THE GRACE WOLFE STORY

As Grace Wolfe glides across the ice, cutting through waves of oncoming defenders while keeping puck tethered to her stick as if tied be an invisible string, it would be easy to assume things have been easy for the former Owatonna High School standout and current sophomore at St. Cloud State University.

In a sense, yes, she is a naturally gifted athlete, that part is obvious. You simply don’t reach the Division I level of college athletics without possessing a certain level of rare innate athletic capability.

Dig a little deep, though, and it’s a different story. Compared to many of her peers in the WCHA that hail from some of the most well known recruiting hotbeds in the country like the vast Twin Cities suburban footprint, Wolfe’s journey to the pinnacle of the college game took twice as much effort just to become even a small blip on the radar of D-I coaches, let alone emerge as a legitimate prospect .

But that’s exactly what Wolfe did. She signed her National Letter of intent to SCSU in February of 2021 and became just the second female player from Owatonna High School to sign at the D-I level, following 2003 graduate Lindsay Macy.

Wolfe had fulfilled her dream of signing at the D-I level and became part of local history, but she hadn’t made it yet. Not even close. The road from Owatonna to St. Cloud, which literally cuts north directly through the heart of Minnesota’s renowned “hockey country” — was paved with obstacles of both the physical and intangible variety.

Not only had she emerged from southern Minnesota to sign with a Division I program — exhibiting her elite skating ability and sound defensive presence during the offseason at the High Performance Select Camps —  but did so despite playing less than two full periods during entire sophomore year after suffering a dislocated knee in the second game of the season. As her peers began drawing interest from the next level and honing their skills during a pivotal season in the college recruiting process, Wolfe was unable to lace up her skates, let alone take the ice.

So how did she respond? She went to work, attacking her rehabilitation with a singular focus and returned the next season to earn all-conference accolades and was named the team’s Defensive Player of the Year. As a senior, she made the prestigious all-state honorable mention team, continued to work hard in the offseason and ultimately inked her NLI to St. Cloud State University.

It wasn’t easy, but Wolfe had done it. She had beaten the odds, emerged from southern Minnesota and become a big-time college hockey player.

“I always knew I wanted to play (in college),” Wolfe said. “But coming from Owatonna it’s really hard for recruiting. I had to do showcases. But I think it was more just showing that even if you come from a small town you can still play at a high level. It doesn’t really matter where you are from, it only matters your effort.”

Wolfe spent the majority of her freshman season at SCSU learning the ropes and seeing the ice sporadically behind more experienced players with years of big-time D-I experience. When all was said and done, she found a regular role with the team as a freshman and saw the ice in 32 of the Huskies’ 35 games on defense. She contributed three assists and a steady 44 blocks.

And then, another challenge. Or in Wolfe’s case, another opportunity.

Just when she thought she’d become comfortable with her new surrounding — just when she felt like she belonged and had figured out her ongoing role in the overall system — the school announced that head coach Steve Macdonald’s contract would not be renewed for the upcoming season. In other words, he was fired.

And just like that, the head coach who had taken a chance on her and opened the door for to a Division I career was gone, soon replaced by former University of North Dakota coach, Brian Idalski.

As more than a half-dozen of her teammates hit the transfer portal and summarily left the program, Wolfe remained patient. It would have been easier than ever to join the exodus thanks to a relatively new bylaw enacted by the NCAA that allows student-athletes a one-time transfer waiver, meaning student-athletes would not have to sit out a full season of competition before joining at their new college team.

The easy route, though, has never suited Wolfe. And besides, she’d heard good things about Idalski and his 10-year run with the Fighting Sioux that lasted from 2007 to 2017 prior to the university’s decision to discontinue women’s hockey.

“I didn’t want transfer,” she said. “Honestly, I was just going to feel things out and then found out all the hockey sense he had. He pays attention to all the little details and that’s something that we didn’t have that first year. I was going to be hard getting used to how he wanted to do things. But as the year went on, those last few playoff games when we had all the stuff down that he taught us system-wise. I was really grateful for that. I was really excited for the change because he’s a really talented coach.”

GRACE WOLFE

Wolfe almost immediately found her stride with the new coaching staff, jumping into an elevated role from Day 1 and eventually finishing the 2022-23 season as one of just eight players on the entire roster that played in all 37 games. She racked up a team-high 16 assists and ended second in blocks with 88.

As a team, the Huskies upped their win-loss record from 9-23-3 in Macdonald’s final season to 18-18-1. Along the way, SCSU scored a memorable 1-0 victory over No. 8-ranked Wisconsin on the road in a matchup that featured more than 14,000 fans at the Kohl Center in Madison.

The Huskies’ season ultimately came to an end in the WCHA quarterfinals in a 5-1 loss to UM-Duluth on Feb. 25. Wolfe has remained busy with offseason workouts and an amplified class schedule, but she’s carved out a few moments to both reflect on what has been a roller coaster previous two years and look forward to a future with a program that will reach an all-time high as she enters her junior season next winter.

“Initially as a freshman you really don’t have any guarantees,” Wolfe admitted. “I didn’t have that confidence in the beginning to actually to take a step out of the box and take a risk, but toward playoff I had a lot of confidence. I was just out there playing. There’s no worries. It’s just the game and you’re not thinking about anything else. I think once you reach that point, you can really fine-tune things, which I did this year and I have even more confidence.

“I think I am in really good position for this next upcoming year,” she added. “I mean, I learned a lot this year as well and have a lot more confidence from when I first came in, so I am happy. I’m ready to take on whatever leadership role I need to.”