Taylor Heise is an American ice hockey forward who plays for the Minnesota Frost in the Professional Women’s Hockey League (PWHL) and represents the United States national team. At 25 years old, she holds nearly every major honor in women’s hockey—Patty Kazmaier Award winner, two-time World Championship MVP, Olympic medalist, PWHL Playoff MVP, and the first overall pick in the inaugural PWHL Draft.
Born into a basketball family in Lake City, Minnesota, she brought home a flyer from school in first grade about trying hockey. That decision changed everything. Her parents, both former college basketball players, watched their daughter become a hockey superstar while her two younger brothers followed the family tradition into college basketball.
| Category | Details |
|---|---|
| Full Name | Taylor Heise |
| Birthday | March 17, 2000 |
| Age | 25 years (as of 2026) |
| Birthplace | Lake City, Minnesota |
| Height | 5’10” (178 cm) |
| Position | Forward |
| Shoots | Right |
| Parents | Amy Heise, Tony Heise |
| Brothers | Nathan (Nate) Heise, Ryan Heise |
Growing Up on a Dairy Farm
Taylor was born March 17, 2000 in Lake City, a small town of about 5,000 people along the Mississippi River in southeastern Minnesota. The family lived on a dairy farm outside town, where outdoor activities dominated free time for the Heise kids.
Her childhood was supposed to revolve around basketball. Both parents played college basketball at the University of Wisconsin-River Falls—Tony graduated in 1991, and Amy followed the same path. Everyone assumed their three kids would play basketball too.
But in first grade, Taylor brought home a flyer from school about an introductory hockey lesson. “I never skated,” she later recalled. “Never knew what hockey was.” Her parents, Amy and Tony, were surprised. This wasn’t the plan.
They let her try it. She fell in love immediately.
The Basketball Family’s Hockey Journey
The decision created challenges. Lake City didn’t have a hockey program, so Taylor played 20 miles away in Red Wing. Her parents drove her to practices and games, committed despite this being foreign territory for a basketball family.
As a fourth-grader, she told Amy and Tony she wanted to open-enroll at Red Wing Middle School to play hockey full-time. Her basketball career ended after sixth grade. The Heises became a hockey family, even though it meant long car rides and sacrifices.
“I am very type A,” Taylor said years later. “I was nervous every day that I wasn’t going to make it worth it and that it wasn’t going to work out for me.”
Her younger brothers Nathan (Nate) and Ryan stuck with basketball. Nate plays at Iowa State after four seasons at Northern Iowa. Ryan, a 6’9″ sophomore, plays at Winona State. The family remains split—one hockey star, two basketball players, and parents who attend every game possible.
Red Wing High School Dominance
Taylor joined Red Wing’s varsity team as a seventh-grader in 2012-13, recording 5 goals and 9 points while playing alongside future Division I players Nicole Schammel, Paige Haley, and Reagan Haley. The Wingers won three straight section championships and placed third at the Minnesota State Class A Tournament three consecutive years.
She served as team captain her junior and senior years. By junior year in 2016-17, she had scored 142 goals and added 128 assists in her high school career.
As a senior in 2018, she absolutely dominated—74 goals and 30 assists for 104 points in just 29 games. She scored 9 points (7 goals, 2 assists) in three state tournament games as Red Wing finished as consolation runners-up.
She finished her six-year high school career with 216 goals and 370 points while maintaining a 3.96 GPA. She won the 2018 Minnesota Ms. Hockey Award and USA Today High School Sports All-USA Girls Hockey Player of the Year.
In December 2023, Red Wing honored her by unveiling a banner with her name and number 9, hanging alongside Alyssa Johnson’s—two of the program’s greatest players.
International Success at U18 Level
While dominating high school hockey, Taylor represented the United States at three consecutive U18 World Championships, winning gold all three times (2016, 2017, 2018).
At the 2018 U18 World Championship, she served as team captain and was named Tournament MVP and Best Forward after recording 8 points (4 goals, 4 assists). Three straight golds established her as one of America’s top young players.
College Years at Minnesota
Taylor chose the University of Minnesota, staying close to home while playing for one of the nation’s premier programs. Her five-year career (2018-2023) became legendary.
