2025 Hall of Fame Feature: Molly Engstrom

Not a day that goes by that Molly Engstrom doesn’t think about her time as a member of the Wisconsin women’s hockey team, playing for a coach like Mark Johnson.

She didn’t come away with an NCAA championship ring while skating for the Badgers from 2001 to 2005, but she helped set the table for a dynastic program that has since claimed a record eight national titles beginning in 2006.

She didn’t win a Western Collegiate Hockey Association regular-season or playoff crown either, but the personal goals she pursued and the knowledge she acquired from an iconic mentor enabled her to become a first-team All-American, a two-time U.S. Olympian, a four-time World Championship gold medalist and now an inductee into the UW Athletic Hall of Fame.

“I had such an amazing experience there,’’ Engstrom said. “At the time it was special, but now, to see what he’s done over the years and what the girls have done year in and year out, that program is something special.’’

So much so that Engstrom is already the ninth women’s hockey player from the Badgers to be elected to the school’s hall of fame, joining Kerry Weiland, Sara Bauer, Jessie Vetter, Carla MacLeod, Meghan Duggan, Hilary Knight, Brianna Decker and Alex Rigsby. Not bad for a program that debuted in 1999.

Of course, Johnson is in there, too – in the first-ever hall of fame class in 1991, no less – for a magical playing career that took him from Madison Memorial High School to UW, to the Olympics, to the NHL, and to Europe. His impact as Wisconsin women’s coach goes far beyond the one line etched on his bronze hall of fame plaque.  

“I think about that program and Mark every single day,’’ Engstrom said. “It was just such a privilege to go to UW and play for him.’’

Even if that meant dealing with his understated ways of communicating. Engstrom maintains that Johnson “probably said 20 words to me’’ during her time at Wisconsin.

“I’m not kidding,’’ she said, pausing for a moment to think. “OK, maybe 50.’’

MacLeod - Engstrom’s friend, roommate, teammate, defensive partner and now an aspiring pro and international coach - explained Johnson’s approach to managing the only UW player to be named WCHA Defensive Player of the Year twice. 

“I think she was a bit of a coaches’ dream that way,’’ MacLeod said. “You knew every single practice and game what you were going to get from Molly. Maybe that’s why she was such a special (defensive) partner because she brought a level of consistency to everything she does.

“Mark’s a man of few words to begin with, but he obviously felt she was doing all right in her game.’’

Johnson confirmed that sentiment and more.

“She was such a good player,’’ he said of Engstrom, “I didn’t want to screw it up.

“As I got to know her and watch her and see how she conducted her business it was like she didn’t need a lot of guidance. She just needed opportunities. She was on a path to have a lot of success.’’

That path has took Engstrom from being named the world’s top defender during the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver – a team coached by Johnson – to becoming the seventh branch of Johnson’s coaching tree.

Engstrom just finished her third season as head coach of the women’s team at the University of Maine. Johnson said the two recently caught up at a coaches’ convention in Florida. 

“We probably talked more now than we ever did when she was a player,’’ he said.

Johnson thought so highly of Engstrom and MacLeod that he had them break down video as graduate students in 2006. Their approach to preparation, as self-described “hockey nerds’’, was a spin-off of their time playing for the Badgers.

“You put Engstrom and MacLeod out there as your defensive pair, you don’t have to worry about a lot of things, especially in your own end,’’ Johnson said.

Both women were reliable and cerebral. Both reveled in Johnson’s innate ability to create an environment where players wanted to come to the rink every day. Both had similar personalities and inner drives.

Both wound up competing in the Winter Olympics in 2006 and ‘10 – Engstrom earned a bronze and silver playing for the Americans, while MacLeod won two gold medals with Team Canada – and both are now residents of the UW Athletic Hall of Fame.

“There’s so many reasons why she’s a Hall of Famer,’’ said MacLeod, who was inducted in 2020. “The hockey speaks for itself. You look at her from our time there and how dominant she was. She was a powerhouse defender. She brought power to everything she did. I look at her commitment off the ice and how in tune she was at being an elite athlete. I was always impressed by how hard she worked and she put in the time to being what she ended up being.

“The program was built on her shoulders. She really led the charge in so many ways. She was such a great human, a great Badger, it genuinely makes me smile that she’s going into the Hall of Fame.’’

MacLeod said having one of her best friends share her journey was beyond special.

“Looking back, I was extremely grateful to be going through those experiences at that time in my career alongside her,’’ MacLeod said. “Of course, we were on opposite teams, but we were both striving to make our national teams.

“I don’t think we ever lost sight of being friends first. We were grateful that we had each other to push one another, to support one another. She really, really helped me become a better player and helped me get to where I got and, hopefully, if I could have played a small part in her to say that, that would have been a privilege for me.’’

It’s no surprise that Engstrom is in the coaching business.

“Her mind for the game has always been elite,’’ MacLeod said. “It showed in her play, in her success. She just has a great hockey mind and I think it’s so thrilling. It makes me smile to know that she’s coaching and impacting players now and she’s able to share her knowledge with them.’’

BEST OF THREE

One: Former UW teammate and current assistant coach Jackie (Crum) Friesen described Engstrom’s shot from the point as a “rocket’’ and accurate to boot. 

“I remember screening the goalie and closing my eyes when she shot,’’ Crum said, “hoping it wouldn’t hit me and most times she didn’t.’’

Two: Engstrom said the most important lesson she learned at Wisconsin was meeting a certain standard of excellence. 

“Just being a part of the athletic program,’’ she said. “That feeling of functioning at such a high standard and carrying that with me. The expectation to be great. The standard was definitely set for me at UW.’’

Three: The person who had the most impact on Engstrom during her time in Madison? Outside of her pal MacLeod, it was Johnson. 

“Mark had a way of just kind of letting things start out and, at the end of the day, a lot of things happen the way they’re going to happen,’’ she said. “I spoke with (Johnson’s wife) Leslie after the gold-medal game in Vancouver. I told her ‘He’s such an amazing mentor.’ Look what he’s done here. Obviously, he’s doing something right.’’