The Professional Women’s Hockey League officially has its original six teams. Now, it’s time to add some cornerstone players.
The league’s first free agency is set to open on Friday with a deep player pool of Olympians, future Hockey Hall of Fame candidates and longtime professionals on the market.
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With the first contracts fast approaching, it feels like a good time to go over the top candidates who could sign over the next two weeks. But first, there are some ground rules to cover.
Each team can only sign three players during the 10-day window — ending on Sept. 10 — and, according to the league’s press release, current or graduating players from NCAA or Canadian university programs are not eligible to sign during this preliminary free-agency period. I clarified that point with a PWHL representative and was told specific players like Taylor Heise and Alina Müller are considered graduates and not eligible to sign at this time.
Instead, they must go through the Sept. 18 PWHL Draft — and will likely be among the top picks.
We also must consider players who may be “compassionate circumstance” candidates, meaning they cannot relocate to another market. For this reason, I most notably did not include Natalie Spooner on this list. As a new mom based outside of Toronto, I’d expect her to be permitted to bypass the draft and exclusively sign in Toronto.
Of course, this is an imperfect exercise. As of this writing, the general managers have not been announced and we do not know what their roster-building philosophies will be. One GM might want to lock up three brand-name Olympians. Another might want to build from the back end, prioritizing goalies and defense. Maybe one GM will go young.
Despite all that, I’m going to make my best guess at the 18 players — in no particular order — who could sign during this window, with some extra wild-card candidates to consider. Let’s get into it.
Marie-Philip Poulin, 32, Forward
Poulin is still the best player in the world, and she has been for a long time. If there was a draft for the entire player pool, she’d go No. 1. Poulin eats minutes, kills penalties and has one of the best all-around toolkits in the women’s game. She’s got a great shot, has smooth hands, is a reliable defensive center and is an expert at finding seams to make plays to her teammates. In the PWHPA last season, she was first (or second) in almost every major offensive category, according to data from Sportlogiq.
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Poulin finished first in goals (12), assists (15) and points (27) over 20 games. She also ranked first in expected goals (10.7), inner slot shots (30), rush chances (34) and slot passes (64) and was second in offensive zone possession time (1:02, per game).
It would be cool to see a bidding war between teams for Poulin — *pokes at Boston because Poulin played at Boston University* — but I feel like we’re just waiting for the Montreal signing announcement.
Hilary Knight, 34, Forward
Knight has won at every level in women’s hockey and is still an impact player. She creates offense at an elite rate — her 83 shots and 2.76 slot shots per game ranked second in the PWHPA last year, per Sportlogiq — and she shows up in big moments. Knight scored eight goals and 12 points in seven games, including a gold medal game hat trick en route to a world championship in April — her first tournament as USA’s captain.
So, it’s not really a question of if Knight — the 2023 IIHF female player of the year — is signed. What’s more interesting is where. Minnesota makes a lot of sense, but New York could, too.
Renata Fast, 28, Defense
Fast is easily a top-three defender in the world right now, and would be an obvious choice to build around. She’s dynamic and physical with excellent gap control. And her speed makes her a pain to get around.
Lee Stecklein, 29, Defense
Stecklein is consistent, dependable and one of the toughest defenders to play against thanks to her long reach, excellent stick and high IQ. She brings a calming presence to any pair and can be relied on against top competition. Stecklein — the 2023 PWHPA defender of the year — is from Roseville, Minn., and graduated from the University of Minnesota in 2017. She should be a foundational piece for the PWHL Minnesota team.
Brianne Jenner, 32, Forward
The reigning Olympic MVP should be a safe bet to sign during the first free-agency period. She’s still a top-line player for Team Canada who can play on the wing when she’s paired up as a lethal duo with Poulin — and can drive her own line up the middle.
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Jenner is from the Greater Toronto Area and has a young family. She could be a compassionate circumstance candidate, but you’d also think a Toronto team would do what they can to sign a player like Jenner — with the skill and leadership she brings — as early as it can.
Megan Keller, 27, Defense
Keller is a top-pair defender for Team USA who uses her size (5-foot-11) to win puck battles at an elite rate and her skating to transition out of the zone. She’s an elite, all-around defender who can play all situations.
Alex Carpenter, 29, Forward
Carpenter is an obvious candidate from a skill standpoint. She’s deceptively quick, can handle the puck well and can rip shots on goal. The last time she played pro, in Russia, Carpenter scored 50 goals in 55 games over two seasons. She’s pretty underrated at this point in her career with young talent coming up, but I wouldn’t count her out yet.
Sarah Nurse, 28, Forward
Nurse is one of the faces of the women’s game and is a lock to sign before the draft. But it’s not just because of her considerable marketing power.
Nurse is versatile — she can play center or on the wing — with a wicked shot and good hands. In the last few years, Nurse has moved up and down the lineup with Canada and reliably found success — most notably her Olympic record (18 points) in Beijing and her performance at the last world championship (four goals and eight points, which ranked second on the team, including the game-winner to advance to the semifinals).
SARAH NURSE SENDS CANADA TO THE SEMI-FINALS!#WomensWorlds
— TSN (@TSN_Sports) April 13, 2023
Kendall Coyne Schofield, 31, Forward
Coyne Schofield is an excellent player — one might say the fastest in the world — who can play in all situations and generate offense off the rush at a high clip. She’s been a valuable leader with Team USA, the PWHL players’ association and was on the bargaining committee for the first-of-its-kind CBA signed in July. She and her husband, NFL offensive lineman Michael Schofield, welcomed their first child on July 1. I certainly don’t think anyone would try to rush her postpartum return, but I could see a team wanting to make a big statement with her signing. Because Kendall Coyne Schofield is absolutely a player you’d build a team around.
