{"id":322152,"date":"2025-11-25T12:42:13","date_gmt":"2025-11-25T12:42:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/322152\/"},"modified":"2025-11-25T12:42:13","modified_gmt":"2025-11-25T12:42:13","slug":"a-most-minnesota-love-story-hockey-glory-a-gophers-power-couple-and-a-trip-to-the-olympics","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/322152\/","title":{"rendered":"A most Minnesota love story: Hockey glory, a Gophers power couple \u2014 and a trip to the Olympics?"},"content":{"rendered":"

MINNEAPOLIS \u2014 When Parker Fox met Taylor Heise, he had no idea who she was.<\/p>\n

Or exactly how big she\u2019d become \u2014 one of the faces of women\u2019s pro hockey.<\/p>\n

Fox came to the University of Minnesota in the summer of 2021 as a touted men\u2019s basketball transfer from Northern State in Aberdeen, South Dakota. The 6-foot-8 forward was rehabbing a torn ACL in the training room, and one of his teammates, Eric Curry, suggested they go across the street to the house where most of the Gophers women\u2019s hockey players lived. They were hosting a little pregame party before a football game. Music. Yard games. Drinks.<\/p>\n

Fox knew Heise\u2019s younger brother, Nate, who played basketball with his brother. That was the first connection he made when he met Heise.<\/p>\n

\u201cI didn\u2019t know Nate Heise had an older sister,\u201d Fox remembers saying.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m like, \u2018That\u2019s just wrong,\u2019\u201d Heise recalls, laughing.<\/p>\n

The first-team All-American Gophers forward, who was entering her senior season, would typically need no introduction in Dinkytown. Or the state.<\/p>\n

The two would go on to partner for wins in games like beer pong. They had good chemistry and competitive banter.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe rest,\u201d Fox says. \u201cWas history.\u201d<\/p>\n

Fox and Heise, engaged in June at the White Bear Yacht Club, will get married in late August of 2026.<\/p>\n

But before they became a Twin Cities sports power couple, they started as friends. Heise, 25, helped Fox, 26, through what he called \u201cdark days\u201d as he rehabbed from three ACL surgeries, having to eventually move on from pro basketball dreams. He\u2019s now working for the Big Ten Network as a color analyst for Gophers games.<\/p>\n

And Fox got a front-row seat for Heise\u2019s rise, from the No. 1 pick of the PWHL draft to a two-time Walter Cup champion with the Minnesota Frost and a likely U.S. Olympian in Milan in February. Heise, who grew up a \u201ccountry girl\u201d playing hoops in the tiny town of Lake City, Minn., is now an idol for so many.<\/p>\n

\u201cI try to relish in that,\u201d Heise says. \u201cLife hits you at some point. But being a cool face of the league opens up so many opportunities to meet young girls \u2014 meet idols I always looked up to. It\u2019s not going to be forever, so you try to take advantage of it while you still have it.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cShe\u2019s made it,\u201d Fox says. \u201cIt\u2019s kind of spooky. Sometimes I don\u2019t think about it as in-depth as she travels from L.A. to Toronto (for endorsement shoots). She\u2019s just wired differently than the average human. You don\u2019t get to the level she\u2019s gotten to if you\u2019re like everyone else. It\u2019s in her DNA a little bit. It\u2019s who she is.\u201d<\/p>\n

Their bond grew easily \u2014 both athletes, both understanding the pressure, the adversity, the schedule.<\/p>\n

Ironically, Heise and Fox grew up loving what turned out to be their partner\u2019s sport.<\/p>\n

Fox\u2019s childhood home was a block from an outdoor rink in Mahtomedi in suburban St. Paul, and his family had Gophers men\u2019s hockey season tickets. He\u2019d proudly wear a throwback jersey from his dad\u2019s closet to games. His passion for the sport gently irked his 6-foot-8, basketball-playing father, but he had ice sports in his blood, too. His mother was a speedskater who competed in the Olympic trials.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy dad would literally make us say, \u2018Hockey bad, basketball good,\u2019 before we went to bed,\u201d Fox says.<\/p>\n

Hockey was never on TV in Heise\u2019s home in Lake City, southeast of the Twin Cities. Her parents, Amy and Tony, were basketball players, and her brothers, Nate and Ryan, would both go on to play college basketball.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe NBA never left my TV,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

Heise started playing hockey in first grade. She had a friend whose dad played junior, and he dropped a flyer into Heise\u2019s backpack about a co-ed hockey team in the area. They had an outdoor rink that parents used to shovel.<\/p>\n

Heise\u2019s parents had signed her up for most sports, from soccer to softball to volleyball and track. Basketball was her love. After that flyer, hockey became something she\u2019d play with her buddies, just as a hobby. But another parent watching Heise practice that first year suggested to her parents that they \u201cshould probably sign her up for something more legit than this.\u201d They signed her up for an all-girls team in nearby Red Wing, where she eventually starred in high school, before being recruited to Minnesota. Her jersey is retired at her old arena in Red Wing.<\/p>\n

Did Heise ever envision a world where she was a basketball star instead?<\/p>\n

\u201cI could have been Caitlin Clark or her No. 2,\u201d Heise jokes. \u201cBut I haven\u2019t really had to think about it because it was a seventh-grade decision. I feel so removed from that. I feel, in those years, I did have those thoughts, \u2018If (hockey) doesn\u2019t work out for me, I really screwed myself.\u2019 If I didn\u2019t go to Red Wing, I would have been playing basketball in Lake City, and I don\u2019t know where that would have led me.<\/p>\n

\u201cObviously being competitive, I would have figured out a way to be good at what I was doing. I\u2019m glad that hockey was brought to me at a young age, because if not, I definitely wouldn\u2019t be here.\u201d<\/p>\n

Fox figured he\u2019d be playing pro basketball somewhere right now, like his brother, Brody, who is in Estonia after a college career at the Citadel. But his body just wasn\u2019t up for it. Beyond the three surgeries, he\u2019s had six meniscus tears.<\/p>\n

The first couple of years that Fox and Heise knew each other, they mostly just supported each other as peers. Fox and his buddies would hang out at Heise\u2019s hockey house. Heise is a good baker, and they\u2019d rush over for cinnamon rolls.<\/p>\n

After Fox\u2019s second ACL surgery, he says he was \u201cin a dark place, mentally,\u201d and Heise connected him with the director of sports psychology at the school, Dr. Carly Anderson. Heise had worked with her for years.<\/p>\n

\u201c(Anderson) made a huge difference in my recovery,\u201d Fox says.<\/p>\n

Heise remembers telling Anderson, \u201cIt\u2019s important for you to figure his s\u2014 out.\u201d Now she tells her, \u201cMe and Parker might not be together had it not been for you.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI thought my whole life I\u2019d do basketball forever,\u201d Fox says. \u201cComing from my old school, I was a top-five-ranked transfer in the portal. \u2026 I had overseas offers for hundreds of thousands of dollars.<\/p>\n

\u201cI would have loved to carve out an NBA career. Got hurt twice, and that shifted my focus. It centered me in a way.\u201d<\/p>\n

Part of that was forming new connections at the school, and Heise became the most important. They started officially dating in February of 2023. They felt like they were cut from the same cloth \u2014 blown away by how alike their families were. Now, they do biweekly dinners with Fox\u2019s parents, Neal and Heather, and Fox is part of the \u201cNCFC\u201d (\u201cNo Choice Friends Club\u201d) Snapchat group chat with Heise\u2019s family and friends. Heise says it\u2019s like hitting the \u201cin-law lottery.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt felt meant to be,\u201d Heise says.<\/p>\n

Fox was with Heise when they found out in 2023 that the PWHL was being formed.<\/p>\n

They were watching a movie, and she flipped over her phone and had \u201clike 65\u201d text messages. The timing worked out well for Heise. She\u2019d received a fifth year of eligibility at Minnesota due to COVID-19, so her college career was ending just as the pro league was starting. Then Minnesota got the No. 1 pick, and then-GM Natalie Darwitz said it was a no-brainer to pick Heise, the homegrown star.<\/p>\n

\u201cI didn\u2019t understand she would become the MVP of it \u2014 the best player in the world,\u201d Fox says. \u201cAnd be able to win championships and make endorsement money. She loved to play hockey, and that\u2019s what she wanted to do with her life. We went from freaking out (over) which city she was going to live in, to, \u2018Are we going to be able to continue our relationship somewhere else?\u2019 to, boom, Minnesota getting the first pick.<\/p>\n

\u201cI remember, like, \u2018No way,’\u201d Heise says. \u201cLooking back, I don\u2019t think things could have worked out any better.\u201d<\/p>\n

Heise embraced becoming the face of the franchise, taking pride in talking to so many young hockey players. She has a platform now \u2014 and endorsement deals, including Xfinity Comcast, Alliance, Waggle, Chipotle, EA Sports, Upper Deck and CCM.<\/p>\n

Heise is working on helping CCM design a women\u2019s line of under-equipment clothing.<\/p>\n

The PWHL doesn\u2019t pay salaries like the NHL\u2019s. Heise says most of what she brings in \u2014 less than $500,000, she says \u2014 is from sponsorships.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe live a very good life,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

