Marie-Philip Poulin’s prize upper body is overflowing with honors and medals, yet there’s one large item missing out on since the Professional Women’s Hockey League is developed.
Aware she remains in the later phases of her occupation, the Montr éal Victoire captain is discharged up for PWHL champion splendor after a very early playoff leave in the inaugural period.
“The fire is quite there,” the 33-year-old Poulin claimed Friday atVerdun Auditorium “I still love what I’m doing, I’m passionate.
“We wish to win thatWalter Cup And me stating that suggests 5 various other groups are stating that. It reveals it’s mosting likely to be affordable; it’s mosting likely to be a fight.”
Poulin, who tied for second in scoring last season with 23 points in 21 games, knows she’ll have more than one role to play if Montreal is to hoist the Cup.
” I require to generate, I require to be on the protective side, yet likewise aid the young children can be found in, being by their side to recognize what they desire,” she said.
Poulin isn’t counting the years left in her career, but also isn’t taking any for granted because ” occasionally I think of exactly how there are much less before me.”
The three-time Olympic gold medallist leads the Victoire into the PWHL’s second season against the Ottawa Charge on Saturday at Place Bell in Laval, Que., where they’ll debut their new name, logo and jerseys for the 30-game campaign.
Poulin headlines a talented core that includes forward Laura Stacey, who married Poulin this fall, reigning PWHL defender of the year Erin Ambrose and Canadian national team goalie Ann-Renee Desbiens.
Depth concerns?
The question surrounding this team is whether the Victoire have enough depth behind them.
Ambrose famously logged 61 minutes 33 seconds of ice time in a triple-overtime loss to Boston while players deeper down the lineup barely touched the surface. But she’s confident those concerns will be a thing of the past.
” I do not also recognize exactly how to reveal the self-confidence in it, since there’s absolutely no question that it’s anything yet self-confidence,” she said.
The Victoire drafted U.S. standout Cayla Barnes to bolster their defence, an overall weakness last season.
Barnes was expected to miss the beginning of the season with a lower-body injury but skated in her first full practice without a non-contact jersey on Friday. Head coach Kori Cheverie said it’s ” an opportunity” she plays Saturday.
Montreal also added Swedish national team captain Anna Kelvin to the blue line.
On offence, sharpshooting Swedish league MVP Lina Ljungblom will join Poulin and Stacey on the top line. Second-round pick Jennifer Gardiner, a 23-year-old on the brink of Canada’s roster, and Walter Cup winner Abigail Boreen also join the fold.
Ambrose said the Victoire’s talent across the lineup especially stood out when she watched Montreal’s pre-season game against Ottawa from the stands last week.
” I was seeing various lines come by the boards, and I was similar to, ‘Hm, that’s rather hard to safeguard. Hm, this line brings this’ and it resembles every line that we have thus far’s obtained some kind of identification,” she said. “It’s hard as an opposing group to see those lines come by and to be like, ‘OK, break. This is not mosting likely to be very easy.”‘
Montreal’s goalie tandem is also among the best in the league with Elaine Chuli, who led the league with a .949 save percentage in eight games last season, backing up Desbiens. Germany’s Sandra Abstreiter is the third stringer.
While Barnes nears a return, defender Dominika Laskova and forward Kennedy Marchment will begin the season on long-term injured reserve, something Cheverie believes the Victoire can withstand for now.
“I’m really satisfied with where our group is,” Cheverie said. “We wish to be hostile; we wish to be physical; we wish to be quick. We wish to have the ability to place pucks in the rear of the web, and we wish to be unrelenting.”
Roster adjustments
< p design=" margin-left:0 in; margin-right:0 in">Additions: Jennifer Gardiner (F), Alexandra Labelle (F), Dara Greig (F), Abigail Boreen (F), Lina Ljungblom (F), Clair DeGeorge (F), Cayla Barnes (D), Anna Wilgren (D), Anna Kjellbin (D), Kelly-Ann Nadeau (D), Sandra Abstreiter (G)
Departures: Jillian Dempsey (F), Leah Lum (F), Sarah Lefort (F), Alexandra Poznikoff (F), Ann-Sophie Bettez (F), Melodie Daoust (F), Sarah Bujold (F), Madison Bizal (D), Brigitte Laganiere (D), Marlene Boissonnault (G)
Games to watch
The 10,000-seat Place Bell will be the Victoire’s home after the smaller Verdun Auditorium served as the primary arena last season. Montreal will also likely host a game at the Bell Centre, where a women’s hockey attendance record was set last season, but a date hasn’t been officially announced.
The Victoire also play four games on the “Takeover Tour” as the PWHL eyes growth following period:Jan 5 in Seattle versus Boston,Jan 8 in Vancouver versus Toronto,Jan 12 in Denver versus Minnesota andJan 19 in Quebec City versus Ottawa.
PWHL home openers
Toronto Sceptres — Saturday, 2 p.m. ET vs. Boston Fleet at Coca-Cola Coliseum
Montr éal Victoire — Saturday, 5 p.m. ET vs. Ottawa Charge atPlace Bell
Minnesota Frost — Sunday, 6 p.m. ET vs. New York Sirens atXcel Energy Center
Boston Fleet –Dec 4, 7 p.m. ET vs. Minnesota Frost at the Tsongas Center at UMassLowell
New York Sirens –Dec 18, 2024, 7 p.m. ET vs. Toronto Sceptres at Prudential Center.
