PWHL power rankings: Frost haven’t missed a beat, Victoire and Fleet neck and neck

With the Professional Women’s Hockey League now on its holiday break, it’s time for a gift from us to you.

That’s right: The PWHL Power Rankings girlies are back.

It’s still early in the season and the schedule has had a few stops and starts due to the CBA-mandated international break for the Six Nations Tournament in Finland. But that hasn’t stopped us from having some thoughts on each team through their first four or five games of 2024-25.

Like last year, we don’t do these every week. With only six teams there just might not be enough movement on a weekly basis.

For the first edition of the rankings this season — and the final installment of 2024 — we’ll keep it simple. No holiday-related gimmicks here! Just flawless analysis on all six teams.

Let’s get started.

Note: Records are listed as regulation win, overtime win, overtime loss, regulation loss.

1. Minnesota Frost (3-1-1-0)

Salvian: Minnesota has picked up right where it left off after winning the inaugural Walter Cup championship. The Frost have the most regulation wins in the league and are the only team without a regulation loss. In fact, Minnesota hasn’t lost in regulation since Game 1 of the PWHL Finals back on May 19.

It’s early, I know, but Minnesota looks like an absolute wagon. The team plays an up-tempo, skilled style, but is also a pain to play against defensively. No team has scored more goals (20) and 16 skaters have at least one point through five games.

Minnesota started hot last year, too — it took six games to lose in regulation — but the team looks even better this time around with improved depth up and down the lineup. No. 3 pick Claire Thompson is tied for the league lead in scoring (seven points), fifth-round pick Dominique Petrie is tied for the team lead in goals (three), and Kendall Coyne Schofield, now almost a year into her return to the ice, looks dangerous right from the start of the season. Her three goals in five games is already halfway to her goal total from last season.

If that’s not enough to convince you, their special teams have been way better after having the worst penalty kill in the league last season and an 8.2 percent power-play rate.

Goldman: I’d be lying if I said I didn’t expect them to cool off a little to start the year after all of the off-ice turnover in the summer. But they literally haven’t missed a beat and are the best team in the league for good reason. The only question now is how this team is going to keep up the momentum with Sophie Jaques sidelined long-term — it’s never easy to lose a top-pair defender, and she has been so good on both ends of the ice since joining the team last season.

2. New York Sirens (2-1-1-1)

Goldman: New York just feels different this year. It starts with Sarah Fillier, the No. 1 pick of the 2024 PWHL Draft. She showed on the international stage that she has the chops to become the best player in the world, and now it’s translating to a best-on-best professional league.

Fillier brings the elite skill the Sirens roster was missing last year, outside of Alex Carpenter. Now New York has a dangerous top line that can stack up as one of the league’s best. Pair that with Greg Fargo bringing a fresh voice behind the bench, and there is a lot to like about the Sirens’ start.

Systematically, it seems like the Sirens are building a stronger foundation. And maybe that is what is helping this team navigate Ella Shelton’s absence. Micah Zandee-Hart has stepped up on the back end to assist and Corinne Schroeder is standing tall as this team’s backbone in net.

It was surprising at first how well the Sirens hit the ground running, especially considering just how bad last season was. But as the season rolls on, New York is showing it is for real. The Sirens’ game on Sunday was a prime example of that. They may have fallen short in the shootout to the Frost, but they pressured the league’s best in an exciting game.

Salvian: Had Schroeder started on Sunday afternoon, or even Kayle Osborne, the Sirens probably win that game on Sunday — the two goals Abbey Levy allowed were, frankly, bad. That they came back out of that hole shows huge growth for the league’s last-place team in Year 1.

My big takeaway, outside of Carpenter and Fillier being elite, is that New York is getting offense from down the lineup — and from players who were ice-cold last season. Paetyn Levis scored her first PWHL goal after shooting zero percent last season. Elizabeth Giguère and Abby Roque have added goals from the middle six. Newcomers Emmy Fecteau and Gabby Rosenthal have gotten in on the offense, too.

Don’t get me wrong, Carpenter and Fillier are the straw that stirs the drink in New York, but it’s encouraging to see some other players find the back of the net early.

3. Montreal Victoire (1-2-0-1)

Salvian: Montreal vs. Boston was the biggest — maybe the only — debate we had within the rankings this month. Where we landed might look weird, given Montreal only has one regulation win (against Ottawa), while Boston is the only team to have beaten New York in regulation this season. But for me, it comes down to the improved makeup of the Victoire’s roster.

Montreal was very top-heavy last season, relying on Marie-Philip Poulin and Laura Stacey for most of its offense and Erin Ambrose as an anchor on the blue line — remember the 61-minute game in the postseason?

GM Danièle Sauvageau did a nice job adding depth to this roster through the 2024 draft. Her first three picks — Cayla Barnes, Jennifer Gardiner and Abby Boreen — have scored nearly half of Montreal’s goals this season. And on Saturday, Boreen scored maybe the best goal we’ve seen this season, which landed on ESPN’s SportsCenter Top 10.

Ambrose has still played nearly 20 minutes more than her next closest teammate on the blue line, but having Barnes lead her own pair has given Montreal a much-improved top four. Poulin is still the best player in the world for my money, but it’s not just her in Montreal anymore and that makes them a scarier opponent.

