SCSU women’s hockey picks up forward Payton Holloway on 2nd recruiting try

With the NCAA Division I hockey transfer portal, there are times when schools get a second opportunity to recruit players.

That was the case for Payton Holloway. Holloway, a forward from Tomah, Wisconsin, played forward the last two seasons at Minnesota Duluth.

When she was finishing up playing for Shattuck-St. Mary’s, Holloway narrowed her college choices to

St. Cloud State

and UMD. She chose the Bulldogs at the time. But she entered the transfer portal after last season and will be playing for SCSU this fall.

“I wasn’t getting the opportunity here at Duluth that I was wanting and I wasn’t able to showcase my abilities and really play my game,” Holloway said Thursday, May 1. “I wasn’t going to get any more opportunity next year. I thought I would enter the portal and see what was out there.”

The third week of April, she decided to play for the Huskies.

“It’s definitely stressful,” Holloway said. “There were quite a few schools reaching out. I had quite a few phone calls and quite a few with the same schools. I was able to narrow down right away which ones I was interested in. St. Cloud reached out a few days after I entered the portal. Once they reached out, it was kind of a no-brainer.”

She had an official on-campus visit to SCSU when she playing for Shattuck-St. Mary’s. Her connection to SCSU coach Brian Idalski played a role, and so did his track record.

“His ability to build the program the past few years,” Holloway said of what impresses her about Idalski. “He’s a great coach. He’s the type of coach that I’m looking for. His coaching style, the way he goes about things: I just really like that about him. I’m really excited to be coached by someone like him.”

Idalski said that with the transfer portal, if a team does not get a player the first time around, it’s important to still be on good terms with them.

“When you talk about what the landscape is with recruiting and the transfer portal, there’s a lot of kids who circle back,” he said. “So you try to leave on good terms, knowing you may end up seeing that kid in a couple years in the transfer portal. Building that relationship and those conversations are important for not only then, but down the road.”

Holloway said that her parents, Ian and Laura, are also excited about her choice.

“They’re pretty pumped,” she said of her parents. “My dad is really excited, excited to see me so happy to be going to a place that I think is going to be very good for me, both on and off the ice. They have a good exercise science program. That’s a big plus.

“It’ll be great to go to St. Cloud and play for that coaching staff and be able to develop to where I want to be at the next level.”

In two seasons at UMD, Holloway had a goal and two assists in 60 games.

Clint Austin / Duluth Media Group

Holloway’s father played hockey for the University of Wisconsin-Stout in the 1990s and gave her an early start in hockey.

“My dad put me on skates when I was about 3 years old,” she said.

He also coached her teams until she was 14.

“He’s very knowledgeable and he knows the game really well,” Holloway said of her dad. “There’s always pros and cons to having a parent as a coach. They can be a little extra hard on you.

“But I think him being hard on me really motivated me to be a good player and the player that I am. I’ve always liked a coaching style that is honest. ‘This is what you’re doing wrong. This is you need to do.’ I grew up with him being like that. There was never any negativity. There were never any fights. He was hard on me because he wanted to see me achieve and be great.”

Ian also helped coach when Holloway moved up to AAA hockey and played for the Madison Capitols.

She then decided to go to Shattuck-St. Mary’s, the famous prep school in Faribault, Minnesota.

“I played in Madison for the Capitols for 4-5 years,” Holloway said. “I was looking for something new, something where I could develop a little bit more and get ready for college. Me and a girl from Madison both ended going to Shattuck. We ended up loving it. I think the best decision I’ve made was to go to Shattuck. It’s a great place for hockey and the schooling was awesome.”

She played two seasons for the Under-19 team. Her last season in 2022-23, she led the team in both goals (35) and points (60) in 52 games and helped Shattuck-St. Mary’s win the national title.

CONTRIBUTED

When she was playing for Shattuck-St. Mary’s, she played center. With the Bulldogs, she played mostly wing and she is hoping to get back to playing center this season with the Huskies.

“I’ve always been a center, so I’m really looking forward to that,” she said. “I think I have very good vision on the ice. I read plays very well. I always think a step ahead and I feel like I’m a very smart player and a good shot, great passing. I think I have a great hockey IQ and I’m really excited to be able to showcase that at St. Cloud and do some damage in the WCHA and take down the top teams.”

Idalski said that with the graduation of centers

Emma Gentry

and

Brieja Parent,

Holloway and transfer Sidney Jackel (Lindenwood) are both going to get looks at center.

“The natural centers that we have are young and freshmen,” Idalski said. “I don’t like putting freshmen in the middle of the ice. That’s got to be a pretty special kid to me. We’re going to take a look at it and she did it when she was younger. Jackel’s the same way. Both get a look down the middle of the ice.”

Despite her lack of production at UMD, Idalski sees potential offense in Holloway.

“She’s got a profile for the ability to put the puck in the net,” he said. “It didn’t happen a whole lot at Duluth for whatever reason. She can shoot a puck and she’s going to have the opportunity to come in and compete to be a top-six kid for us and someone that can score. That’s an area we want to upgrade. We’re excited about that possibility and the chance to work with her.”

Holloway said that her younger brother, Parker, is also a forward. Parker is about to graduate from Tomah High School and plans to play for junior hockey for the Wisconsin Woodsmen, an NA3HL team that plays their home games in Tomah.

“(My dad) always tried to get me and my brother to play ‘D,’ but neither of us caved into that,” she said.

While Parker has a new team, Payton is glad that her decision to pick a new school to play for is over.

“The whole not knowing where I was going to go was a little scary, but it was a good scary,” she said. “There was a place out there that was better for me. I’m just happy to be able to focus on getting ready for the season and dialing in on their workout and training stuff.”

Clint Austin / Duluth Media Group