PWHL Monthly Recap

We’re well over a month into the PWHL season, so I thought it was a good time to take a look at where everything stands currently, who have been the top performers so far, and any other surprises or thoughts on the season so far.

Standings

I can honestly say that the current standings are very different from what I expected them to look like. The standings keep changing, and it’s challenging to keep track of where each team is positioned since things can change so significantly with a regulation win, but these standings are still surprising to me right now. I knew it would take the expansion teams some time to find chemistry and line combinations that would be the best, but I expected both of them to be playing a bit more consistent hockey by this point, and fully expected both of those teams to be in the playoffs at season’s end. There’s still a lot of time for them to turn things around, but both will need to start racking up some regulation wins soon if they want to have a solid position in the playoffs.

I’m a bit embarrassed to say that Boston has been the biggest surprise for me this season. With the major players they lost, and bringing in a new coach with no experience coaching women’s hockey, I truly didn’t expect them to be as strong as they have been. Having Aerin Frankel at her very best definitely helps, but the team in front of her has played great hockey as well, and they have been a pleasant surprise at the top of the standings this season.

My other biggest surprise so far this year is the Montréal Victoire. I thought they did the best of any of the original 6 teams at signing new players during free agency, and I thought they were the best positioned of the original 6 teams to be a strong contender this season. Depth scoring has long been a weakness in Montréal, and that has shown to be the case though most of their losses this season. They did just end a 3-game losing streak, so if they can get some better production out of their lines 2-4, I could see them turning their season around.

We are about 1/3 of the way through the season (5 of our teams are at exactly that point, with 10 of their 30 games played, and the other 3 have games in hand to make up in the coming weeks). There’s still a lot of the season yet to come, but it’s going to be imperative that teams rack up as many regulation wins as they can before the Olympic break, because I could see it being a challenge to get back into the groove with their PWHL teams after coming back from the Olympics, so solidifying their standings before the Olympics will likely pay off big for the teams that are able to do so.

Top Scorers

What stands out to me when looking at the scoring stats is how strong the Frost have been in this area. With all of the good defenders they lost in the offseason through expansion and free agency, who not only defended well but contributed a lot offensively for the Frost, I thought their road to success this year would be outscoring their defensive struggles. The Frost have defended better than I expected they would, but they have still outscored some of their problems as well, with 3 of the top 6 point scorers on their team. Having Kendall Coyne Schofield leading the league in goals definitely helps, and it’s fun to see her having so much success so far this season, but they have had a lot of good playmakers racking up assists for them as well. Britta Curl-Salemme, despite being a controversial player and person off the ice, has stepped up her offensive contributions to the Frost this season, after having 15 points all of last season, she already has 11 points through 1/3 of the season.

Sirens rookie and 1st overall draft pick Kristýna Kaltounková has lived up to the expectations early with 5 goals so far this season and has been a strong player all over the ice for the Sirens. Abby Roque, often known more for her physicality, grit, and ability to get under the skin of opposing players, has found a really natural chemistry on Montréal’s top line with Marie-Philip Poulin and Laura Stacy and has her strongest offensive numbers so far; she had 13 total points in the first full season, and 17 points last season, so she’s on track to exceed those numbers easily.

Goalies

Aerin Frankel has leading the league in both goals against and save percentage, for most of the season which shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone; she has established herself as one of the best goalies in the world, and this season has been no different in that regard. Her numbers took a bit of a hit with the last couple of games, but she has been virtually unbeatable for long stretches of this season so far, and I expect her to continue leading the way or being near the top of goalie stats in every category.

Nicole Hensley has been quietly having a great start to her season, which shouldn’t come as a surprise, but she often seems to be forgotten when people discuss the best goalies in the league. Her goalie partner in Minnesota, Maddie Rooney, has had a bit of a rougher start to her season, but the goalie duo has been a big part of the Frost’s success in their first 2 seasons, and I expect that to be the case again this season and fully expect Rooney’s numbers to start looking stronger in the coming weeks.

All-Time Scoring

We are starting to see some fun records being set, with Marie-Philip Poulin being the first player to reach 50 career points in the PWHL, and with Daryl Watts, Kendall Coyne Schofield, and Alex Carpenter all following suit in the past week or two. We should see a few other players eclipse 50 points in the coming weeks, and it will be fun to continue to watch players hit new milestones in this league.

Final Thoughts

More than half of our teams have hit the 1/3 mark of their seasons, which is crazy to think about! It has been a fun start to the season, with plenty of surprises and amazing plays already. This next stretch of hockey before the Olympic break will be key for all of the teams, and it will be fun to see who leads the way and what other surprises are in store as we move along through this season.