One item left on Heise\u2019s bucket list is making the U.S. Olympic team. She seems like a shoo-in, and not just because of her highlight-reel fake-shot assists during the U.S.-Canada Rivalry Series.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\n Taylor Heise plays for the U.S. during a recent Rivalry Series game in Buffalo. (Rebecca Villagracia \/ Getty Images)<\/p>\n

But Heise isn\u2019t taking anything for granted \u2014 not after the sting of getting cut from the 2022 team.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was probably the best thing that happened to me,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

At first, it wasn\u2019t. She went to her childhood home in Lake City for a couple of days and sulked on the couch. This had been her dream since she was 14 and watched Hillary Knight & Co. at the 2014 Olympics.<\/p>\n

Missing the 2022 Games gave Heise a better understanding of how hard she needed to work and what she needed to improve on to make the team.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe (Olympic) camp I had wasn\u2019t my best, and I know that,\u201d Heise says. \u201cI had to eat that. But at the end of the day, you don\u2019t just make it because of one week. It\u2019s a puzzle piece. You didn\u2019t do this, you didn\u2019t do that. I had to take a hard look in the mirror and say, \u2018I need to get faster, I need to get better, I need to get better at my stickhandling.\u2019 After last time, I said, \u2018If this comes along again, I want to make sure the next time, I don\u2019t even give it a thought \u2014 my spot is on that team.\u2019<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s amazing to think about the possibility of being there.\u201d<\/p>\n

Fox and Heise, who bought a house in the Como area of St. Paul together last year, are back on Minnesota\u2019s campus on this October day, visiting old haunts.<\/p>\n

The two pop into one of their favorite spots, Tony\u2019s Diner. \u201cThey have the best French toast,\u201d says Heise, who hugs the owner, Tony, like he\u2019s family. Tony has helped cater both Gophers and Frost events.<\/p>\n

He takes a peek at Heise\u2019s new jewelry: the silver engagement ring.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is probably the first time you\u2019ve seen us together since,\u201d Heise says.<\/p>\n

\u2018We should get the Champagne going!\u201d Tony replies.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\n Parker Fox and Taylor Heise sit at Tony\u2019s Diner. (Joe Smith \/ The Athletic)<\/p>\n

Fox asked Heise\u2019s parents\u2019 permission to marry their daughter during a Christmas-time visit, then worked with the White Bear club for a special surprise. He had them reach out to Heise and their families for a \u201cnew member dinner\u201d and photo shoot.<\/p>\n

\u201cCompletely made up,\u201d Fox quips.<\/p>\n

Heise could tell Fox was nervous. He couldn\u2019t make eye contact in the days before the proposal and was stress-cleaning. But she was still shocked when Fox dropped to one knee by the dock under a flower arch his mother had made. Fox was sweating from nerves and teared up. Heise, known to laugh when she\u2019s surprised, went right into \u201csmiling and laughing.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt just made sense,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

\u201cI feel like we\u2019ve known each other forever,\u201d Fox says.<\/p>\n

They\u2019ve already made their rebuilt 1918-style home their own. Their families helped with the landscaping. Heise\u2019s Christmas gift for Fox was a setup to watch games in the backyard. He just has to water her flowers when she\u2019s out of town for hockey.<\/p>\n

Fox gets on the ice with Heise occasionally, passing her the puck for light drills. He beat her in a shooting drill once, and she, in turn, beat him in a basketball game of \u201cP-I-G.\u201d They also compete in pickleball and golf.<\/p>\n

Eventually, they hope, there will be kids. Heise has seen teammates like Kendall Coyne-Schofield play high-level hockey as moms. But there\u2019s no rush.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019d say I\u2019ve got at least three, four, five more years before we start looking at that route,\u201d Heise says.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe\u2019s at the top of her game, just doing everything she wanted to do, achieving all her dreams,\u201d Fox adds.<\/p>\n

Fox is Heise\u2019s biggest fan. On this day, he\u2019s wearing the new Heise line of hats from Waggle.<\/p>\n

He may not have known who Heise was when they met, but he\u2019s proud that she\u2019s become \u201ca household name.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhile Taylor is playing hockey still,\u201d he says, \u201cI\u2019ll be wherever she is.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"MINNEAPOLIS \u2014 When Parker Fox met Taylor Heise, he had no idea who she was. Or exactly how…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":322153,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[377],"tags":[5,1765,23473,38,2602,1581],"class_list":{"0":"post-322152","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-hockey","8":"tag-hockey","9":"tag-minnesota-frost","10":"tag-minnesota-golden-gophers","11":"tag-minnesota-wild","12":"tag-olympics","13":"tag-womens-hockey"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nhl\/115610395993581418","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/322152","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=322152"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/322152\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/322153"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=322152"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=322152"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=322152"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}