined talents as a scorer and playmaker. She scored 25 goals as a junior, the ninth-most nationally, but may not have capitalized on all her scoring opportunities. Last season, only Casey O’Brien, UW’s all-time leader in assists, tallied more helpers than Simms. The Preseason All-WCHA honoree is up to nine assists through eight games, the third-most in Division I.

“Simms is probably playing the best that she’s played for us over her time here,” Johnson said on Tuesday. “But she’ll be back, and she’ll be fine.”

With her speed, shot, and hockey sense, Simms is a threat to pick up the puck from nearly anywhere on the ice, get downhill, and fire one past opposing goaltenders (unless, of course, she passes to find a teammate). Those traits cemented her place on UW’s top line and power play unit each of the past two seasons.

With Simms temporarily sidelined, the next group of forwards is ready to step up.

Wisconsin Badgers’ second line leading the way

The line of Simms-Adéla Šapovalivová-Lacey Eden remains as potent a scoring threat as ever with 35 points and 12 goals, but Wisconsin’s next trio of forwards has proven just as, if not more dangerous. Kelly Gorbatenko, Cassie Hall, and Maggie Scannell have combined for the same 35 points, but a total of 14 goals on the young season.

Gorbatenko is following up her breakout sophomore campaign by elevating the play of her linemates. In her second collegiate season, the Barrington, Illinois native more than doubled the goals and assists she tallied as a rookie. Gorbatenko is on track again for a standout year, alongside linemates she has been playing with since this summer’s Team USA vs. Team Canada Collegiate Selects series.

At a time the Badgers need it most, shorthanded due to injuries, chemistry that has been in the works since August is paying early dividends. Gorbatenko at 5-foot-11 and Scannell at 5-foot-10 flank each wing with power forwards that are difficult to knock off the puck, contrasting with the finesse of the Simms-Šapovalivová-Eden line.

“We’re starting to really leverage in the corners, because when we play at smaller rinks we’re along the wall a lot and we have size to our advantage,” Gorbatenko said of her line’s early success. “We’re physical players where we can get into the corners and just come out with the puck.”

Although not sharing their size, Hall complements her wingers and is quickly building her candidacy for All-WCHA consideration. After scoring 20 goals in 41 games as a sophomore, the junior is scoring at a goal-per-game pace, leading the way in Madison. Her eight goals are the third-most in the country.

“She’s a really good skater. She’s a good puck handler. She’s got a good shot. And some of the things we talk about with her shot is, you know, can it be accurate? Can you hit spots and be consistent in that?” Johnson said, assessing Hall’s performance this season. “You know the power play we had? You know, the early part of the game against Union? She comes off the rink downhill and makes a great shot, beats the goalie, a right-handed catcher.

“And so, can I hit that spot? Can I hit the net? And I think as she goes through the next chunk of her career, the better job she does of hitting spots and hitting the net, those goals will come.”

Simms and Edwards’ injuries put what is typically Johnson’s first power play unit off the bench in flux. In the meantime, the next group, featuring Hall, Gorbatenko, and Scannell, might see increased opportunities. It was the first line sent out on the advantage Saturday when Simms did not return to the game, perhaps giving fans a preview of the one consistent thing to come.

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