New Year’s resolutions for each PWHL team

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Boston Fleet — Stay out of the penalty box

The Fleet have racked up a lot of penalties, with 56 penalty minutes total across the team in seven games. Their last two games against the Toronto Sceptres and Montréal Victoire made Boston’s discipline problem particularly obvious. In Toronto, three penalties within six minutes in the first period brought any momentum in the Fleet’s favor to a screeching halt. In Montréal, the Victoire’s power play took advantage of a short-handed opponent to generate offense. Boston’s penalty kill is effective, but not wildly so. While penalties do not tell the whole story of the Fleet’s struggles, they sit at the bottom of the league table. If Boston can keep inertia in their favor by staying out of the box, perhaps other elements of their game can be given enough room to slot into place. 

Minnesota Frost — Don’t get hurt

The Frost are off to a blistering start to the 2024-25 season. They’re putting up a lot of goals while making their opponents work to do the same. After an overtime loss to the New York Sirens to open their season, Minnesota hasn’t lost a game in their last six, though the Sirens and the Boston Fleet have made them sweat in a shootout and overtime. But to keep the ball rolling, it’s critical that the Frost stay healthy. Losing Sophie Jacques, one of their best defenders, early in the season was tough to swallow. While other players like Claire Thompson have stepped up, it’s never good for a team to be without such a critical contributor. Unlike some other teams, Minnesota does have some solid depth, which is in their favor. But if they get hit with the injury bug, a team like Montréal or New York will be waiting in the wings to knock the Frost from the top of the league table.  

Montréal Victoire — Solve power play problem

There have been a lot of good things going for the Victoire this season, but it’s glaringly obvious that their power play is not one of them. Their power play percentage is under 10%, making it the worst in the league, and they’ve gone four straight games without a goal on the player advantage. For how strong their offense seems on paper, with PP units featuring players like Marie-Philip Poulin, Laura Stacey and Erin Ambrose, it’s befuddling that they have been unable to capitalize on the power play. This happened last season as well, with major power play struggles early in the season before finding middling success later on. Perhaps this pattern will repeat, but a more effective power play could be groundbreaking for the Victoire. 

New York Sirens — Pump up secondary scoring

The Sirens have one of the best top lines in the league — led by Alex Carpenter and Sarah Fillier — but if they want to remain competitive as the season wears on, they need more of their roster to generate offense. This is a problem the Sirens can reasonably solve, though. Jessie Eldridge and Abby Roque are struggling more than might be expected, but shaking up the lines shows promise to help them produce. There’s also the possibility for more offense from down the lineup; New York has one of those rosters where it feels like it could be anyone’s day if the ball gets rolling. If they can find the right combinations for a player not named Carpenter or Fillier to put the puck in the back of the net, the new year could look bright for the Sirens.

Ottawa Charge — Make the most of the trade

Just before the end of 2024, the Charge were involved in a blockbuster trade with the Toronto Sceptres. On Jan. 31, Ottawa acquired forward Victoria Bach and defender Jocelyne Larocque while sending defender Savannah Harmon and forward Haley Scamurra to Toronto. While many rushed to deem the Sceptres the winners of this trade, the Charge have a great opportunity to use the player shuffle to their advantage. Larocque has been a longtime stalwart for Team Canada’s blueline and, as the current oldest player in the PWHL, she brings leadership and experience that can benefit Ottawa. She’s had some difficulties in Toronto, but perhaps Larocque can gel with a new partner on the Charge and bounce back. Similarly, Bach has struggled to find her stride in Toronto, so perhaps a change of scenery can benefit her game and her new team. She can play both center and winger, so she may be able to add a new element to the Charge’s forward core. If the team from Canada’s capital can use their new additions to build momentum, the new year could signify progress for the Charge. 

Toronto Sceptres — Get Natalie Spooner back

Natalie Spooner’s 2024 performance for Toronto was revelatory. Much has been said about her historic season, with plenty of commentary on how missing her for the start of the season hurts the Sceptres’ chances. Spooner led the charge offensively in Toronto, but this season, no one has stepped up to fill that role. While we still don’t have an exact date for her comeback, Spooner skated with the team to close out the year, so we might see her back on the ice sooner rather than later. When she returns, even if she is not producing at the same levels as last year, the Sceptres will be counting on her to drive offense in a way that can hopefully get more out of players like Sarah Nurse, Daryl Watts and Izzy Daniels. A healthy Natalie Spooner would be a key piece of Toronto’s PWHL game plan for 2025. 

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What to read

In the New Year’s spirit, Hailey Salvian and Shayna Goldman at The Athletic recapped the ten biggest stories in women’s hockey from 2024, from championships to broken records. My colleague at The Ice Garden Geremy also took a more stats-focused approach to New Year’s wishes for each PWHL team. Looking forward, Ian Kennedy wrote for The Hockey News about ten hopes for women’s hockey in 2025. 

At TIG, we’re getting ready for the 2025 U18 Women’s World Championship, which starts Jan. 4 in Vantaa, Finland. Geremy has a great preview of the tournament, while J Gray breaks down each team’s rosters. Nicole Haase also has some great U18 Worlds coverage for The Victory Press, starting with a Group A preview. Nicole will also be attending the tournament, so she and The Victory Press are a great resource if you want to follow along!

I talked a little bit about how the Ottawa Charge can serve to benefit from the big trade, but Curtis Martin from The Hockey News goes into more depth on what the Toronto Sceptres get from the player swap. In other PWHL news, I talked to some fans at a New York Sirens game about PWHL games and fan experience. Also for TIG, Elisha Côté spoke with goaltender Gwyneth Philips from the Ottawa Charge about her PWHL debut.