Anna Wilgren

Anna Wilgren (born November 18, 1999) is an American professional ice hockey defender for the Seattle Torrent of the Professional Women's Hockey League (PWHL) and the United States women's national ice hockey team. She previously played for the Montreal Victoire, where she earned PWHL All-Rookie Team honors. She played college ice hockey at Minnesota State, where she was a former team captain, and played her graduate season at Wisconsin, helping the Badgers reach the 2024 NCAA Championship final.

Wilgren was a two-time winner of the Molly Engstrom Award as Wisconsin's best defensive player during high school. She was invited to the 2022 U.S. Olympic Residency Program and made her senior national team debut at the 2025 IIHF Women's World Championship, winning a gold medal with Team USA.

Early life Wilgren was born to Wayne and Karyn Wilgren, in Saint Paul, Minnesota, and raised in Hudson, Wisconsin. She attended Hudson High School where she played ice hockey for four years. During the 2016–17 season, in her junior year, she recorded 64 goals and 20 assists, leading the state of Wisconsin in goals. She was named the Molly Engstrom Award winner in 2017 and 2018, as the best defensive player in the state of Wisconsin. She finished as the all-time leading scorer in Hudson program history. She also played tennis and ran track and field for three years. In 2018, Wilgren's senior season, the Hudson girls hockey team advanced to the WIAA state championship game, where they lost in overtime to Appleton. It was the program's first state tournament appearance since 2006.

Playing career College Wilgren began her collegiate career for Minnesota State during the 2018–19 season. During her freshman year, she recorded four goals and eight assists in 35 games. She led the WCHA, and ranked second in the NCAA with 122 blocked shots. Following the season she was named to the WCHA All-Rookie Team. During the 2019–20 season in her sophomore year, she recorded six goals and 18 assists in 37 games. She led the team in scoring with 24 points, and led the WCHA with 96 blocked shots. Following the season, she was named to the All-WCHA Third Team. During the 2022–23 season in her senior year, she recorded one goal in three games, before suffering a season-ending injury.

On April 20, 2023, Wilgren announced she would transfer to Wisconsin for her final year of eligibility. She finished her career at Minnesota State with 12 goals and 30 assists in 91 games. During the 2023–24 season as a graduate student, she recorded two goals and 20 assists in 40 games, helping the Badgers reach the 2024 NCAA Championship final, where they lost 1–0 to Ohio State University.

Professional Montreal Victoire (2024–25)

On June 10, 2024, Wilgren was drafted in the fifth round, 29th overall, by PWHL Montreal in the 2024 PWHL Draft. In November 2024, she signed a standard contract with Montreal. During the 2024–25 season, in her rookie year, she appeared in 30 regular season games, and recorded three goals and six assists for nine points while demonstrating the shot-blocking ability that had defined her collegiate career. She quickly established herself as a reliable two-way defender, and earned PWHL All-Rookie Team honors alongside fellow defender Cayla Barnes.

Wilgren's contributions extended into the 2025 PWHL playoffs, where she added three assists during Montreal's series against the Ottawa Charge. On December 3, 2025, in a game against the New York Sirens, Wilgren was checked from behind by Sirens rookie Kristýna Kaltounková, sending her face-first into the end boards with 3:59 remaining in regulation. The play resulted in a five-minute major penalty and game misconduct for Kaltounková. During the extended power play, Seattle scored two goals in 22 seconds, with Alex Carpenter tying the game at 1:24 remaining and captain Hilary Knight scoring the game-winner at 18:58 to secure the Torrent's first home victory, 2–1.

International play On March 5, 2025, Wilgren was selected to represent the United States at the 2025 IIHF Women's World Championship in České Budějovice, Czechia, where she made her senior national team debut. She made her World Championship debut during the tournament and contributed one assist in the United States' 5–0 victory over Switzerland in the preliminary round. Team USA went on to win the gold medal, defeating Canada 4–3 in overtime in the championship game on April 20, 2025. Wilgren became the first American-born Minnesota State alumna to represent the United States at the World Championship, joining former Mavericks Nina Tikkinen (Finland), Emilia Andersson (Sweden), Lena Düsterhöft (Germany), and Anna Fiegert (Germany) as Minnesota State alumni to compete in the tournament.

Career statistics Regular season and playoffs Regular seasonPlayoffs Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM 2018–19 Minnesota State University WCHA 35 4 8 12 12 — — — — — 2019–20 Minnesota State University WCHA 37 6 18 24 12 — — — — — 2020–21 Minnesota State University WCHA 16 1 4 5 14 — — — — — 2022–23 Minnesota State University WCHA 3 1 0 1 2 — — — — — 2023–24 University of Wisconsin WCHA 40 2 22 24 10 — — — — — 2024–25 Montreal Victoire PWHL 30 3 6 9 8 4 0 3 3 0 2025–26 Seattle Torrent PWHL 30 3 7 10 26 — — — — —PWHL totals 60 6 13 19 34 4 0 3 3 0

International Year Team Event Result GP G A Pts PIM 2025 United States WC 2 0 1 1 0Senior totals 2 0 1 1 0

Awards and honors Honors Year PWHL All-Rookie Team 2025