PWHL Montreal Players Big Part Of Canada's Success

PWHL Montreal sent Canada their captain, starting, goalie, and leading scorer among others to the 2024 IIHF World Championships. Here's a look at Montreal's players at Worlds.

PWHL Montreal sent five players to the 2024 Women’s World Championship in Utica, all with Team Canada. All of them have important roles with both the national team and their PWHL squad and will be counted on to keep the momentum for the team down the stretch as Montreal heads for the playoffs. Here’s a snapshot of how they’ve looked in the tournament so far:

4 GP 2 G 2 A 4 pts 2 PIM +4 - Kristin O’Neill led Canada in scoring with four points in the round robin, with three of her four points coming in the first period of the game against Czechia. The unique chemistry of the fourth line which has O’Neill centering the two college players, Danielle Serdachny and Julia Gosling, has paid off for Canada. O’Neill had her best game in a long time versus the Czechs (she has only one goal this year with PWHL Montreal). She has been an engaged, steady presence with the two young players on her wings. It’s been a puzzling season for O’Neill, but her performance in the round robin here should help her confidence as she returns for the end of the campaign and playoffs with Montreal.

4 GP 0 G 1 A 1 pt 0 PIM +0 - In the PWHL overview of players in the World Championship, the only note regarding Poulin is that she ranks second in the tournament in face-offs (71.43%) – a rather telling and unremarkable stat that isn’t usually the highlight for Captain Canada. Her ice time has been limited, and she appeared to skate at full speed only in the game versus the U.S. She’s been used for power play minutes and important situations, but certainly hasn’t been the force that Canada (and their opponents) are familiar with when they see #29. There has to be a little bit of concern for PWHL Montreal as to whether she is working her way back to form, or if she’s struggling and wouldn’t play through this injury if the stakes weren’t as high. The elimination round should tell us a lot more about her status going forward.

4 GP 1 G 0 A 1 pt 0 PIM +0 - With just one goal to show for her efforts, Stacey’s numbers haven’t reflected the quality of her important minutes with Canada. When the stakes get higher, she has shown the ability to shine on the third line, where she has been playing with Blayre Turnbull and Emily Clark. Her speed makes her a huge threat to opponents and creates space for her linemates, and she draws more penalties from opponents than almost any other Canadian player. She scored a goal against Czechia that didn’t mean much on the scoreboard (the fifth in a 5-0 victory), but bodes well for her play in the elimination round, and for PWHL Montreal’s playoff chances.

4 GP 0 G 0 A 0 pts 0 PIM +1 - The best compliment that can be paid to Ambrose is that in this World Championship, she has looked exactly like she has in most of her history with Canada on the international stage. She contributes smart, timely transition to offense, steadies the defense, and usually elevates whichever partner she plays with. Offensive contribution isn’t necessarily in her job description like it is with PWHL Montreal, although she is the lone defender on the top power play unit. She’ll see her role elevated again with Montreal once the team returns to action.

Desbiens won two of her three starts in the preliminary round for Canada, including a shutout, and led all goaltenders with a .974 SV% and 0.65 GAA. She only needed 13 saves in the 5-0 win against Czechia, but did stop former teammate Tereza Vanisova on a breakaway. The challenge was more difficult versus Finland, and Desbiens made a couple of important, timely saves. However, her play against the USA was a signature performance for the veteran: big saves when the team was on their heels, stops that had the opponents shaking their heads (Hannah Bilka, for example), and confidence that permeated to the rest of Canada’s players – all hallmarks of Desbiens’ career with the national team. The OT loss to the USA in the round robin game was a blow, but don’t expect Desbiens to be shaken.