Minnesota’s entry in the newly formed Professional Women’s Hockey League (PWHL) begins play Wednesday night in Boston with a roster as familiar as it is talented.

With a host of former Gophers and Minnesotans, headlined by the No. 1 pick in the draft, Taylor Heise, Team Minnesota appears poised to make some noise in the six-team league that will play a 24-game regular season that runs through late April.

“We’re going to play with a lot of pace, a lot of determination, a lot of grit,” said head coach Ken Klee, who has been on the job for a week after Charlie Burggraf resigned for personal reasons.

“We can make plays; we have a lot of skilled players. I want to play with the puck. I’m a coach who believes the team that has the puck the most usually gets more wins.”

Former Gophers defenseman Lee Stecklein, who will anchor Team Minnesota’s blue line, played for Klee in the U.S. national program and believes he will be the leader the team needs.

“He’s a great coach; he makes hockey fun,” Stecklein said. “He keeps it simple, and he’s teaching you constantly. I love learning from him, and I’m so grateful that he’s here.”

While Klee’s late addition to the bench is far from ideal, he believes his experience in the national program and his familiarity with seven of the players who played on the various national teams will make the transition relatively smooth.

“The one nice thing about my experience with the national team is that I usually had a week of practice and then we have a tournament,” Klee said. “I’m used to doing everything fast; having meetings, making sure our communication is very good.

“Its obviously quicker than a normal training camp, but I’ve had experience, so it’s not like I need a three-week camp to get them ready.”

Team Minnesota consists of a blend of veteran players and those who recently ended their college careers. It’s an impressive group, but the competition looks to be equally talented.

“The teams are really deep with only six in the league,” Stecklein said. “When you look at every roster, they are all really good. There have been so many iterations (of women’s pro hockey) in recent years, and with two leagues it kind of spread the talent out.

“So I do think it will be a higher caliber of hockey. And being able to practice together — which I haven’t been able to do the last few years — it helps improve the level of play.”

Team Minnesota’s top line is centered by Heise, the 2022 Patty Kazmaier winner, with 31-year-old U.S. women’s hockey legend Kendall Coyne and 29-year-old Czech Republic standout Denisa Krizova on the wings.

“Denisa and Kendall have a little chemistry (collegiately) with Northeastern,” Klee said. “Taylor is one of the best players in the world, so that is an easy (grouping).”

Team Minnesota should get plenty of scoring from its second line as well, a group that is made up of former Gophers standouts Grace Zumwinkle and Kelly Pannek and Finish star Susanna Tapani.

“Susanna is a dynamic skater; a shooter, a finisher,” Klee said. “When I coached against her. I felt she was an unbelievable player who just didn’t have a lot to play with. Now that she has girls who are just as good as she is, I’m really excited about how good she can be.”

The checking line consists of Liz Schepers (Mound), Sophia Kunin (Wayzata) and Brittyn Fleming. “They can all fly,” Klee said.

Clair DeGeorge, Michela Cava and Brooke Bryant make up the fourth line. Former Gopher Abby Boreen also is in the mix.

Stecklein is joined by Maggie Flaherty (Lakeville) on Team Minnesota’s top defensive pairing.

U.S. Olympian Nicole Hensley has established herself as the team’s No. 1 goaltender, but Klee said Amanada Leveille (New Hope) and Maddie Rooney (Andover) also will get playing time. Lauren Bench (Eagan) also is on the roster in a reserve role.

“It’s going to be their play,” Klee said of how he will use his goaltenders. “Who gets hot, who is playing the best is going to play.”