PWHL Monthly Recap – February 2026

It was a busy and exciting month in the PWHL! We saw some big changes in the standings, saw some stars solidify their continued strong seasons, and so much more! Let’s dive into what happened and where we stand. 

Standings

We have seen a pretty big shakeup in the standings; the top 2 teams remain the same from last month, but everyone else has changed positions. We are basically at the halfway point of the season as we sit in this Olympic break, so there’s still a lot of hockey to be played, but there are some things that are starting to stand out at this point in the season. Ottawa and Vancouver have started to pull themselves up, but they still have work to do if they want to solidify a spot the top 4 and therefore in a playoff spot. Toronto and Seattle are the teams that seem to be struggling the most right now in terms of how they’re looking on the ice, so it’s no surprise to see them in the bottom 2 spots in the standings.  

This Olympic break could be a good reset for teams, and teams could also benefit if players come back from the Olympics with extra energy and confidence after having good performances in Milan. Of course, the opposite could be true if players get injured (hopefully not, I want to see everyone stay healthy and play their best in Milan!) or are just tired from a busy and emotional Olympic tournament. There are still a lot of games yet to come, but teams will need to start strong after the Olympic break to give themselves the best chance to make the playoffs.

Top Scorers

Looking at these numbers, it’s pretty clear that the Frost have had the success they have due to a crazy amount of top scorers on their team. They have played well enough defensively and in goal, but scoring has clearly been their strong suit, with the top 4 players in total points, and 3 of the top 7 in goals. The Charge are also well represented among goals and points, but they have given up as many goals as they have scored this year, so if they can tighten up defensively, their scorers can help them turn things around quickly. 

Rookie and 1^st overall draft pick Kristýna Kaltounková continues to make it look like it will be an easy vote for rookie of the year if she continues playing the way she has. She’s now leading the league in goals and has had a fantastic first season so far overall. She and the other rookies and young players for the Sirens have been a big reason for their success so far this season. Kaltounková is primed to be one of the break out stars at the Olympics, which could also help her overall confidence and play when the PWHL season resumes at the end of February.

Goalies

There really isn’t any surprise which goalies are leading the league; they are probably the best 2 goalies in the world for women’s hockey, and they will be the primary goalies for Team Canada and Team USA at the Olympics. Ann-Renée Desbiens for the Victoire, and Aerin Frankel for the Fleet, have been a huge part of their teams’ success this season, and have established themselves as those great goalies from years of being at the top of their game. The Fleet and Victoire have great teams overall, but having a goalie of this level definitely helps to elevate a team and give them an extra edge.  

Nicole Hensley for the Frost and Emerance Maschmeyer for the Goldeneyes have established themselves as good goalies for a long time as well, and they are both having strong seasons for their teams. It’s also fun to see newer and younger goalies like Kayle Osborne and Raygan Kirk have success for their teams.

All-Time Scoring

We saw a number of players add themselves to the list of 50+ overall career points, so it has been fun to see players continue to surpass that fun milestone. Taylor Heise had a strong last month that catapulted her onto this list as well. It’s also interesting to me to see how many more assists Heise has than goals; she has by far the lowest goal total and highest assist total among players with 50+ points. She’s an incredibly talented goal scorer, so if she found a way to score a few more goals but not see her assist numbers drop off much, she could really rocket up this list even faster and help a strong scoring group for the Frost become even more potent.

There really aren’t any surprises in terms of the people on this list; it’s all of the best of the best through the first 2.5 seasons of the PWHL and none of them are showing any signs of slowing down. 

Final Thoughts

January was an important month in the PWHL, as teams really were able to establish themselves and try to find some momentum before the Olympic break. Teams are starting to really establish their identities, and it will be fun to see who can respond the best after the Olympic break and get right back to playing the way they can and should. 

Who impressed you the most in the past month (either a player or an entire team)? Who do you think will be in the best position to play well coming out of the Olympic break? I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments!