The Boston Fleet kick off the 2025-26 season today as they face the Montreal Victoire.
After losing their final game of the 2024-25 season and missing the playoffs, the team made several offseason adjustments.
The PWHL Expansion Draft reshaped league rosters. The Fleet now has 14 returning and 12 new players.
The complete 2025-26 Boston Fleet Roster:
Forwards (13):
Hannah Brandt*
Ella Huber
Laura Kluge
Shay Maloney*
Olivia Mobley
Alina Müller*
Abby Newhook
Jamie Lee Rattray*
Jill Saulnier*
Theresa Schafzahl*
Liz Schepers
Sophie Shirley*
Susanna Tapani*
Defenders (7):
Zoe Boyd
Riley Brengman
Hadley Hartmetz*
Megan Keller*
Rylind MacKinnon
Daniela Pejšová*
Haley Winn
Goaltenders (3):
Aerin Frankel*
Abbey Levy
Amanda Thiele
Reserves (3):
Mia Biotti
Loren Gabel*
Olivia Zafuto*
*representing a returning player.
The team also gained a new head coach following the departure of Courtney Kessel. Kris Sparre took over the reins of leading the Fleet, his first head coaching job.
Sparre highlighted his goals for the season during his first media appearance after being hired.
“We are going to be suffocating in every area of the ice, and we're going to build a culture where we crave the work,” Sparre said. “We're doing more than the regular teams are willing to do because we know the results will pay off in the end.”
Sparre emphasized the roles of both younger players and veterans.
“We have a lot of youth coming into this team. We also have some great veteran leadership with Megan Keller," Sparre said. "Our goalie is one of the best in the league. It’s a strong mix, but if we want to win, we’ll need to get our youth up to speed immediately.”
Megan Keller was named Captain after Hilary Knight was selected by the Seattle Torrent.
Keller, with the Fleet since the inaugural season, has led the blue line. In a team statement, she shared her reaction to being named the second franchise captain.
“This is a huge honor,” said Keller. “It’s so special to be a part of this team and especially this leadership group. It’s an important task at hand, and I couldn’t be more excited for the opportunity ahead.”
The Fleet will open the season at home against the Victoire. Last year, they met six times: Fleet went 2-1-3-0, Victoire 4-0-0-2. The Fleet lost their last matchup 3-2 in overtime. This is the first game of the 2025-26 season for both teams.
Ahead of the game, Sparre shared his mentality for his rookie season.
"We want to embody the city that we're in, Boston, which is a tough, gritty style of play, really, through all professional sports," Sparre said. "Not only that, I think the players feel that they want to be a tough team to play against as well, so when we're aligned like that, it's a good thing."
The puck drops at 1 PM at the Tsongas Center in Boston as both teams look to secure their first win.