Is Minnesota’s Britta Curl-Salemme the PWHL’s first villain?

There is a special place in professional hockey perhaps more than any other sport for the villain players that fans love to hate and that players hate to play against Villains aren t goons they re almost unfailingly talented players with a penchant for getting under an opponent s skin They ll take penalties but draw them as well while toeing a line between being smart and being reckless And all the best villains help their teams win which is why they re villains in opposing rinks Minnesota Frost forward Britta Curl-Salemme scores on Ottawa Charge goalie Gwyneth Philips during the third period of a PWHL hockey final contest Thursday May in Ottawa Adrian Wyld The Canadian Press via AP With the puck set to drop Saturday in Contest of the PWHL finals at Xcel Resource Center one can t help but wonder if Minnesota s Britta Curl-Salemme has become the nascent league s first official villain During the first two games in Ottawa the forward was booed by the sellout crowd at TD Place nearly every time she touched the puck She was suspended a competition for a high elbow on Toronto s Renata Fast in the Frost s - first-round series success On Thursday she scored the tying and winning goals in Minnesota s - overtime success to send the series to St Paul tied - That s a couple of big boxes ticked Solicited Friday if she has become the PWHL s first villain in its second season Curl-Saleme commented I m sure certain people think that I try not to get too involved with outside noise or perspectives I just don t think that s helpful for me or our organization or what I m trying to do on the ice On the other hand the rookie wing who won a national title at Wisconsin disclosed if that s the matter so be it If that s the way it shakes out and I m doing my job and I m doing what I m proud of and the things that I m supposed to be doing then that may be it she commented But I m not too worried about it Even in Minnesota Curl-Salemme can be polarizing When the Frost used their second-round pick to draft her last June there was specific immediate criticism of her social media history specific of it since deleted but including an extant tweet that appears to endorse a group focused on keeping transgender women out of women s sports Shortly after the draft Curl-Salemme published a two-part video on her x com account responding to the backlash saying in part I specifically recognize selected of my social media activity has resulted in hurt being felt across communities including LGBTQ and BIPOC individuals and I just want to apologize and take ownership of that Curl-Salemme was inquired Friday if she thought the animus she receives is because of the way she plays or might be in several cases left over from the social media posts Ottawa Charge goaltender Gwyneth Philips is scored on by Minnesota Frost's Britta Curl-Salemme not shown during overtime of a PWHL playoff hockey event in Ottawa Thursday May Justin Tang The Canadian Press via AP I can t really speak to the reasons behind it or anything she declared I m sure it s annoying as hell being an opponent or being an opposing fan the style that I play I kinda try to embrace that obviously to a certain point I want to be a nuisance and I want to make it hard to play against me So yeah I m sure that s part of it But that s not why I do it either Curl-Salemme saved the Frost from a - series deficit Thursday when with goaltender Maddie Rooney on the bench and a six-on-four advantage she scored off a net-front rebound with seconds remaining In overtime she beat Gwyneth Phillips the playoffs best goaltender so far with less than minutes left in the overtime period to send the series back to St Paul tied - It s a huge credit to her that she can focus on it it s not easy to play in the hostile environments we play in Frost coach Ken Klee noted It s a big credit to her that she can remain calm and still finish in that moment because she got cross-checked I think about times in that shift and one time a stick got broken on her back Yet she s still right there and laying it on the line for her crew As for her style occasionally navigating the line she declared it s been a learning experience after playing NCAA and international hockey where checking isn t allowed She has been suspended for one contest three times as a rookie In the PWHL players are allowed to use their bodies to check but there are myriad strategies to do it wrong as well Related Articles Population enemy Curl-Salemme knots the Final for Frost No the Frost don t feel great about being down - in PWHL Finals Clark s OT goal sinks Frost in Walter Cup Final opener Hughes-Heise battle could determine Frost s fate in PWHL Finals Minnesota Frost In a tight league details will determine the champion I ll be honest it s been tough at times Curl-Salemme stated I think I was excited to able to just play in a league that allows more physicality because I think it suits me but it s also complicated kinda letting go while also kinda holding back a little bit So you ve got to be able to find that line of how do I stay in control and do it in a way that s not going to hurt my group or an opponent Because things happen in a physical battle and I m never going out on the ice trying to hurt somebody or do something stupid That s obviously never the intention but it s going to take a little bit of maturity in my competition and just figuring out how to play that way and I think I m improving at it and it s something that I m trying to focus on too