Coach MacLeod sees early progress as new talent ignites speed and compete. Clark returns, and impressive draft picks set the pace on day three.
Day three of Ottawa Charge training camp is in the books and marked the first time much of this team, including head coach Carla MacLeod, had taken to the ice together. It offered a glimpse into what to expect heading into the league's third season.
"I was over in Europe with Czech for the international break and just got back yesterday," said MacLeod. "When I was able to jump on the ice today, and I was able to see where the group is at, you can see they had a great starting point. To see what we saw today on the ice and knowing that we're going to infuse the whole group together over the next couple of days is exciting."
Gabbie Hughes, Kateřina Mrázová, Anna Meixner, Rory Guilday, Gwyneth Philips, Ronja Savolainen and Sanni Ahola did not participate due to rest days. According to GM Mike Hirshfeld, the only injury is to Alexandra Huszák, a forward who is at camp as an invitee.
Emily Clark returned to practice after injuring her wrist during the team's playoff run last season and was a full participant in every drill. "I haven't been through something quite like that before in my career," said Clark. "I had a lot of experts in my corner that made it as smooth as it could be, and friends and teammates to lean on, and I'm feeling great going into the season."
In the nearly two hour practice, the coaching staff focused on drills centred around speed, tempo and zone exits, all of which were areas the team struggled in at different times last season.
The team's 2025 draft class as a whole were impressive on the day and really set the pace of play for the entire group. "I think there's been a lot of really good compete," said Brianne Jenner. "I think we've got some defence that are really mean to play against...all our new additions are really competing and that's what you want to see. I think we have a lot of great speed up front, a lot of skill. It's just really exciting. There's a lot of great pieces here."
Other standouts from day three included defender Vita Poniatovskaia, in camp as an invite, who showcased her speed, tenacity and deceptive shot on multiple occasions throughout practice. As well, the team's two Russian players, Anna Shokhina and Fanuza Kadirova, who showed early chemistry on a line with Mannon McMahon, and could prove to be more than capable of helping to shoulder the offence for this team. Alexa Vasko is most certainly a part of that conversation as well, as she looked to be in midseason form, aggressive on pucks, strong on the forecheck, and never took a shift off.
Following practice GM Mike Hirshfeld shared that Mrázová is back to 100% following an injury-plagued 2024-25 season. He also noted that should forward Peyton Hemp, who remains unsigned, make the final roster, a contract should not be an issue. Additionally, new assistant coach Juuso Toivola, who joined the team in the offseason, will primarily be focused on the team's defence, but will also help with special teams.
Ottawa will play their first of two preseason scrimmages against Toronto on Sunday, November 16th for season ticket holders at TD Place.