Former women's star Wendell skates with Wild

ST. PAUL, Minn. --It may have been 10 years since Krissy Wendell played hockey competitively at an elite level, but on the ice with the Minnesota Wild at Xcel Energy Center on Friday, it was clear she hadn't missed a beat. Wendell, 36, practiced with the Wild as a kick-off to the second annual Minnesota Wild Girls' Hockey Weekend.
"You forget how big those guys are until being down there on the ice with them," Wendell said. "It was fun. The guys were all really nice, really welcoming, and the coaching staff was great. It was fun to be out there."

Wendell is no stranger to sharing the ice with highly-skilled players. She's a two-time U.S. Olympian, winning silver at the 2002 Salt Lake City Olympics and earning bronze at the 2006 Torino Olympics. In between, she won back-to-back national championships with the University of Minnesota in 2004 and 2005. Wendell won the Patty Kazmaier Award in 2005, given annually to the top female collegiate hockey player.
Married to former NHL forward John Pohl, who played 115 games with the St. Louis Blues and Toronto Maple Leafs from 2003-08, Wendell coaches her daughter Emily's 10-and-under team, which surprised her at Xcel Energy Center on Friday to cheer her on.
"That I had no idea about," Wendell said of seeing the girls along the glass. "That's why we do it, right? We do it for the young kids and the exposure that it gives to women's hockey and the growth of the sport. At the end of the day, that's what we're trying to do, we're just trying to grow the sport.
"It's wonderful that the Wild are so supportive with what they do. Obviously I'm a little biased. I have three daughters [Emily, 9, Anna, 7, Lizzy, 5] that are playing. It's wonderful to see the support and it's fun to be out there."

Minnesota Wild Girls' Weekend aims to celebrate girls hockey in the state. In addition to Wendell joining the Wild for practice on Friday, she will make the "Let's Play Hockey!" call prior to the Wild game against the Edmonton Oilers on Saturday (2 p.m. ET; FS-N, SNW, NHL.TV). Xcel Energy Center will also host dryland training sessions and on-ice clinics on Saturday and Sunday for a sold-out group of 300 girls, ages 8-12.
At the inaugural event last year, Natalie Darwitz, Wendell's U.S. Olympic and University of Minnesota teammate, skated with the Wild.
Wendell said it has been amazing to see the sport grow so tremendously on the women's and girl's side. A Brooklyn Park, Minnesota, native, Wendell grew up playing alongside boys. Joining men on the NHL level and being able to show her daughters and teammates that anything is possible was what particularly stood out for her on Friday.
"When I thought about doing it I was like, 'Do I really want to be out in a practice with a bunch of NHL guys?'" Wendell said. "It would have been hard when I was playing, much less now that I've been removed. [But] this is what it's about.
"It's about young girls being able to see a girl out there skating and knowing they can do anything. At the end of the day we're all hockey players and we have a passion for the sport."
Photos courtesy of Minnesota Wild/Katlyn Gambill.