Abbey Murphy started off 2026 with a pop — and she knew exactly what she was doing.

In an early January showdown between Murphy’s No. 3 ranked Minnesota and No. 12 Minnesota State, the senior captain carried the puck through the neutral zone late in the first period and then decided to dazzle.

“Most people would never even think about doing that,” Minnesota coach Brad Frost said. “Or have the courage to try.”

Murphy flipped the puck into the air and knocked it down between a defender’s legs. It was a move she saw on social media a few weeks back from Michigan State forward Ryker Lee, a Nashville Predators prospect. Lee and Murphy are summer training buddies in Chicago.

Lee pulled off the move and managed to get a shot off, which was saved by the goalie. When Murphy regained control of the puck, she dished it to freshman Bella Fanale for the easy tap-in.

Murphy’s highlight assist went viral. ESPN’s John Buccigross called it “the greatest assist of all time.”

It’s called the greatest assist of all time. Abbey Murphy. 28 goals and 50 points leads the nation. #cawlidgehawkey 🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸 https://t.co/GnIJzHnHTW

— BucciOT.Com (@Buccigross) January 11, 2026

“Ridiculous,” said her Team USA linemate Taylor Heise, the 2024 PWHL playoff MVP. “That will be called the Murphy for literally the end of time.”

Murphy would have been a top pick in the 2025 PWHL draft but returned to Minnesota for a chance to win a national championship. Frost gives his 23-year-old captain a lot of freedom on the ice; this is how she chooses to use it.

“To see women’s hockey get that recognition it deserves, obviously is a main reason why I try to do that kind of stuff,” Murphy said. “Just to be different and shine on a different stage.”

Murphy is projected as one of Team USA’s biggest breakout stars at this year’s Olympics. She is a hockey unicorn.

“She calls herself the Brad Marchand of women’s hockey, but I think she’s more than that,” said Heise, the star forward for the PWHL’s Minnesota Fleet. “She’s a dynamic forward who can go scrummy into corners but also can toe drag you and make you look like a fool.”

When she left for Milan, Murphy led the NCAA in goals (36 in 26 games) as well as penalties (23).

“Me being a coach here for 26 years, I don’t know of any other player like Murph,” Frost said. “I’ve kind of used the [Matthew] Tkachuk or Marchand comparison, but I think that’s doing a disservice to Murph. She has the skill of a Connor McDavid and a chip similar to Marchand.”

Adds Team USA coach John Wroblewski: “There’s always that fine line with a player that plays the way that she does, and I’m truly amazed at how she’s mastered it. I’ve never seen that combination.”

At 5-foot-5 and 145 pounds, the Chicago-area native is a lethal blend of skill, confidence and physicality. Bodychecking is illegal in college or international women’s hockey, but organic body contact happens. While Murphy pushes the boundaries, sometimes her intensity is too much at that level.

According to her teammates and coaches, referees sometimes like to make an example of Murphy. She is, after all, the player who dared to take a slap shot into an empty net last April.

“A lot of times as an agitator, it takes a really long time to be a consistent pest for the opposition,” Wroblewski said. “And then, the referees then become aware of it, and they try to take an agenda into their hands too and try to nullify the pest. They have to gain the respect of the referees, and they have to be able to solidify it with the way that they play.”

Murphy’s play should say it all. She and Heise were Team USA’s most dynamic duo in the four-game Rivalry Series sweep over Canada, with Murphy scoring five goals. That includes the first American hat trick against Canada since Hilary Knight at the 2023 World Championships.

But Murphy is also the type of player who likes to chirp to engage deeper in the game. Similar to the elite professional pests, like Abby Roque or Matthew Tkachuk, Murphy has been known to escalate things.

“Other teams have at least one or two people on their team that are told that you have to rattle Abbey. That’s what it is,” Heise said. “But if you go at her, it’s all hands on deck. You better hope that your mom, your sister, whoever she knows about you, you’re done.”

There was a time Wroblewski worried Murphy wouldn’t be able to dial things back. When he took over the program following the 2022 Olympics, the Americans had a tryout camp in Buffalo in August for the upcoming Worlds.

