Edina hockey standout Taylor Williamson commits to Gophers

Shout outs via Twitter were the giveaway that Edina hockey star Taylor Williamson had committed to the University of Minnesota women’s hockey team. A junior at Edina High School, Williamson will look to help lead a strong girls hockey program to their first state championship this winter.

Williamson is coached at Edina by former Golden Gophers captain and assistant coach Laura Slominski. The commitment by Williamson for the Class of 2015 is a great sign to the future of the program as Williamson has been a standout on the high school, youth, and international level.

Williamson is the second commit to head coach Brad Frost’s Class of 2015 as she joins Sarah Potomak, a Canadian forward from The Pursuit of Excellence Hockey Academy in Kelowna, British Columbia.

With 40 goals and 74 total points over her past two seasons with the Hornets, Williamson has been an impressive player in just 45 high school games. She’s also played with Team USA Under-18 teams over the past couple summers and will likely continue competing with the national team throughout her college playing career.

She is the goddaughter of NHL alum and former Gophers men’s hockey winger Ben Hankinson, who is now a professional sports agent representing Gophers hockey stars including Jordan Leopold and Paul Martin.

In Other News…

• Edina girl’s hockey head coach Laura Slominski recently suffered a serious accident while playing hockey in late September. She had to have surgery on her neck and spine after she fractured a vertebra in her neck. According to her CaringBridge site, she has since been released from the hospital and is currently recovering at home. Best of luck to “Slomo” on getting back to her feet and back on the ice!

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