Charge Roster Construction "About Who We Are" And Bringing Together Players "With Things To Prove"

Ahead of each PWHL season, media and fans alike draft their lists of the league's top teams based on offseason acquisitions, draft selections and track records, and this season is no different. The reigning champion Montreal Victoire and expansion teams like PWHL Hamilton dominate the Walter Cup discussion, and understandably so. Quietly however, the Ottawa Charge have gone about building an organization that has not only made back-to-back Walter Cup finals, but shares the same mentality as the city it calls home.

"I think for us... it's never been about where people think you might end up," said assistant coach Haley Irwin. "It's about who we are and what we do on a daily basis, and our players have embraced that. The noise doesn't impact us in a negative way. Actually, in fact, it fuels us."

Despite appearing in back-to-back Walter Cup finals, the Charge rarely find themselves in preseason champion predictions, but that's perfectly fine with them. They've become an organization that thrives as the underdog; a group that goes out every game heads down, prepared to work hard to come out victorious.

That mentality is shared by many in the Ottawa area, where the hustle and bustle of city life contrasts with open fields full of freshly baled hay. A place where farmers wake before the sun rises to tend their cattle. A place where coffee shop baristas prepare the day's warm brews, providing much-needed fuel for the masses. A place where retail workers arrive early at the mall to stock shelves and colour-match items to perfection. It's a city full of people who put in long hours, pay attention to the little details, and are often overlooked compared to larger Canadian markets like Toronto, Montreal, and Vancouver, much like the Ottawa Charge.

And it's that hard-working, blue-collar approach to life in Ottawa that has become part of the team's DNA on the ice: a group that hits the ice every game with something to prove.

"We have the perfect example in the entire league," general manager Mike Hirshfeld said. "Rebecca Leslie was kind of forgotten by Hockey Canada for four years. She worked hard last summer and came back faster and more confident. She then goes on to finish second in the league in scoring with 14 goals and (makes Team) Canada."

Leslie, an Ottawa native, embodies the team's roster philosophy and is no better example of the mentality shared by the many kazoo-playing fans in the stands. But the Charge roster offers even more examples.

"Take Tory Mariano; she took a year off, didn't even think she'd get drafted," Hirshfeld said. "But she worked hard because she wanted it, and now she's going to prove herself. Kate Reilly took a year off, came back. Brooke Hobson was let go by New York. Those are the players you want. It's people with things to prove, and if you have 23 people with things to prove, you're going to be in a really good spot."

The Charge are coming off back-to-back seasons with a winning percentage right in the middle of the league at .489. That trailed both the Montreal Victoire in 2024-25 (.589) and the Boston Fleet in 2025-26 (.689), yet both fell, in Ottawa, to the Charge 3-1 in those semi-final series'. Several factors contributed to the Charge winning those hard-fought playoff series', and each can be boiled down to an underdog mentality that reflects the city they play in, and the players on the roster.

Gwyneth Philips remains the backbone of the Charge and a beacon of hard work and a "never back down" attitude. Over her professional career, Philips has played 2,438 regular-season minutes, made 1,102 saves, and posted a 2.12 goals-against average and a .928 save percentage. And like the people who call this city home, when the pressure increases, the results get even more impressive: 1,148 playoff minutes, 481 saves, a 1.57 goals-against average, and a .941 save percentage.

"This is just innately what makes hockey players great. It's that fire that they have within," said Irwin. "That desire to work, to get better and the desire to do it together as a team. What we build today is definitely what we're standing on from what we built in year one and what we want to keep doing."

Philips remains a prime example of this mentality, but the roster includes many more, including players who often fly under the radar.

Gabbie Hughes, one of only two remaining players from the team's inaugural draft, works hard every shift and has quietly built a strong resume of success, with 44 career points, a face-off percentage of 48.4% and 30 blocks. The same goes for first-year forward Fanuza Kadirova, who turned heads across the league, never looked like a rookie, and finished fifth on the team in scoring with 12 points. Peyton Hemp, Alexa Vasko, Emily Clark and Brianne Jenner all embodied this during their tenure with the team, while Kateřina Mrázová, Ronja Savolainen, and others will look to carry this into the upcoming season. With expansion off the table for the foreseeable future, it also gives the organization the opportunity to keep the same group together, deepening this roster philosophy further.

Over the past three seasons, the Ottawa Charge have quietly developed into an organization that almost perfectly embodies the city it plays in: proud, hardworking, determined, resilient, and ego-free. Returning players like Rebecca Leslie, Gwyneth Philips, and Gabbie Hughes embody this, while newcomers like Tory Mariano and Vivian Jungels showcase that evolving philosophy. As the team prepares to embark on a new chapter this season at the Canadian Tire Centre, fans can rest assured that this roster philosophy will travel with them, tucked in their bags alongside their sticks, helmets, and mouth guards.

"We are the team that people often overlook," said Hirshfeld. "Maybe we don't have as many superstars as other teams, but we're going to come in and battle that way and be that underdog."