Keys To Success: PWHL Hamilton

PWHL Hamilton built what appears to be one of the strongest expansion rosters on paper. General manager Meghan Duggan also went out and got PWHL Coach of the Year Kris Sparre to manage the bench.

As the only PWHL team in a non-NHL market, Hamilton will look to carve their own niche off-ice, while parlaying on-ice success into a following. With veterans like Brianne Jenner, Emily Clark, and Alina Muller on board to help guide this team, there are few barriers to success standing in Hamilton's way. That however, is what almost everyone believed last season about expansion teams in Seattle and Vancouver. 

Positioned in the PWHL's new Eastern Conference alongside five of the league's original six teams in Boston, New York, Montreal, Ottawa, and Toronto, Hamilton has a challenging task ahead. If they can manage to achieve their most crucial keys to success however, Hamilton could not only steal a playoff spot, but end up as a contender.

When you look at Hamilton's forward corps, there's something familiar about seeing Emily Clark, Brianne Jenner, Peyton Hemp, and Alexa Vasko hit the ice together. What's not familiar is the fact they'll be in the golden Hamilton uniforms, not the red of the Ottawa Charge where the group helped Ottawa to the Walter Cup finals last year for the second straight season. But that experience, and the experience of Walter Cup champion Nicole Gosling in Hamilton's lineup will be crucial to getting this team into the playoffs, and into contention. The question is whether this group of former Charge and Victoire players can find the same magic in a new venue, with the added challenges of being an expansion team. Hamilton managed to pull together a roster heavy on veterans, and sprinkle in character rookies, with unique experiences of their own like first round pick and Finnish Olympian Nelli Laitinen on the blueline. Leaning on the diverse learning experiences and built in leadership in Hamilton when things go wrong, will be paramount to the lone Eastern Conference expansion team stealing a playoff spot.

Prior to the 2026 Olympics, Kayle Osborne was a shining star in the PWHL. Post Olympics, Osborne was a factor in the New York Sirens' slide out of the playoff race. While Hamilton has some goaltending depth, especially if they can lock in Sandra Abstreiter at camp, much of Hamilton's fate will rest with Osborne. And the pressure will be squarely on her shoulders, particularly after GM Meghan Duggan heralded the netminder, who parlayed who quick start last season into a Team Canada roster spot in Milan, as "one of the most valuable long-term goalie assets in the league." Osborne plays a unique style, particularly in her willingness and ability to play the puck. Osborne regularly makes the first pass from her own zone, but she's also been caught doing this at times. Still, it's an asset that disrupted the game plan of opponents at times last season, alongside her cool demeanor inside the crease. Getting the pre-Olympic Kayle Osborne, versus the post-Olympic version, is a key to the 2026-27 season Hamilton needs.

By the end of last season, Nicole Gosling was the Montreal Victoire's number one defender. Losing the rookie in expansion was crushing for Montreal, and beyond beneficial for Hamilton. Gosling topped all Victoire players in ice time in their run to a Walter Cup title, and she tied for second in rookie scoring as a defender putting up 19 points in 30 games last season. There is some reason for concern heading into 2026-27 as Gosling missed Canada's camp, but it's not an injury expected to keep her out of competition long term. Still, Hamilton needs Gosling to be at 100%, as they'll lean heavily on the 24-year-old London, Ontario product not only defensively, but also as the backbone of their power play. Hamilton head coach Kris Sparre leaned heavily on his top pair in Boston last season, and it's highly likely Hamilton will push Gosling to her limit as well. There's no question Gosling is Hamilton's number one defender, and it's a role she must step into and own.

To be clear, Hamilton's top six has name recognition and some exciting pieces, but it's no guarantee they'll produce offensively. Last year's PWHL expansion teams struggled to find chemistry and floundered in the standings, something Hamilton, and the three other fresh rosters in the league will look to avoid in 2026-27. As a safety net to Hamilton's top six scoring, they'll look for bottom six contributions, but there are no clear answers as to who will step forward. Hamilton went out and acquired players like Alexa Vasko and Kayla Vespa who will be counted upon as checking line players, but neither come with a history of production in the league. Even their unsigned draft picks who look like they'll be pegged as bottom six players weren't elite producers in the NCAA. In fact, the competition in camp to even hold one of those roster spots will be fierce both within, and from free agent camp invites like Brooke Campbell, Sara Stewart, and Joelle Fiala, who will all look to push out players under Hamilton's current umbrella. Right now there is no clear answer as to who will provide consistent secondary depth scoring in Hamilton, which is something head coach Kris Sparre and GM Meghan Duggan will need to address. 

Last season, Kris Sparre took a Boston Fleet team that few picked to even make the playoffs, and watched as they became the first team to secure a postseason position. Granted, Sparre rode his top players, relying heavily on the individual efforts of Aerin Frankel, Alina Muller, Haley Winn, and Alina Muller, but he also ushered younger players like Abby Newhook into meaningful roles, and created a relentless and hard working Fleet style. In Hamilton, Sparre has a new mix of players, although former Fleet players including Muller, Riley Brengman, and Zoe Boyd followed their former coach, but he's also taking over a new roster with dynamics that remain unsettled, in what is shaping up to be a highly competitive Eastern Conference. Sparre earned himself PWHL Coach of the Year honors and was hired as an assistant coach for Team Canada heading into the World Championships. Everything has gone his way over the last year, and his only job in Hamilton will be to keep that momentum rolling.