Montreal Victoire
After generating the most points in the league last year the Victoire are probably disappointed with their semi-finals exit to the Ottawa Charge. The expansion draft has taken away several top players so it will no doubt be an adjustment. That being said, they still have their leader and women’s hockey superstar Marie-Philip Poulin in place and she will no doubt continue to make solid contributions. With the leagues #1 goaltender, anything is possible.
Leaders / Who to watch for: MPP, Stacey, Ambrose (D), Desbiens (G)
Toronto Sceptres
Season two saw the Sceptres dip to 2nd from their 1st place standing in the augural PWHL season the year prior. The Minnesota Frost bounced them both years in the first round of the playoffs. Hannah Miller and Sarah Nurse are big losses in expansion to the Goldeneyes. They still have team leaders in Watts & Spooner, and hopefully their likely new goalie starter in Kirk pans out. They are likely in the middle batch fighting for the 3rd or 4th playoffs spot.
Ottawa Charge
The Charge beat their Victoire and even took Game 1 off of the Frost in the finals but no luck the rest of the way. The Chargers have decent goaltending, but I don’t see enough talent up front or on defense just yet. Based on point totals the Charge lost 5 key pieces in their roster. I like their first and second round picks; hopefully they can make an immediate impact.
Vancouver Goldeneyes
Alas, the paper tiger. When putting together the boxpool, I was shocked to see that 9 players had double digits point totals last season; two of them on defense. The stars have aligned, but now the team as a season full of hockey to practice their game so that they can go win some playoff series. Too many solid players to look out for; but I’ve listed who I see leading this team.
Leaders / who to watch for: Miller, Vanisova, Gardiner, Jacques (D), Thompson (D)
PWHL Season Pick
The Vegas Golden Knights are no doubt on my mind.
Some way, somehow, the PWHL Vancouver franchise has stockpiled a paper tiger. At +350 pre-season; I think there’s value in backing this now; before games start to be played and this drops into the +225 range. I have TOR/SEA also closely ranked behind that and maybe the defending champs in the mix too.
Jocks in Jills Podcast
Olympic Gold Medalist Tessa Bonhomme & groundbreaking broadcaster Julia Tocheri examine the past week in the PWHL and international play. Featuring weekly interviews with players, coaches and personalities making an impact on and off the ice.
