A storied playing career has led Krissy Wendell to a spot in the Hockey Hall of Fame.

Born September 12, 1981 in Brooklyn Park, Minnesota, USA, Wendell played boys' minor hockey. In 1997-98, she played part of her sophomore season with the Park Center High School Pirate boys’ team, but her season was cut short due to injury. She was able to play with the girls’ team at her high school in 1998-99 and 1999-2000, leading Park Center High School to a Minnesota state championship in 1999-2000. In those two seasons, Wendell was astonishing. She scored 109 goals and collected 149 points in 1998-99 and scored 110 goals and 165 points in 1999-2000. She was named the Minneapolis All-Metro Girls Player of the Year in both seasons and was the recipient of the Ms. Hockey Award as the best Female Senior High School hockey player in the State of Minnesota for 1999-2000. In 2017, Wendell-Pohl was inducted into the Minnesota State High School League Hall of Fame and she was named the top player for the first 25 years of Minnesota Girls High School hockey by a media outlet. Krissy remains the school’s all-time leading scorer and is among the top ten in Minnesota State Hockey School league history.

After high school, Wendell attended the University of Minnesota where she played three seasons with the Golden Gophers from 2002-03 to 2004-05. In her first year, Krissy was selected as the Second Team Forward Women’s Division 1 All-American. In 2003-04 and 2004-05, the Golden Gophers won the NCAA national championship and Wendell was named to the First Team Forward Women’s Division 1 All-American, as well as the WCHA Player of the Year. In her final season (2004-05), Krissy recorded 104 points on 43 goals and 61 assists and was the recipient of the Patty Kazmaier Award as the top female player in U.S. college hockey. She was named to the (NCAA) Western Collegiate Hockey Association's Top 25 Team.

Krissy Wendell joined the Etobicoke Dolphins of the National Women’s Hockey League (NWHL) in 2006-07. She played with the Minnesota Whitecaps of the Western Women’s Hockey League (WWHL) in 2010-11.

Wendell represented the United States in 147 games, recording 106 goals and 247 points. She played in six IIHF Women’s World Championships, winning Silver with the USA in 1999, 2000, 2001, 2004 and 2007 as well as Gold in 2005. At that tournament, after scoring four goals and adding five assists as well as a shootout goal in the Gold Medal Game, she was named Most Valuable Player and selected for the All-Star Team. Krissy won the Silver Medal with Team USA at the 2002 Olympic Winter Games, and a bronze medal at the 2006 Olympic Winter Games. She served as captain of the 2006 USA Olympic team.

She was awarded USA Hockey’s Bob Allen Women’s Player of the Year in 2001 and was the recipient of USA Hockey’s Bob Johnson Award for international excellence in both 2000 and 2005.

On November 6, 2021, Krissy Wendell was hired by the Pittsburgh Penguins as an amateur scout, primarily scouting players in the Minnesota area.

She was inducted into the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame in 2019. In 2024, she was elected to the Hockey Hall of Fame in the Player Category.