10 questions ahead of 2024-25 PWHL season: Can the champs run it back?

Eleven months after the PWHL opened its inaugural season, the league is ready for Round 2. The second season of PWHL action promises to be bigger — with larger rinks, louder crowds, and a schedule stretched from 24 games up to 30 — and better, as the influx of talent from last June’s draft raises the level of competition across all six markets. 

In addition to being the league’s first campaign with official team names, logos, and sweaters for its Original Six franchises, 2024-25 will also be played with the promise of expansion on the horizon. The “Takeover Tour” will hit nine neutral-site rinks and offer up valuable opportunities for the league to engage with potential markets and increase the reach of the women’s game. And we’ll see global growth in the form of an influx of top European players, as five of the top 15 picks in June’s draft played across the pond last season. 

As we look ahead to Year 2, here are 10 pressing questions for the PWHL season to come — the answers to which will form some of the young league’s most compelling storylines of the next six months. 

Can the reigning champs run it back in Minnesota?

Six months ago, Minnesota made PWHL history as the first-ever Walter Cup champions. Their title defence starts now. “Pressure is a privilege,” says Frost forward (and last spring’s playoff MVP) Taylor Heise, and all eyes will indeed be on the reigning champs. While the star-studded core remains in place in The State of Hockey, there’s a new face at the helm of the roster — former AHL executive Melissa Caruso was hired as the club’s GM in September after Natalie Darwitz was dismissed under unclear circumstances shortly after the team hoisted the trophy. 

Will the Fleet find a few more goals this year?

Defence wins championships, but Boston fell just short of proving exactly that as Walter Cup runners-up last spring. The Fleet ranked last in goals scored last year, both at even-strength and on the power-play, and while an elite defence and really strong goaltending compensated for the lack of firepower, it’s safe to say the team in green could do with a boost on offence. 

Can Hannah Bilka be the difference? Known for her masterful offensive game, both on the NCAA circuit and during her young national-team tenure, the American goalscorer saw top-line time during pre-season scrimmages and should play a crucial role in rounding out the Fleet’s defence-heavy roster. 

How will Troy Ryan deploy Toronto’s newcomers?

The loss of league MVP Natalie Spooner was felt instantly in Toronto last spring, and the power forward’s ongoing recovery from the knee injury that knocked her out of the playoffs should prompt some interesting decisions for Sceptres head coach Troy Ryan as he sorts out his lineup. 

To be sure, he’s got no shortage of options. The Sceptres brought in some big names via free agency, headlined by the acquisition of Daryl Watts, who turned a team-leading 10 goals in Ottawa last year into a new deal with her hometown team. First-round pick Julia Gosling brings a Spooner-like dose of power to an offensive unit that ranked first in goals last season, while Patty Kazmaier Award-winner Izzy Daniel is a skilled forward who could shine up and down the lineup. This is a puzzle that should be fun to watch come together.  

Can Montreal’s depth make up for early injury concerns? 

Head coach Kori Cheverie’s heavy reliance on her top lines last season raised questions about her team’s depth. The star-studded core is back, but growth on this roster will require input around the edges. Montreal GM Danièle Sauvageau addressed that this off-season while also adding a solid dose of leadership with players like Abigail Boreen, who helped lead Minnesota to the Walter Cup last year, and Team Sweden captain Anna Kjellbin, who came over from the Swedish league. 

With the injury bug already striking in Montreal — particularly on the blue line, with cornerstone players Cayla Barnes and Dominika Lásková both sidelined — the Victoire’s depth will be tested early. 

Could Ottawa take the tandem approach?

Three straight losses to close out last season saw Ottawa finish just outside the four-team playoff picture, but despite the struggles in the standings, there’s a foundation for success in the nation’s capital. The club ranked second in goals scored (averaging 2.6 per game) and first in power-play success rate, and were strong penalty killers, too. Where they struggled most often was in the blue paint, allowing the second-most goals over the regular season. The highs and lows were felt by starter Emerance Maschmeyer, who started all but one game. She’s coming off a strong showing for Canada at the recent Rivalry Series, where she posted a shutout, and stood tall in pre-season, too. The top job is hers, but the team’s decision to draft NCAA standout Gwyneth Philips 14^th overall brings another strong option between the pipes. 

Can Sarah Fillier’s arrival dig the Sirens out of the basement?

After finishing last in the standings in Year 1, there’s nowhere to go but up for New York — and plenty of reasons to believe this year will be different for the Sirens. For one thing, a new head coach, in Greg Fargo, and a new full-time rink to call home should help cultivate some consistency. But there’s no greater boost than the arrival of No. 1-overall pick Sarah Fillier. One of the premiere talents on the planet, Fillier brings an instant spark to this team’s top six, which already boasts franchise cornerstones like Alex Carpenter and Abby Roque. A healthy Micah Zandee-Hart (the captain struggled to find her game after starting last season sidelined by injury) should have this blue line looking strong from the start, too. 

Will new home rinks bring better home-ice advantage?

While a larger slate of neutral-site games ups the interest in markets not currently home to PWHL clubs, the league worked hard this off-season to ensure it’s giving home-market fans a better experience, too. For some teams, that means moving into new rinks for home games. Toronto triples its capacity with the move from Mattamy Athletic Centre to Coca-Cola Coliseum, after selling out games in both venues last year. Montreal, too, ups the scale with a full-time move to the 10,000-seat Place Bell for all home games. 

It’s New York, though, that might just have the most to gain by its move to Newark’s Prudential Center — a team that struggled with consistency and chemistry while bouncing around various New York-area venues last year could surely benefit from a more consistent approach to home games. 

First the jailbreak, now the “no escape.” Will new PK rule up the excitement (and offence) on special teams?

The introduction of the jailbreak rule, which allowed teams the opportunity to break a penalized player free with a short-handed goal, brought plenty of intrigue in Year 1, and the league isn’t done tweaking the special-teams rule book. New for Year 2 is the “no escape” rule, which requires a penalized team to keep the same players on the ice until after the faceoff immediately following the penalty call. (The idea being that tired players on the penalty kill equal more chaos and a greater likelihood of power-play goals.) While it may up the offence, it’s also worth watching how it affects role players carving out roster spots based on special-teams prowess. 

The hits keep coming, but are players and officials better equipped for physical play?

The introduction of body checking in PWHL play and increased physicality in the first pro season brought a learning curve for both players and officials last year. So, in an effort to better equip players to deliver and take hits, the league brought in former NHLer Ryan Getzlaf for video sessions during preseason mini camps. 

The PWHL also adjusted its rulebook in an effort to eliminate open-ice, cross-directional hits, which can result in more serious injuries. Hits to the head will be more heavily penalized, too. These changes are expected to result in increased player safety as well as more consistent in-game calls by officials. 

How will the Takeover Tour inform the PWHL’s expansion aspirations?

Growth is at the centre of everything happening across the PWHL, and that momentum is propelling the young league beyond its Original Six markets and into cities across Canada and the U.S.Just one year in, league brass is already eyeing expansion. While not guaranteed, we could see as many as two new franchises hit the ice next season. The process is wide open, with dozens of markets under consideration, but it’s hard not to view the nine stops on the PWHL’s upcoming Takeover Tour — Quebec City, Vancouver, Edmonton, Raleigh, Buffalo, Detroit, St. Louis, Denver, and Seattle — as the favourites for consideration. All eyes will be on those neutral-site games as fans and players get a taste of what PWHL hockey could look like in those markets.