Freshman Year (2018-19): She recorded 13 goals and 22 assists in 39 games, leading the team with 147 shots and 5 game-winning goals. Minnesota reached the NCAA Championship game, losing 2-0 to Wisconsin. She earned WCHA All-Rookie Team honors.
Sophomore Year (2019-20): Her production jumped to 18 goals and 25 assists in 36 games before COVID-19 ended the season. She made the All-WCHA Third Team.
Junior Year (2020-21): She posted 18 goals and 30 assists in 29 games during a pandemic-shortened season, earning All-WCHA Second Team recognition.
Senior Year (2021-22): This was her breakout season. She led the nation with 29 goals and added 37 assists for 66 points—the most by a Gopher since Dani Cameranesi in 2015-16. She recorded 235 shots (second-most in program history) and 5 shorthanded goals (third-most in program history).
She won the Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award as the nation’s top player, WCHA Player of the Year, WCHA Offensive Player of the Year, and First-Team All-American honors.
Graduate Year (2022-23): She returned for a fifth season, leading the nation with 30 goals and adding 30 assists. She was named WCHA Forward of the Year and finished her career as Minnesota’s all-time leader with 175 games played, recording 97 goals and 130 assists for 227 points total.
The 2022 Olympic Heartbreak
In early 2022, Taylor competed for a spot on the U.S. Olympic team for the Beijing Winter Games. She was cut—one of the final players not selected.
“I was cut in Blaine (Minnesota), and I remember the hotel, I remember where I was, I remember who I called,” she said years later. “I will never forget it. Like I cried a few times about it.”
The rejection hurt deeply. She described herself as a “homebody” who found leaving difficult, and missing the Olympics after years of sacrifice felt crushing.
“I didn’t feel like I was at my best during that week,” she admitted. “And if we’re going off one week, then yeah, I probably shouldn’t have been (at the Olympics). But do I think I could have? Yeah. But does that mean that I’m supposed to be on it? Absolutely not.”
Instead of quitting, she used the disappointment as fuel. She finished the 2021-22 college season with the best performance of her career, winning the Patty Kazmaier Award.
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2022 World Championship MVP
Just months after being cut from the Olympics, Taylor made the roster for the 2022 IIHF Women’s World Championship in Denmark. She arrived with something to prove.
She led the entire tournament with 18 points (8 goals, 10 assists) in 7 games—the most points by any player at a Women’s World Championship in nearly 30 years. Team USA won silver, and Taylor was named Tournament MVP at age 22.
Her performance announced to everyone: she belonged at the highest level.
PWHL Draft and Professional Career
On September 18, 2023, Taylor was selected first overall by Minnesota (now the Frost) in the inaugural PWHL Draft. Being drafted by her home state team made the moment even more special.
“I was super super excited since I knew that this was where I always wanted to play,” she told the School of Kinesiology at the University of Minnesota.
In the PWHL’s first season (2023-24), she recorded 12 goals and 13 assists in 24 games. During the playoffs, she elevated her game—scoring 4 goals and 7 assists in 5 games as Minnesota won the first-ever Walter Cup championship. She was named Ilana Kloss Playoff MVP.
In the 2024-25 season, she leads the PWHL with 13 assists and is tied for the lead with 16 points. Minnesota won back-to-back Walter Cup championships with Taylor as a central figure.
2025 World Championship Gold
At the 2025 IIHF Women’s World Championship, Taylor won her first World Championship gold medal. Team USA defeated Canada in the final, adding another major trophy to her collection.
She finished with 1 goal and 3 assists in 7 games, contributing to the team’s success even without putting up massive individual numbers.
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2026 Olympics Achievement
Four years after being left off the Olympic roster, Taylor earned her place on Team USA for the 2026 Winter Games — a moment that felt like redemption for everything she had worked through since 2022.
“It still hasn’t really kicked in yet,” she said. “Getting that call is like a dream come true. Always had dreams of playing in the pros, but the biggest dream was to go the Olympics, for sure.”
