USA Hockey Magazine

Yes, the Badgers will look quite different this season, but that doesn't change what they want to accomplish. "Every team needs different puzzle pieces. Not every puzzle piece is the exact same shape. Being able to put those together is how great teams are built," Gorbatenko said. "Last season doesn't matter. That's in the rearview. We've kind of turned the page, and now we're one of 45 teams competing for the same trophy." Before the new school year starts, Kelly took part in her second USA Hockey Women's National Festival. A member of the U.S. Under-18 Women's National Team that took silver at the 2022 IIHF Under-18 Women's World Championship in Madison, she's now looking ahead at trying to crack the senior national team roster in the future. The 2025 camp was her first and Gorbatenko said that experience real- ly tested who she wants to be as a hockey player. Coming into Wisconsin, she had just hit a late growth spurt that left her feeling uncomfortable in her body. Now 5'11", she's finding her footing as a power forward who can use her size to shield the puck from defend- ers, create space in front of the net, use her reach to poke-check pucks and really embrace her power. "Really playing into my strengths and my identity is something I'm still working at. I've been blessed with these gifts so I'm working on taking the natural advan- tages I have and trans- lating that into hockey," Gorbatenko said. "At my first camp, I had to find my identity and stick to it pretty quickly. Now I've been working to get bet- ter as a power forward and build my strength. In tryout mode, you're just trying to be the best ver- sion of yourself. … I feel like I just have to play into that and not try to reinvent the wheel. Just be confident and stick to my identity." That mindset helps Gorbatenko off the ice too. She learned early on to be incredibly orga- nized as a student athlete. Even her time with friends is scheduled in her calendar. It's the only way she ensures she takes time for it and also doesn't double book something else instead. Getting her degree is important to Gorbatenko, who pointed out that the PWHL didn't yet exist when she enrolled in college. She thought she'd get to have four more years to enjoy hockey and then move on to a non-hockey career. Now she views her education and the opportunities she has academically at UW as "an awesome Plan B." Before then, Gorbatenko is focused on winning another champion- ship and looking forward to doing that with her sisters on the ice with her during her final season at Wisconsin. With a few years separating them, the sisters have had limited opportunities to play together on a team. They've already shared amazing memories at Wisconsin through practice, but Kelly admits it will be different to play actual games as a trio. The feeling of togetherness and camaraderie—with her family and with her teammates —made Kelly fall in love with hockey in the first place. She first put on skates before she was 3 years old because her oldest brother, Mark, started playing and Kelly wanted to do every- thing he did. Now things have come full circle as the three oldest sisters share Kelly's last season in Madison. Time will tell if any of the Gorbatenkos will share a line for the Badgers, but Kelly said the ultimate dream is getting to score what she called a "Gorbatenko hat trick"— a goal where one sister scores with the two assists coming from the other two sisters. "However it comes together, the point is getting to celebrate togeth- er," Kelly concluded. P 44 // SEPTEMBER 2026 USAHOCKEYMAGAZINE.COM PHOTOS COURTESY OF Wisconsin Athletics Every team needs different puzzle pieces." PRIORITIES J G G G L I N U p Kelly Gorbatenko had a goal and an assist in the 2026 NCAA national championship game against Ohio State. WATCH: WCHA Commissioner's Corner with Wisconsin's Kelly Gorbatenko mWqV2E10qWc

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