Goldman: Strength of schedule was definitely a big consideration here, because the Victoire haven’t had to face Minnesota yet and have played Ottawa twice already. But even with, let’s say, a slightly easier path over the last couple of weeks, Montreal is proving it’s a better offensive team than Boston.

We know the Fleet can turn things around after a bad start, but the Victoire have the tangible edge right now heading into their upcoming matchup on Dec. 30. Their entertaining comeback win over the Toronto Sceptres on Saturday solidified their placement for me here — especially because the team didn’t just need to rely on Captain Clutch to come back from an 0-2 deficit. Their supporting cast helped force overtime, and naturally, Poulin had a hand in the game-winning goal to secure the win.

4. Boston Fleet (2-0-0-2)

Goldman: As much as there is to like about the Fleet, you have to take the good with the bad.

Special teams are a strength on both ends of the ice. The Fleet are making the most of their power-play chances and the penalty kill is sparkling with an 87.5 percent efficiency. But Boston doesn’t draw a ton of power plays (a league-low six opportunities) and has a lot of experience after being short-handed 16 times.

Aerin Frankel has been the difference in all situations. She is giving her team MVP-caliber play (again) with a .934 save percentage in four games. The Fleet don’t need a ton of goal support to win games, but they need more than they’ve generated so far: 2.25 goals per game.

On the bright side, Hilary Knight didn’t start the year ice-cold and the Fleet have scorers up and down the lineup. The downside is this team doesn’t convert on enough of its chances, despite taking a quality-over-quantity approach, and has the worst Offensive Rating in the league.

As much as we can bank on Boston turning it up when it matters most — just look at its unexpected run to the Walter Cup Final and even its 4-2 win over the Sirens this year — it’s a risky strategy.

Salvian: Look, I’m not a PWHL coach (obviously) but I feel like when I watch the Fleet I’m just wondering why Hannah Bilka and Alina Müller aren’t on the same line. I understand wanting Bilka to set up Knight and add some speed to a more veteran line, but Müller and Bilka could be a lethal top-line combination. The team has scored the fewest goals in the league (nine) — why not put your two young skilled stars together? Especially when the team is, once again, leaving something to be desired offensively?

5. Toronto Sceptres (1-0-1-3)

Salvian: Maybe I’m giving this year’s Sceptres too much credit because of what they did last year — although it’s certainly not a leap to have them fifth when they have the same record as Ottawa — but I’m not worried about their record.

Kristen Campbell’s stats are very similar to last year; she even got pulled in her fourth start in both seasons. And we know what happens when she turns things on: an 11-game win streak, her team at the top of the standings and winning PWHL goalie of the year.

Is it concerning that Campbell and the Sceptres are slow starters? Maybe! But I think we all know they’re going to figure it out. No Natalie Spooner might make getting out of the bottom of the standings more difficult than last year, but Toronto is getting meaningful offense from elsewhere in her absence — Sarah Nurse, Hannah Miller, Jesse Compher and Izzy Daniel all have at least two goals.

That’s what largely breaks the tie for me between Toronto and Ottawa.

Goldman: I’ll give Toronto credit for having an above-average Offensive Rating of plus-0.7 to open the season without its best forward in Spooner. She should give this team a real jolt when she returns, and knock everyone into more fitting roles on the depth chart behind her.

The bigger worry is on the other end of the ice — the defense has been mid at best and the goaltending is underperforming. The Sceptres gave up much more than they created against Montreal on Saturday night and struggled to defend their lead. They allowed a lot of quality looks to New York. And Minnesota peppered them with scoring chances earlier this month. There’s no doubt they belong in the bottom two, but (especially when Spooner is back) they have the star power to get back on track.

6. Ottawa Charge (1-0-1-3)

Goldman: The Charge didn’t look like a favorite heading into this season, but similar to last year, they had the potential to play disruptor. Ottawa embraced that identity last season with its playing style. Pair that with 2024 No. 2 pick Danielle Serdachny’s skill and it felt like the Charge had the chance to exceed expectations.

Maybe we’re being harsh when it’s so early in the year, but some of the same problems from last year are carrying into this season. And that’s raising a major red flag for us.

The Charge just don’t have the they need to thrive offensively. As solid as the shot volume and quality has been at times, the finishing just isn’t there again. And unfortunately, Ottawa’s problems extend to the other end of the ice, which has contributed to its current three-game skid. The Charge give up a lot of shots and quality chances.

Take their 3-2 loss to Boston earlier this month. Ottawa only gave up 25 shots, but all but four were from the home-plate area.

Via thePWHL.com

The Charge were even more exposed just a few days later against the league-leading Frost. Ottawa conceded 40 shots to the Frost and bled dangerous chances from quality areas.

Via thePWHL.com

The season is far from over, but the Charge have fundamental issues to fix. And unlike Toronto, they haven’t proved they can turn it around.

Salvian: Offensively, Tereza Vanišová has looked great and that trade — Ottawa sent Amanda Boulier to Montreal in exchange for Vanišová — looks pretty savvy by GM Mike Hirshfeld. And Serdachny has looked as advertised. But the defensive numbers are concerning.

No goalie tandem has faced more shots than Emerance Maschmeyer and Gwyneth Philips (160). We know from last year that this is not a recipe for success in Ottawa, as no goalie faced more shots than Maschmeyer (599) and Ottawa missed the playoffs.

This article originally appeared in The Athletic.

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