On February 13, 2026, during the preliminary round against Finland, she scored her first Olympic goal. Days later on February 16, she scored again in Team USA’s 5-0 semifinal victory over Sweden.
According to Team USA official profile, her line with Hannah Bilka and Abbey Murphy has been one of the strongest throughout the Olympics. The trio has combined for 8 goals and 10 assists, with the Americans outscoring opponents 31-1.
Her path from being cut in 2022 to scoring in Olympic semifinals shows remarkable resilience. As detailed by USA Hockey, she hasn’t forgotten the pain from four years ago and uses it as motivation every time she steps on the ice.
Personal Life and Relationship
Taylor is in a relationship with Dawson Fox, who plays basketball for the University of Minnesota men’s team. They met when the basketball team stopped by a party after a football game.
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“I remember him being like, ‘What are you doing over there, you look lame,'” she recalled laughing.
They’re both competitive and goofy—date nights sometimes consisted of shooting hockey pucks or playing HORSE at Williams Arena. They play cards at night, and she admits to being a sore loser.
“I took this video the other day,” she said. “It was a riveting Sunday night at the Heise-Fox household of us playing Kings Corners. I was so mad. I threw my cards on the table. He’s like, ‘Are you going to be a sore loser?’ You know me better than that. Of course I am.”
Fox keeps her connected to basketball despite her hockey career. They’re each other’s biggest fans.
Education and Interests
Taylor graduated from the University of Minnesota’s School of Kinesiology in 2022 with a bachelor’s degree in kinesiology. She’s currently pursuing a master’s degree in sport management while playing professionally.
Outside hockey, she enjoys baking, cooking, juggling (yes, literally juggling), and hanging out with friends outdoors. “My favorite way to relax is either hanging by the pool in the sun or at a beach,” she said.
She runs the “Taylor Heise 27” hockey camp, holding sessions at venues including Ridder Arena in Minneapolis. She also teaches at Hockey4all camps and frequently returns to southeastern Minnesota to work with youth programs.
She’s motivated by players like Paige Haley, Reagan Haley, and Nicole Schammel who returned to Red Wing to help coach when she was young. She’s paying it forward.
Family Olympic Experience
In February 2026, Taylor’s parents Tony and Amy traveled to Italy to watch her compete at the Olympics. The trip became a wild family adventure.
On February 6, they left Minnesota, arrived in Switzerland on February 7, and all three Heise kids played games that day. They watched Taylor’s preliminary game against Finland while waiting for lost luggage at the Swiss airport. Then they watched Nate’s Iowa State game on the train, followed by Ryan’s Winona State game when they arrived at their hotel.
That kept them busy from 4 p.m. until midnight.
On February 16, Taylor scored a goal in the Olympic semifinals against Sweden. Hours later, Nate hit a go-ahead three-pointer with 77 seconds left in Iowa State’s upset of No. 2 Houston. Two days earlier, Ryan scored a career-high 30 points against Sioux Falls.
“Ryan started it,” Tony joked.
A stranger wearing an Iowa State banner approached Amy (wearing Taylor’s USA jersey) in Italy and asked for a photo together. “He said, ‘I love your kids,'” Amy recalled. “He loves USA Hockey and the Cyclones.”
Physical Attributes and Style
At 5’10” and 168 pounds, Taylor has an ideal frame for modern hockey—tall enough to win battles, strong enough to absorb hits, and fast enough to create separation. She shoots right-handed.
Her playing style combines elite playmaking vision, goal-scoring ability, and high hockey IQ. She sees plays develop before they happen and makes passes that create scoring chances. She’s equally dangerous as a goal scorer, with a quick release and ability to find shooting lanes.
Her versatility allows her to play multiple roles—goal scorer, playmaker, penalty killer, power play specialist. She’s a complete player.
Salary and Net Worth
Professional women’s hockey salaries remain modest compared to major men’s leagues. PWHL contracts typically range between $35,000 and $80,000 per season depending on role and experience.
Based on league salary structures, playoff bonuses, endorsements, and camp appearances, Taylor Heise’s estimated net worth is believed to fall in the low six-figure range. However, exact financial details are not publicly disclosed.
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