It’s a tough year to predict both the Ms. Hockey and the Jori Jones award winners. There are a handful of top candidates for both of the titles but there isn’t really a clear overall winner in 2026, as there has sometimes been in years past. I’ve narrowed down this list to my top six choices for Ms. Hockey and my top three for the Jori Jones award, but it certainly wasn’t easy.

Some of the criteria that I think about when selecting names for this list include: an athlete’s overall career point totals and points-per game percentages (or save percentage, goals-against averages, shutouts, etc. for goaltenders), if they have a Division I commitment or not, if they have participated with USA Hockey in top competition such as the U18 Women’s World Championships, and how well their teams have fared overall since they’ve been on varsity, among a few other things.

Top 6 Picks for Ms. hockey:

-Alaina Gnetz, F, Centennial/Spring Lake Park, Minnesota Duluth

-Maddy Kimbrel, F, Holy Family, Wisconsin

-Katya Sander, D, Holy Family, Minnesota

-Mia Miller, D, Northfield, Minnesota State

-Lorelai Nelson, F, Edina, Penn State

-Jasmine Hovda, F, Roseau, St. Cloud State

All of these athletes are special players. All of them bring something unique to the table and I think each one will certainly make the top-10 semifinalist list as long as they keep up their excellent seasons thus far.

I chose defenders Katya Sander and Mia Miller specifically since I believe they each have quite a bit of name recognition at the moment. Both are committed to Division I programs in the state of Minnesota and both are going to be competing for Team USA this winter at the U18 Women’s Worlds Championships, so they will have a lot of exposure there as well.

Sander is part of an extremely dangerous Holy Family squad that is currently ranked No. 2 in the entire state of Minnesota. She’s not the most offensive defender but she had almost a point-per game heading into her senior season with the Fire this year and she currently has 5pts through 5gp so far. Sander has made one state tournament appearance throughout her time at Holy Family, taking home a 3rd Place plaque last season in 2025, and will look to make another run at a Class AA title again this spring.

Miller is a much more offensive defender, with 180 points through 130 games played on varsity prior to starting her senior year, that’s a 1.38 points-per game average for a defender. She currently has a whopping 15pts in just 5gp so far too, which will certainly gain her some attention from voters. In fact, she has showed so much offensive prowess that she actually led the entire Raiders squad in scoring last season in 2024-25. During her five years on varsity (prior to 2025-26), she has been to the state tournament twice with Northfield, in 2022 and 2024.

For forwards, my top two choices were Alaina Gnetz and Maddy Kimbrel, followed by Lorelai Nelson and Jasmine Hovda. There were plenty of other skaters that I could’ve added to this list to round it up to eight or 10 total selections but it started to get much trickier after six, so I decided to only keep the athletes that I felt strongly would certainly make the semifinalists list when it is released in a few months.

Alaina Gnetz’s statistics are certainly eye-popping. She scored 133 points through 80 games for Woodbury over the past few seasons (with the highest points-per game average of all the candidates on this list - 1.66) before transferring to Centennial/Spring Lake Park this offseason where she is now tied for the lead in overall scoring (16pts in 6gp). Her numbers are crazy and she led Woodbury in scoring in each of the seasons that she was on varsity. The Royals unfortunately did not make it to state during her time there but she definitely has a good shot of making it to state now with the Cougars in 2026.

Maddy Kimbrel’s numbers look very good on paper from her years at Orono and now she is at Holy Family and is leading the No. 2 squad in the state in scoring. The forward had 146 points coming into this season through 115 varsity games played at Orono and now has 14 points through just five games played so far this season, which is far and away the most on the Fire roster. Kimbrel has already competed in one U18 Women’s World Championship event, winning a silver medal with Team USA, and she’ll be on the team again this winter, which will bring lots of name recognition to her Ms. Hockey efforts. During her four years with the Spartans, the team won three third-place titles in Class A and had one runner-up finish.

Lorelai Nelson will likely be the frontrunner for Edina this season to make the Ms. Hockey semifinalist list although there are others that wouldn’t be surprising to see on this list either (such as Cate McCoy). Nelson has 136 points through 121 varsity games to her name and she has shown off some dazzling plays at the state tournament in years past. The Penn State commit has earned two third-place titles at the state tournament, one runner-up finish, and one Class AA state championship (2024) during her four years on varsity so far. She is currently tied for the lead in overall scoring for the Hornets with 10 points in six games.

And last but certainly not least is Jasmine Hovda of Roseau. The St. Cloud State commit had 175 points through 109 games played coming into her senior season, which is a whopping 1.6 points-per game average. Hovda lead the Rams in scoring during her sophomore season of high school and even made it to state that spring. She played through all of sections and the state tournament that winter while competing with a broken wrist that happened while blocking a shot in the final game of the regular season, which just goes to show how tough and competitive she is as an athlete. She’s got 17 points through seven games with Roseau so far in 2025-26.

TOP 3 PICKS FOR THE JORI JONES AWARD:

-Janie McGawn, The Blake School, Dartmouth

-Kayla Swartout, Holy Family, Wisconsin

-Payton Rolli, Warroad, Minnesota

It was extremely hard to narrow the list down to three athletes this year because I could’ve easily included multiple other netminders who have been extremely impressive over their careers so far, such as Forest Lake’s Taylor Thompson, but I thought I would stick with a top three for my predictions. Each of these three have excellent statistics and each are committed to well-known Division I college programs, which I think will make a difference in the eyes of whoever the voting committee may be.

This is Rolli’s third season for the Warroad’s varsity squad. The Minot, North Dakota, native joined the team in 2023-24 and immediately won a state title with the Warriors that year by posting a .923 save percentage, four shutouts and a 1.57 goals-against average. Last season, the Minnesota commit was a Class A state runner-up with Warroad but had even more impressive statistics with a .943 save percentage, a 1.15 goals-against average and nine shutouts. In 2025-26, Warroad is currently the No. 1 team in Class A and Rolli’s got a .936 save percentage through five games.

Swartout has been on the Holy Family varsity roster since her freshman year but she assumed the starting position as a sophomore. She immediately posted eye-popping numbers with a .928 save percentage, a 1.15 goals-against and four shutouts for a team that went 16-11-1 overall. As a junior, the Wisconsin commit made a state tournament appearance with the Fire and tallied an impressive .940 save percentage, a 1.39 goals-against average and seven shutouts. Holy Family wound up winning the third-place title in Class AA last season. In 2025-26, Holy Family is the No. 2 ranked squad in Class AA and Swartout has a .932 save percentage through an undefeated five games played so far.

Last but certainly not least is Janie McGawn. Despite being on a Blake team that hasn’t made a state tournament run during her time on varsity yet so far, McGawn has found a way to make her squad the best that it can be and has put up some crazy numbers in net. The Dartmouth commit, who lived in both Denver and in California before moving to Minnesota for high school, is in her fourth season as a varsity starter this winter for the Bears. As just a freshman, McGawn had a .939 save percentage with a 1.66 goals-against average and four shutouts - which is not something that is easily done at such a young age. She then posted a .930 save percentage her sophomore year prior to a huge junior season which saw a .950 save percentage, a 1.15 goals-against average and eight shutouts for a Blake team that went 15-11-1 overall. In 2025-26, Blake is ranked No. 5 in Class A in the state of Minnesota and McGawn has three shutouts through six games, including a .963 save percentage and an even 1.00 goals-against average.

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