The Patty Kazmeier award winner was recognized on Saturday.
Justice was finally served on Saturday when Wisconsin Badgers star Casey O’Brien received the 2025 Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award, bestowed upon the top player in NCAA Division I Women’s Ice Hockey. O’Brien was also a finalist in 2024, joined by teammate Kirsten Simms, though the 2024 award ultimately went to Cornell’s Izzy Daniel.
The 2025 Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award was sure to go to a Wisconsin Badger, with all three finalists hailing from Madison. O’Brien was flanked by juniors Laila Edwards and Caroline Harvey at the award ceremony in Minneapolis.
The best in @NCAAIceHockey.
Congrats Casey O’Brien on becoming the sixth Badger to win the Patty Kaz! #Badgers || #OnWisconsin pic.twitter.com/TvgvGEToR8
— Wisconsin Hockey (@BadgerWHockey) March 22, 2025
While all three players are more than deserving in their own right for what they can do on the ice, O’Brien is the straw that stirs the drink. She does it all while serving as the heartbeat for a Badger team that has so far amassed a program-record 37 wins this season. And she’s done it in record-setting fashion.
On Friday night, O’Brien notched her 88th point of the season to break Meghan Duggan’s 2011 record for points in a season. She surpassed Hilary Knight a few weeks ago to become Wisconsin’s all-time leading point scorer. O’Brien also broke her own record from last year for assists in a season. In the first round of this year’s WCHA playoffs, she set the new Wisconsin bar for points in a period, notching four assists and a goal in the opening period against Bemidji State.
The fifth-year senior leads the country in both points (88) and assists (62) by a wide margin while scoring an astounding 2.20 points per game. O’Brien leads an offense that has overwhelmed opponents all year, scoring nearly five and a half goals per game and losing only once in regulation all year.
Additional accolades for O’Brien this year include being named Player of the Year in the WCHA, as well as Forward of the Year and an All-WCHA First-Team player. She made the WCHA All-Tournament team and was named Most Outstanding Player at the 2025 Kwik Trip WCHA Final Faceoff.
“I think I went into this year with the mindset that this is the last time I’ll be wearing the Badgers jersey, so I can’t take a single game for granted,” said O’Brien. “I think the numbers came about just from being consistent, but I wasn’t focused on records or anything individual–I was just doing what I could to help the team win.”
Prior to the Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award announcement, four Badgers were named CCM/ACHA First-Team All-Americans: Casey O’Brien, Laila Edwards, Kirsten Simms, and Caroline Harvey.
It’s been a big week for Badgers winning individual awards, as head coach Mark Johnson and goaltender Ava McNaughton were recognized for being the best in the country at their positions prior to the Frozen Four semifinal against Minnesota. Oddly enough, McNaughton did not make either All-American team after being named the top goaltender by the Women’s Hockey Commissioners Association. Those spots went to Minnesota Duluth’s Ève Gascon and Cornell’s Annelies Bergmann.
It’s been said all year, but every Badger on this team would happily trade individual recognition to raise the trophy at the end of the year. Instead, they’ll have a chance for both when the puck drops for Sunday’s NCAA Championship against Ohio State.
In the meantime, it’s fun to look back and reflect on what special seasons the three Patty Kazmaier finalists produced.
Casey O’Brien, Forward
Total Points: 88
Goals: 26
Assists: 62
Power Play Goals: 4
Game-Winning Goals: 4
+/-: +65
Laila Edwards, Forward
Total Points: 69
Goals: 34
Assists: 35
Power Play Goals: 7
Game-Winning Goals: 6
+/-: +56
Caroline Harvey, Defender
Total Points: 62
Goals: 17
Assists: 45
Power Play Goals: 6
Game-Winning Goals: 2
+/-: +76