Kristin Elizabeth "Krissy" Wendell-Pohl (born September 12, 1981) is an American former women's ice hockey player and current amateur scout for the Pittsburgh Penguins of the NHL. During the 2004–05 season, Wendell set an NCAA record for most short-handed goals in one season, with seven.[1] At the conclusion of her college career, she held the record for most career short-handed goals, with 16. Both marks have since been equaled by Meghan Agosta. Wendell is currently in the Top 10 for all-time NCAA scoring, with 237 career points.
Playing career
While attending Park Center Senior High School in Brooklyn Park, Minnesota, Wendell led the girls' hockey team to a state championship. At the time she graduated from high school, Wendell was the state of Minnesota's all-time leading girls' high school scorer.[2]
Wendell was a co-captain of the Minnesota Golden Gophers women's ice hockey team. A forward, she scored 133 points in two seasons (2002–2003, 2003–2004) for the Gophers. Wendell scored the game-winning goal in the 2005 Western Collegiate Hockey Association (WCHA) championship game against Wisconsin. Wendell followed that with a hat-trick against ECAC champion Harvard. Wendell was the NCAA runner-up in the scoring race to her teammate Natalie Darwitz with 98 points. Wendell did lead the NCAA in short-handed goals, with seven. She won the Patty Kazmaier Award in 2005 for best female collegiate hockey player. Wendell was the first player from Minnesota, and the first from the WCHA, to win the award.[3]
Following her playing career, Wendell-Pohl coached girls high school hockey in Minnesota with her husband, and former NHL player, Johnny Pohl. She was then hired by the Pittsburgh Penguins as a scout on November 6, 2021, becoming the third woman to hold a scouting position with an NHL team after Cammi Granato and Blake Bolden. Her responsibilities are to scout amateur players, predominantly high school players, in the Minnesota area.[5][6]
