Friday Face-Off: PWHL Predictions For The Season

Erin Brown and Ian Kennedy face-off discussing the PWHL including who top rookies, who will come out on top of the standings, and who will be the league's MVP.

Friday Face-off is a weekly feature where Erin Brown and Ian Kennedy discuss, and sometimes debate, topics in women's hockey. This week the pair discuss their predictions for the inaugural PWHL season including what team will top the regular season standings, who will lead the league in scoring, and who will emerge as the league’s top rookie.

Ian Kennedy: Looking at the PWHL rosters, and the brief preview in Utica, parity looks like it will be the name of the game this year, with any team capable of beating any team on any given night. That said, someone has to finish first overall after 24 games each. Who are you picking, Erin?

Erin Brown : Ottawa really impressed me in their opening game, but unfortunately got upended by Montreal in overtime. They played with a fire that, I think, very much reflects Coach Carla MacLeod’s style — defensively sound, high-energy offense. Despite the loss, I think Ottawa will probably be the leader at the quarter mark. End of the season, though? Probably Boston. There’s just so much talent throughout that lineup, especially in proven game-breakers. And I think Boston has the top tandem with the best goalies from last year’s Women’s World Championship in Aerin Frankel and Emma Soderberg.

Ian Kennedy : There’s so many picks to make. I’ve got my eyes on New York as a sleeper pick. Seeing them in person, and in their opening game, there’s a lot to like there. One, speed; two, goaltending; three, a deep blueline; four, and perhaps most importantly, they’re a team built for the pro game. I think some teams who looked only at national team players who compete in different roles might be surprised by what they’re seeing. Minnesota is obviously off to a hot start getting timely scoring and great goaltending, so they can't be overlooked either. One of the things I’m really interested in watching is who the top rookie will be. Alina Müller is going to be great, but she’s also on a team where she won’t need to be the main threat. I think Taylor Heise ends up as the top pro rookie this year, and when it’s all said and done, she could be a contender for the league’s leading scorer.

Erin Brown: I agree Heise will probably be the top goal scorer — she didn’t take long getting on the board in the opener. But I have to disagree on top rookie, who I think will be Alina Müller. The Swiss center is capable of scoring, too, but she has two of the PWHL’s best finishers on her line in Loren Gabel and Hilary Knight. I wouldn’t be surprised if it ended up being the league’s most prolific trio, and the assists are what will push Müller past Heise stats-wise. I know fewer than a handful of games have been played, but do you see anyone emerging as MVP?

Ian Kennedy: It could be Heise, again. Her performance this week shows she’s on the level, and that she can single handedly beat teams in this league. Minnesota has some incredible talent backing Heise though, and this award is obviously about who is most valuable to their team. Early starts from Alex Carpenter, and the awakening of Marie-Philip Poulin caught my eye this week too. Montreal's forward group has some holes, and Poulin is undoubtedly trying to fill many of them simultaneously. She's beyond valuable for that team. What are your thoughts?

Erin Brown: I can’t help but keep backing Corinne Schroeder at this point. When I crunched numbers from last season of all pro leagues, including Europe, Schroeder had the best stats with double the workload of all others. The “knock” against Schroeder was she didn’t face enough elite players in the PHF. Now she has — and she still produced a 29-save shutout in her PWHL debut against Toronto. If you look at Schroeder’s career numbers from college on, she’s done nothing but trend up every single year. The 24-year-old only received her first invite to join Canada’s Rivalry Series roster this year, but something tells me she’s going to disrupt the depth chart between now and 2026. Maybe my take is a long-shot, but until she proves otherwise, I think Schroeder is — literally and figuratively — the player to beat.

Ian Kennedy : I don’t disagree with you at all. Some people might say, “well Schroeder let in four against Montreal.” Schroeder also made timely big saves and was hung out to dry against Marie-Philip Poulin and co. She’s an elite goaltender who continues to show she’s better than some that have the ‘national team’ title attached to their names. Another thing I’ve really been watching is players who weren’t as known, who are breaking out. Emma Woods really comes to mind after the first week as a player who is wowing fans who had overlooked her before. I’d say the same is true for Liz Schepers in Minnesota, and half of Ottawa’s roster. I think this league is going to continue to showcase existing stars, and provide an avenue for others to step into stardom. It’s truly an exciting time to follow this league and women's hockey.