There will be no shortage of leadership and experience for the 2024-25 University of Minnesota Duluth women's hockey team.

Four players will wear letters on their jerseys next season, including team captains graduate student Clara Van Wieren and fifth-year senior Nina Jobst-Smith, who will be elevated from alternate captains this past season to captains in 2024-25. Senior Hanna Baskin and redshirt junior Mary Kate O'Brien will serve as alternate captains, respectively. 

"Leadership development is a critical piece of our success as a program," said UMD head coach Maura Crowell. "We work very closely with our captains in order to build their confidence as they lead their peers and we help to prepare them for the rest of their lives. We're thrilled to continue working with Clara and Nina while welcoming Hanna and MK to our group." 

Jobst-Smith picked up All-WCHA Third Team honors this past season, the first All-WCHA Team nod of her career. The native of North Vancouver, B.C. had four goals and eight assists this season, and had 57 blocks to her credit. Jobst-Smith was critical in both UMD's nationally ranked penalty kill, and the Bulldogs' NCAA-best 13 team shutouts. A two-time AHCA/Krampade All-American Scholar, Jobst-Smith became a three-time WCHA Scholar Athlete this season, as well as a three-time WCHA All-Academic Team selection. Along with Van Wieren, Jobst-Smith has played in 135 consecutive games over her college career (the fifth-most in UMD history), and has helped lead the Bulldogs to four-straight NCAA appearances. 

Van Wieren was named the 2023-24 WCHA Outstanding Student-Athlete of the Year, an award presented annually to the league's top student-athlete who excels on the ice and in the classroom. A native of Okemos, Mich.On the ice, Van Wieren scored a career-best 13 goals last season with 24 points. The center has 85 career points on 38 goals and 47 assists, including 11 game-winning goals -- five which have been scored this season. A three-time WCHA Scholar Athlete, Van Wieren is both a three-time WCHA All-Academic Team member and a two-time AHCA/Krampade All-American Scholar selection. Van Wieren graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in political science last weekend, and along with Jobst-Smith, has played in 135 consecutive games over her college career (the fifth-most in UMD history), and has helped lead the Bulldogs to four-straight NCAA appearances. 

Blueliner Baskin – most recently selected UMD's Breakthrough Player of the Year by the coaching staff, had a career offensive season from the backline in 2023-24. The Excelsior, Minn. product posted 18 points – more than other defenseman – which also included both a career-best five goals and 13 assists. Baskin was no less impressive on the defensive side of the puck, and blocked a team-high 61 pucks, which doubled as the eighth most in the WCHA this past season. Baskin was a big part of UMD's NCAA tying best mark of 13 shutouts in 2023-24 and part of a penalty kill unit that was ranked in the top-five of the country most of the season. A two-time WCHA Scholar Athlete, Baskin is also a two-time WCHA All-Academic Team member.

O'Brien, also a two-time WCHA Scholar Athlete and a two-time WCHA All-Academic Team member, is coming off the most offensive season of her Bulldog career. The  Wilbraham, Mass. native punched in seven goals and dished out seven assists for 14 total points last year, which included one power play goal and one game-winning tally.