“You want to talk about toeing the line? She was so far over the line that I was like we can’t bring this,” Wroblewski said. “Her intensity was so heavy. I didn’t know if she was going to hurt one of yours or the opponent. As a new coach I was like, we can’t start the new squad with this type of play.”

Murphy was one of two teenagers on the 2022 Olympic roster that won silver. Now she was being left at home. Wroblewski and the coaching staff brought her back for the following Rivalry Series.

“Slowly and surely you get to understand the person behind all of this, and that’s when things totally change,” Wroblewski said. “She is fun to be around. She’s cool yet she’s got a degree of intensity, but honestly much more, laid back and chill. So considerate. It’s unbelievable that when she puts those skates and helmet on, she’s a different person.”

Said Heise: “I think people sometimes miss out on who she is, and that’s actually a very respectful human. It’s always yes ma’am and thank you. I want to make it known she will do anything for you. She is from a family where family is everything.”

Murphy grew up in the southwest suburbs of Chicago. The values came from her dad, Ed, a United States Marine, and her mom, Lynne, a trauma nurse and former college softball player. Murphy has two older brothers. One played water polo and football, the other was a wrestler. Nobody in the family played hockey.

But Murphy once saw a neighbor playing in his backyard and wanted to try. “A couple days later, my dad knocked on their house and was like, ‘You’re going to waste me so much money,'” Murphy laughs.

When she was 15, Murphy’s dad gave her coach permission to give her the business if she took undisciplined penalties. As she ascended in the sport, so did her reputation.

“Playing college hockey, you can get into the heads of other people. And I became a very hated player very quickly,” Murphy said. “Sometimes I took it too far, absolutely. But I’d have Frosty there to yell at me or sit me if he had to. I mean, it was needed.”

The biggest difference in women’s hockey since the last Olympics is the emergence of the PWHL. No longer do the Americans or Canadians have to centralize for training camps ahead of the game; everyone either plays in college hockey or the even more competitive PWHL, meaning they’re entering these Games in top form. Jayna Hefford, the PWHL executive vice president of hockey operations and Hockey Hall of Famer, predicted an Olympic tournament with unprecedented physicality, speed and skill.

“The game has been elevated since four years ago,” Hefford said. “And it’s going to be noticeable.”

There’s also a new wrinkle in the Olympics: The next generation of stars have built brands that connect fans before they become professionals. Murphy is in the mix for the top pick of this year’s PWHL draft depending on who selects No. 1. But it’s an absolutely stacked class, and Team USA teammates Caroline Harvey and Laila Edwards will make equal cases.

Murphy’s greatest gift is her complexity. She is the alpha superstar that’s dribbling pucks in the air for viral highlights, and also the prototypical hockey player who went out of her way in every interview to credit her teammate who actually scored. “If Bella Fanale didn’t tap that in backdoor, then it’s not really anything,” she said.

Murphy, at 23, is a superstar who knows who she is.

“I’m someone who likes to play with speed and a lot of tenacity and love to make plays and obviously score goals and stuff like that. And it’s a huge part of my game,” Murphy said. “But obviously you hear the other side, kind of that annoying agitator on the ice who honestly just does whatever it takes to win. That’s my game.”

Fulham are likely to reignite their interest in United States men’s striker Ricardo Pepi in the summer transfer window after the potential move broke down this January, sources have told ESPN.

Fulham and PSV Eindhoven were close to agreeing on a fee in the region of €37 million ($43.9m) for the USMNT striker, but the deal was contingent on PSV finding a replacement, according to sources.

With the transfer deadline ticking ever closer, PSV pulled the plug on the deal as they were unable to find a suitable candidate to fill Pepi’s shoes.

The Premier League side has already recruited Oscar Bobb this window and was keen to add the young striker as well.

Pepi, 23, has been in fantastic form for PSV this season, scoring eight goals in 15 Eredivisie matches. He is seen as an ideal target to bolster Fulham’s forward options, though he is out currently with a broken forearm.

Sources say that Fulham are keen to explore another move for Pepi in the summer.

The 23-year-old began his career at FC Dallas before spells at Augsburg and Groningen before joining PSV, where he has 26 goals in 60 games, alongside 13 in 34 for the USMNT.

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