Kristen Campbell

Kristen Campbell made history at the 2019 NCAA Championship by shutting out every opponent in the playoffs on the way to Wisconsin's title — becoming the first woman to win a Frozen Four championship without conceding a goal in the process. She was named the tournament's Most Outstanding Player.

Campbell grew up in Brandon, Manitoba, and began her college career at the University of North Dakota, where she appeared in five games during the 2016-17 season before the program abruptly shuttered its women's hockey team at the end of that year. She transferred to the University of Wisconsin, and her impact was immediate: in her first season with the Badgers, she was named WCHA Goaltender of the Year, earned a spot on the All-America Team, and was a Top-10 Finalist for the Patty Kazmaier Award. The championship run in 2018-19 came with NCAA season highs in goals-against average, wins, and shutouts, along with a Wisconsin single-season wins record. When a COVID-shortened final season ended, she had become the fourth goaltender in program history to record 90 wins, having helped the Badgers finish atop the WCHA in the regular season.

On the international stage, Campbell has been a fixture for Canada at multiple levels, winning silver at the U18 World Championship in 2015. At the senior level, she was part of the team that won Olympic gold in 2022, and she has claimed three World Championship gold medals (2021, 2022, 2024) and a silver (2023). She also spent two seasons with the PWHPA — in 2021 and 2022-23, with a break for Olympic centralization — before the PWHL was formed.

Toronto selected Campbell 14th overall in the PWHL's inaugural draft, and she went on to be named the league's Goaltender of the Year in that first season. She has since signed with the Vancouver Goldeneyes, where she is listed for the 2026-27 training camp alongside Emerance Maschmeyer, Katie DeSa, and Kim Newell ^[1].

Beyond her play between the pipes, Campbell runs KC Elite Goaltending Camp in Kelowna, B.C., where she has trained alongside manual osteopathic therapist and kinesiologist James Wendland. InGoal has documented that off-ice work in two detailed training articles: one covering six exercises for hip alignment and balance ^[2], and a follow-up taking those concepts into gaze stability drills using a Fitter First Rocker Board, Bosu Ball, and Trac-Optics goggles ^[3] — both available to InGoal subscribers. Campbell also appeared in InGoal's earlier Bosu Ball training segment ^[4] and rocker board series ^[5] with Wendland.

Campbell's approach to puck handling — incorporating passes into virtually every phase of practice — drew attention at the NET360 Goalie Camp in 2023, where InGoal documented the methods she and goalie coach Brad Kirkwood use to build that skill into warm-ups and drills ^[6]. That work carries over directly to her PWHL practice habits, which Campbell has broken down across four Pro Drills pieces for InGoal. She walked through crease movement fundamentals and the importance of intentional scanning ^[7], explained the visualization drills — including shots simulated with eyes closed — that she and Kirkwood use to build readiness before pucks arrive ^[8], detailed the puck-handling roles all three Toronto goalies played in a drill designed to keep everyone active ^[9], and covered the rotation and edge-control keys behind butterfly push-across work ^[10]. Subscribers can access all four.

"When I started working with [Kirkwood] he would always yell at me for scans but in games I don't think you can ever scan too much," Campbell said in one of those sessions. "I think it's helped make the transition to game play seamless in the sense of always being aware what is coming at you." ^[7]

On the foot and ankle training she did with Wendland, Campbell noted a tangible difference: "Having not done it much before, it felt like my foot was finally opened up and unlocked and before it was super rigid in my skate." ^[11]

Campbell appeared on InGoal Radio in November 2021 alongside Dr. Chris Woo ^[12], and returned for a solo episode in October 2024 ^[13]. InGoal Magazine has covered Kristen Campbell in two podcast appearances, four drill breakdowns, and seven InGoal articles.