The University of Minnesota Duluth women's hockey team will have one of its most experienced squads next season, and the three players in charge of that experienced crew are not new to the task.

Senior defenseman Ashton Bell, along with senior centers Kylie Hanley and Gabbie Hughes will all sport the 'C' on the their sweaters next fall.  It will be the second season that Bell and Hanley have been captains, while Hughes, an alternate captain last season, will make the jump to captain. 

Bell, a team captain during the 20-21 season, centralized with the Canadian Olympic Team for the season and helped Canada to the 2022 Olympic Gold Medal in her first Olympics with Canada, posting one goal and four assists from the blueline.  The product of Deloraine, Manitoba became the seventh UMD player to win an Olympic Gold medal, and became the second current UMD player in as many Olympic games to strike gold with college eligibility remaining. As a senior, Bell turned in arguably one of the most impressive season by a blueliner in program history, en route to literally leading the Bulldogs back into their first NCAA Frozen Four in over a decade by scoring 6:39 into overtime of UMD's NCAA Quarterfinal game against Colgate in Erie, Penn. Bell was named a 2020-21 CCM/AHCA Second Team All-American, as well as a USCHO First Team All-American, and was also selected to the 2021 NCAA Frozen Four All-Tournament Team. After finishing the season the seventh-highest scoring defenseman in the nation and second highest in the WCHA with 14 points on four goals and 10 assists, Bell was named the WCHA's Defenseman of the Year, as well as an All-WCHA First Team selection and earned both a thrird WCHA Scholar Athlete nod, as well as to a third-straight WCHA All-Academic Team.

A 2021-22 team captain, Hanley skated in all 40 Bulldog games her senior season, moving to defense in November to help UMD play in back-to-back NCAA Frozen Fours and a title game appearance. The product of Minnetonka, Minn. posted 10 points on six goals and four assists -- the eighth most goals on the team, had a plus/minus rating of +14, and averaged 1.68 shots per game, all the while making the second blocks on the team with 41.  Hanley was also named a WCHA Scholar Athlete for a third consecutive time, as well as a 2021-22 WCHA All-Academic Team selection.

Hughes is coming off the best offensive season of her four-year college career.  The Lino Lakes, Minn. native became one of just three players in NCAA Division I women's hockey history to be named both a Patty Kazmaier Top-3 Finalist and a Hockey Humanitarian Finalist. Hughes was named a 2021-22 CCM/AHCA First Team All-American, as well as an All-WCHA First Team selection ranking eighth in the nation in points per game overall (1.48 ppg average), and second in game-winning goals in the NCAA with seven. Compiled a career-best 59 points on 22 goals and 37 assists, and led the NCAA in points per game for more than half of the season, while posting 18 multiple point games in the season. Hughes will return in 2022-23 with 168 career points -- already the eighth most in program history, and currently ranks eighth with 97 career assists, and tenth with 71 goals.

For a full list of all of UMD's captains, click here.