Slow But Steady Progress For The Ottawa Charge's Russian Players

The jump from Russia's ZhHL is the biggest of any for players in the PWHL this season. It's a move that Ottawa Charge forwards Fanuza Kadirova and Anna Shokhina continue to navigate early in their first season in North America.

While the Zhenskaya Hockey League was once filled with top talent, but from domestic and international sources, since Russia was banned from international competition due to the nation's unprovoked attacks against Ukraine, the level of play has continued to decline.

While the bulk of top international players that have made stops in the league did so playing for the KRS Vanke Rays, it's a league that has included players like Susanna Tapani, Michelle Karvinen, Michela Cava, Hannah Miller, Aneta Tejralova, Klara Peslarova, Noora Raty, Alex Carpenter, and Jenni Hiirikoski. 

Domestically, the ZhHL has ushered in every top national team member in Russia, from the league's all-time leading scorer, Olga Sosina, to the top scorers in national team history, Yekaterina Smolentseva and Iya Gavrilova. 

Currently however, the level of play in the the ZhHL rests somewhere between U Sports or a lower level NCAA program, and Canada's top Junior loops for women. It makes the jump to the PWHL significant, where the play is more physical and faster than any league on the planet. 

It's a league that is so competitive, that many national team players, including from Canada and the United States, have struggled to produce.

While Shokhina and Kadirova have had speed bumps of their own in their first season in North America, their skill is evident, and both continue to make positive strides. The Ottawa Charge took a risk drafting the pair, but it's one they need to pay off.

Anna Shokhina sits second all-time in scoring in Russia's ZhHL, and she is a player who Ottawa Charge general manager Mike Hirshfeld described as a top five talent from last year's PWHL Draft. Ottawa knew there would be an adaptation period, but there were more hiccups than expected. Shokhina had a rough preseason and ended up being a healthy scratch for Ottawa's season opener. It wasn't the start fans dreamed of for the 13th overall pick in 2025. 

After a shaky start in her first appearance, Shokhina started to settle in, and soon was creating offensive chances. Her shots on goal per 60 minutes sits among the top 30 in the league. Where Shokhina still must adapt is to the speed, defensively, and finding her space on the smaller ice. The adaptation from Olympic size ice surfaces to smaller ice in North America can be difficult for any player with less time and space, and different angles of attack, but coming from the ZhHL where Shokhina enjoyed as much time and space as she desired without the pressure she's facing in North America, it's an even bigger step.

Fanuza Kadirova was a late round pick by Ottawa, but she found her way into the lineup immediately. While none of her stats on or off the puck jump off the page, you can see her engaging more each shift, and each game. Kadirova's biggest question mark when coming over had to do with her size and physicality. She showed disregard for those concerns however engaging physically, and managing the speed well. Aside from a disastrous opening night where Kadirova's line was -3, she's played well.

For Kadirova and Shokhina, this season will not be about where they started, it will be about where they can finish. The duo will likely take until the New Year to fully find their feet in the PWHL. The Ottawa Charge's playoff hopes could rest on that evolution as well. Ultimately, for anyone watching, both players are making progress, and developing in real time. 

Neither looks to be the immediate impact player the Charge desperately needed following their losses in free agency and expansion, but both look to have a promising future in the PWHL, and could become the trailblazers for another wave of Russian players coming to North America in the not too distant future.