Pascal Daoust believes PWHL New York has an elite blueline, and a growing team culture. He talks start up, fan base, and much more with The Hockey News' Ian Kennedy.
When Pascal Daoust began building his roster, he signed defender Micah Zandee-Hart, and forwards Alex Carpenter and Abby Roque.
It wasn't until the PWHL Draft that his true plan came into focus. With the fourth overall pick, he selected Canadian defender Ella Shelton. Five picks later, he chose another blueliner in Jaime Bourbonnais.
With the trio, PWHL New York became the only team in the league with three current North American national team members on their roster.
After picking a few forwards, Daoust grabbed his fourth blueliner, Brooke Hobson, who he believes could become one of the steals of the 2023 PWHL Draft.
"Hobson is a player that is playing with appetite, she's playing with grit...playing with tons of confidence," said Daoust. "It's a steal, it's a privilege to have her on what we call the top four."
In Utica at the PWHL's Preseason Camp, Hobson was notably one of the better defenders on the ice, from any team. With Micah Zandee-Hart recovering from an injury that will keep her out of the lineup for the first weeks of the season, Hobson will become even more valuable to New York, who also has reserve Claire Thompson available to them in the season.
While New York's blueline is impressive, they're also playing in front of two goaltenders who could themselves prove to be better than their peers who were signed prior to the draft, or selected ahead of them in the draft. Those goalies, Corinne Schroeder and Abbey Levy are both coming off strong seasons, and were stellar in their opening performances in the Preseason Camp. In her opening game, Levy made a 24 save shutout and was named first star. In her start, Schroeder stopped 39 of the 40 shots she faced earning first star honors in a win over Ottawa.
Watch Daoust's full comments about his blueline, and the formation of New York's culture in the interview above.