The puck is ready to drop on the 2025 PWHL Walter Cup playoffs. Toronto will face off against Minnesota for the second year in a row, while Ottawa will make their PWHL playoff debut against first place Montreal.
There are players on all four teams who are known as big game performers who can rise to the challenge. Here's a look at one player to watch from each of the PWHL's four playoff teams.
Michela Cava - Minnesota Frost
All she does is win, no matter what. Cava has won everywhere she's gone and has cemented herself as one of the most respect clutch players in women's hockey. Cava is entering the 2025 PWHL playoffs having won back-to-back-to-back-to-back championships. That's right, she's won four straight seasons in four different leagues.
Four years ago, Cava had 10 points in nine playoff games helping Lulea win an SDHL title. Three years ago Cava won a Russian title with the KRS Vanke Rays scoring a whopping 17 points in only eight games. In 2023, Cava was named the PHF playoff MVP winning an Isobel Cup title with the Toronto Six. In their run, she notched six points in four games.
Last year, Cava matched her regular season total recording eight points in the playoffs, but doing it in 10 games instead of 24. This season Cava saw her regular season totals climb to 19 points in 30 games. Can she elevate herself even further for the postseason?
Abby Boreen - Montreal Victoire
Boreen came out of the gate flying this year emerging as one of Montreal's top players and earning herself plenty of support as a player who should have been in consideration for USA's national team. Her output slowed as the season wore on, but Boreen will be a crucial piece for Montreal in the playoffs. The Victoire can't ride their top line of Marie-Philip Poulin, Laura Stacey, and Jennifer Gardiner the entire way.
Boreen enters with unique experience having played playoff hockey last year for the Minnesota Frost. She's been a little under the radar as of late, but she'll need to step into the spotlight in the playoffs. If it's not Boreen, Montreal will need another player, like the struggling Kristin O'Neill to find her offensive game.
Brianne Jenner - Ottawa Charge
There were times this season where you could go stretches of games without noticing Brianne Jenner on the ice for the Ottawa Charge. As one of the top names in the game, Jenner was still contributing, just not as offensively as many projected. She picked up her contributions late in the season, but Ottawa's captain needs to find another gear for playoffs. Without having the playoff experience of other teams, those with international experience will need to guide the Charge. Jenner is their most experienced player, and needs to be the calming force who comes up clutch for her team. Ottawa looked frantic at times with the pressure on late in the year. It won't be a sustainable model to follow against Montreal. A large part of Ottawa's success will sit directly on Jenner's shoulders. If there's another player to watch, it's rookie goalie Gwyneth Philips who will be the go to starter for the Charge.
Natalie Spooner - Toronto Sceptres
Some players just know how to win big games. Natalie Spooner has always been one of those players. It's taken her more time to bounce back from her ACL surgery than Toronto Sceptres fans had hoped, but she's continued to make progress. Toronto had the good fortune of acquiring Daryl Watts in the offseason, and riding another strong campaign by Hannah Miller, as well as the rejuvenated play of Jesse Compher. Their big guns from last year, like the line of Emma Maltais, Sarah Nurse, and Natalie Spooner, were relatively quiet, or in the case of Spooner and Nurse, sidelined.
If there's ever a time for Spooner's game to arrive back to her original form, or close to it, it's the playoff push. In tight games, big time scorers need to produce. Spooner is a big time scorer who has been hiding in the weeds.