No two players impacted their PWHL teams more than Aerin Frankel and Ann-Renee Desbiens in 2025-26. Frankel came home winning MVP and Best Goaltender. Desbiens was Best Goaltender in 2025, and won a Walter Cup in 2026.

In a league where scoring talent has ben diffused, goaltending will be a major factor yet again shutting down special teams, combatting mismatches in talent between top lines and the depleted PWHL depth, and guiding winning teams to the top.

It's no coincidence the Ottawa Charge have been to back-to-back Walter Cup finals with Gwyneth Philips in their crease, including with Philips winning playoff MVP in 2025 despite falling to the Minnesota Frost.

This season, there will be 12, instead of eight starters in the PWHL, and it's set to create more gap from top to bottom in the PWHL in terms of the calibre of starters. It will also give new netminders the chance for the first time to step up and take control of the net professionally.

The only goalie nominated for Best Goaltender in all three seasons of the PWHL, she won the award this season. Frankel also became the first goaltender ever to be named PWHL MVP. She can stifle opponents, making saves that she has no business making, and she benefits from the best defensive pairing of Megan Keller and Haley Winn logging nearly half a game night after night in front of her. 

It's an interesting situation in Detroit. Most probably expected Detroit to go after a goalie like Sandra Abstreiter who has PWHL experience as a safety net, but instead, they threw caution to the wind signing Alice Philbert, who has never competed at or near this level as their backup behind Andrea Brändli, who will be the unquestioned starter, albeit without playing a game in the PWHL. Brändli was named Best Goaltender at the Olympics backstopping Switzerland to bronze, she's a former SDHL Goaltender of the Year, and won an NCAA national title with Ohio State. At 29, she's a veteran of the sport, and should be able to handle the load. To what degree is unknown. Will she be one of the best in the league? Middle of the pack? Or struggle as a starter? No one will know until December.

Which Kayle Osborne will we get next season? Is it the one who had the New York Sirens in a playoff spot and herself in a spot on Team Canada prior to the Olympics? Or the one who came back and looked drained of confidence after? In all likelihood, Hamilton is going to get the former, the one who had stepped into elite company. She's a unique puck moving netminder who often acts as a third defender shutting off dump ins and turning pucks up ice, but she's also adept at battling in her own net. GM Meghan Duggan called Osborne, "one of the most valuable long-term goalie assets in the league" and she can be. She'll also benefit from Hamilton having six PWHL ready defenders in front of her, which is not something many teams can boast this season.

Nicole Hensley was signed to be Minnesota's starter, but hasn't played as such the past two seasons with Maddie Rooney taking over the role. She backstopped Minnesota to a Walter Cup, and won Olympic gold in 2018, and has won three World Championship gold medals, and was named World Championship Best Goaltender in 2022. But if the recency test stands, Hensley needs a bit of a bounce back. As Las Vegas' unquestioned starter, the chance is there for Hensley to play more nights, and get the consistency that Minnesota's tandem, that could be unpredictable for when a goalie was in and when they'd come out, didn't provide. If Hensley comes up big, things could look pretty good in Vegas by year's end. Without her stability each night, it could go the other way quickly.

Maddie Rooney wasn't among the 90 players selected in the inaugural PWHL Draft, but she was protected during 2026 expansion, and she has two Walter Cup titles. Rooney stole the crease from Nicole Hensley in Minnesota earning herself a contract extension, and paving the way for Hensley's exit to Las Vegas. With the tandem gone, and no proven backup behind her, Rooney needs to step forward in a big way this season for the Frost, especially after losing another pair of top four defenders in expansion. She has been steady in the regular season, and excellent in the playoffs over three seasons.

There's actually a test ahead for Ann-Renee Desbiens, who many believed should have been Best Goaltender and MVP last season in place of Aerin Frankel. Desbiens has the one thing Frankel does not, a Walter Cup title, but this season she'll also have a drastically thinned blueline in front of her after Montreal lost Nicole Gosling, Erin Ambrose, and Amanda Boulier this offseason. She'll also have one of the most potent offensive groups in the league up front, which this season, should be even more deadly given the thinned out rosters across the league. Montreal picked Hailey MacLeod in the draft to provide back up relief for Desbiens, but don't expect her to play a lot with one of the best on the planet still within her prime as the starter.

Chuli was a starter in the NCAA, a starter in the CWHL, and a starter in the NWHL and PHF. Now, after three seasons as a backup, she'll be an unquestioned starter in the PWHL. This offseason, without prying Kristen Campbell out of Vancouver, Chuli was the best option available for the Sirens. Sure, they could have picked Andrea Brandli in the first round of the 2026 PWHL Draft, but the expense to the roster in front of their net would have been significant. New York gets a veteran who has performed among the best in the league over three seasons, and given the chance to find a more consistent rhythm, could be exactly what New York needs, expecially on a team with strong defensive depth, and overall roster depth. And if it doesn't work out? The 2027 PWHL Draft is loaded with goaltending talent. 

Unquestionably one of the best in the league and in the world, Gwyneth Philips is a game changer. She’s highly competitive, and comes up with stops each game that should not be saved. With a healthier and more prepared Sanni Ahola behind her this season, Philips has a bit of a safety net to give her rest when needed, but for the Charge to challenge for a third straight Walter Cup final appearance, they need nothing short of excellence from Philips, which is luckily something she’s delivered with regularity in her two seasons in the league.

San Jose's overall depth is poor, except for in the crease. In net San Jose boasts not only starter Corinne Schroeder, but also NCAA Goaltender of the Year Tia Chan, and veteran backup Abbey Levy. This will be Schroeder's team to anchor. Their goaltending group might face a lot of rubber, and even more likely will do so without much scoring support. But it's for that reason San Jose's depth at the position, and their faith in Schroeder as a bonafide starter, is paramount.

At times last season it looked like Seattle believed Hannah Murphy was already their starter and at times last season, it looked like they didn't trust their rookie netminder. This season, a tremendous weight will rest squarely on Murphy, who will still be only 23 when puck drops this year. CJ Jackson and   Gabriella Durante are the next lines of defence, but Murphy will play the overwhelming majority of games this season. 

It would not be surprising to see Raygan Kirk play a game for Canada at the November World Championships. She had that good of a season, and despite playing on a non-playoff team that struggled mightily to score, Kirk finished third in most statistical categories behind only Desbiens and Frankel. She saved Toronto night in and night out, and they’ll need more of the same. Toronto has a strong top four on the blueline, but they might get caught up ice more often than desired given the fact Toronto’s best offensive players are defenders. 

It was perplexing to see Kristen Campbell remain in Vancouver as a backup, or perhaps tandem player alongside Emerance Maschmeyer. After struggling in year one, Maschmeyer returned looking sharp in season two only to suffer a devastating injury. Last season she was good, but beatable, in Vancouver. Nothing went as planned for nearly any Goldeneyes player, and protecting Maschmeyer, Vancouver made it very clear what they believe she’s capable of. Maschmeyer remains one of the best goalies out there, and she has the best second goalie in the league waiting to give her rest, support, and a healthy push for playing time.