Ann-Renée Desbiens, 29, Goalie
If there is one goalie taken during the initial signing period, it will likely be Desbiens who has established herself as the No. 1 netminder in the world. During The Athletic’s anonymous player poll, several players said they’d contemplate taking Desbiens at No. 1 if they had to build a roster from scratch, and pointed to her NCAA-record 21 shutouts in one season while at Wisconsin.
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It’s possible that more goalies are signed in this window, but there are so many good options — like Aerin Frankel, Noora Räty and Emerance Maschmeyer — that I think teams would take their chances on in the draft. Especially when you consider Emma Söderberg, a recent graduate and No. 1 goalie for Sweden, is not eligible to sign before the draft. However, I do think a team like Montreal would make an exception for Desbiens.
Jocelyne Larocque, 35, Defense
Larocque consistently plays shutdown minutes and is a smart, mobile and physical defender. She’s the oldest player on this list, but if a team wants a veteran leader to help build the team out from the back end, Larocque might be one of the best options in the game.
Blayre Turnbull, 30, Forward
Turnbull has long been a valuable player for Team Canada. Her teammate, Erin Ambrose, describes her as “every coach’s dream.” She can match up against any player in the world, is physical and can be effective in all situations. As good as she is as a forechecking defensive center, Turnbull has the skill to score when she ultimately transitions from defense to offense.
Say it with me: Blayre Turnbull is not just a defensive third-line centre!
— Hailey Salvian (@hailey_salvian) April 13, 2023
Abby Roque, 25, Forward
Roque is the kind of player opponents hate to play against but would love to have on their team. She has a blend of sandpaper and skill and isn’t afraid to mix things up on the ice. Roque uses her physicality to win puck battles and get to the net front and has the hands and skill to either make a play or score the goal.
Emily Clark, 27, Forward
A great thing about watching the PWHPA last season was seeing role players from their national teams flourish as top-line players on their “pro” teams. Clark was one of those players.
With Canada, Clark is a pesky forechecker who has the ability to turn defensive zone starts into sustained offensive zone time. But Clark’s offensive skill set was able to really shine with the PWHPA last season. She finished second in points (23) behind only Poulin and third in goals (10). In the championship game, Clark scored a hat trick and assisted the game-winning goal. An all-situations forward with a scoring touch would be a valuable addition to any team.
Laura Stacey, 29, Forward
Stacey played some of the best hockey of her career in 2022-23. She’s a fast, north-south player who is aggressive on the forecheck and creates a lot of chances for herself and her teammates. She was a critical player on Canada’s energy line with Turnbull and Clark, and productive in the PWHPA (nine goals and 22 points in 20 games) last season.
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Kennedy Marchment, 26, Forward
Marchment has had an excellent professional career in the SDHL and the PHF. She scored 72 points in 34 games in 2020-21 for HV71, was PHF MVP in 2021-22 and finished second in scoring last season. Marchment also graded out well in Mikael Nahabedian’s women’s hockey statistical model when measured against players from the PWHPA, PHF, NCAA and SDHL last year. Her game should translate to the PWHL.
Savannah Harmon, 27, Defense
I wanted to include six defenders on this list, assuming each team would want to sign at least one. I considered Canadians like Ambrose and Ella Shelton here, but I stuck with Harmon for her ability to walk the offensive blue line. She is a very active defender who can create offense at even strength and quarterback a power play while taking on a heavy workload — Harmon gets top-four minutes on the U.S. women’s team and averaged over 24 minutes per game in the PWHPA in 2022-23.
Jamie Lee Rattray, 30, Forward
Ottawa being an original six market was a pleasant surprise. You know who grew up just outside the city?
Jamie Lee Rattray. She’s a Swiss Army knife player who probably deserves more ice time on the national team. It would be cool to see Ottawa lock in a local player as the first face of the franchise.
Wild-card players to consider
Amanda Kessel, 31, Offense
Kessel has remained a productive and important player for the U.S. National Team through the later stages of her career and is still one of the game’s best playmakers. She’s taking the year off from Team USA, though, to focus on her new role as special assistant to Pittsburgh Penguins GM Kyle Dubas. She told NHL.com she is training in preparation for the new league, and if Kessel ultimately decides to play, she’d be the type of player a team could sign early.
Claire Thompson, 25, Defense
Thompson is a smooth-skating, puck-moving No. 1 defender — one of the best in the world at her position. But she’s also in medical school at NYU. She balanced the PWHPA with her education last season, but could she play in New York and go get her medical degree? Thompson might be one of the most impressive people I’ve ever met; I certainly wouldn’t doubt her ability to make it work.
European stars
There are several star players I’d like to include on a list like this. Jenni Hiirikoski is a future Hall of Fame defender. Petra Nieminen is one of the best goal scorers in the world. Lara Stalder is a star from Switzerland. Daniela Pejšová, a young defender from Czechia, and Hanna Olsson, a star Swedish forward, also come to mind.
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But they’re all signed to play in European pro leagues for the 2023-24 season, which leaves too many questions for me to include them as locks to sign, despite their place in the upper echelon of women’s hockey.
The Swedish Women’s Hockey League regular season starts in a few weeks. Can players opt out of their contracts? Would someone like Hiirikoski or Nieminen sign early and still play for Luleå? Would they need to sit out until the PWHL season starts in January? Or would they rather play this season in Sweden and evaluate for 2024-25?
Perhaps we’ll see some top international talent declare for the draft, play out their year overseas and join the PWHL when the season starts. With the declaration deadline coming on Sunday, Sept. 3, we should know who’s in and who’s out soon.
(Photo of Hilary Knight scoring on Ann-Renee Desbiens: Dennis Pajot / Getty Images)
