There are household names, there are top prospects, and there are other, more intriguing players who will be attending PWHL camps. Sometimes those definitions blur. Here's a look at one intriguing player attending each PWHL training camp.
There are players like Mikyla Grant-Mentis, Dominique Kremer, Kaleigh Fratkn, and Madison Packer everyone anticipates will quickly grab a contract at training camp (if they haven't secured one already). And there are players who appeared on PWHL training camp invite lists that provide a more intrigue. Here's a look at one intriguing player from each PWHL training camp.
Boston
Gigi Marvin has six gold medals representing Team USA at the World Championships and Olympic Games. She's also a former CWHL and NWHL champion and NWHL Defender of the Year. With that type of resume, Marvin would typically be a highly sought after player...that is, if her last international appearance hadn't come in 2018, and if she'd played hockey last season. Marvin however, stepped away from the PWHPA following the 2021-2022 season and at 36, will be the oldest player in any PWHL training camp. Her ability to play both forward and defence, and to serve as a mentor for the many young players in Boston, will certainly be enticing to GM Danielle Marmer and coach Courtney Kessel, even if only for a single season, or as a reserve. There doesn't appear to be a downside, but the upside is a veteran presence who was once one of the best players on the planet.
Minnesota
Maddie Rooney is only 26, and coming off a stretch that saw her starting games for Team USA at the Olympics and World Championships, including four games and the tournament's top GAA at the 2018 Olympics, which resulted in a gold medal. In many eyes, Rooney could be a starter in this league. What happened however, is the veteran goaltender went unsigned and undrafted, and will enter camp in Minnesota as a free agent invite. Many believe however, that due to Amanda Leveille's approved compassionate circumstances application that sent her to Minnesota, and the fact that Noora Raty didn't receive a camp invitation to Minnesota, that Rooney is the targeted backup to Nicole Hensley in Minnesota. Her agent Brant Feldman was GM Natalie Darwitz's first agent, and also represents Kelly Pannek, the first player signed in Minnesota and PWHL history.
Montreal
If Melodie Daoust were set to play a full season in the PWHL, there's few who would bet against her regaining her international form from recent seasons. She's an Olympic MVP, World Championship Best Forward, and a gold medalist at every international competition. But following her injury at the 2022 Olympics, Daoust fell off Canada's radar. That said, she's still the elite player Canadian's know and love, but her circumstances now put her in a position to begin the season with PWHL Montreal only as a reserve player. Among camp invitees across the league, perhaps no player, aside from Claire Thompson in New York, will have the opportunity to impact a PWHL roster like Daoust. Also similar to Thompson however, Daoust had her compassionate circumstance application denied, and was forced to remove her name from the PWHL draft, making her ineligible to open the season on a standard player agreement. Should a roster spot in Montreal open however, Daoust could make an immediate top six impact. It will be interesting to see how Montreal handles the talented player at camp.
New York
Similar to Daoust, Claire Thompson is an all-world player unable to sign. It keeps a spot open on New York's blueline, perhaps for a player with upside like Carley Olivier. From from a certainty, Olivier was an All-Canadian last season with the University of Waterloo, and could surprise many when she arrives at camp. The 24-year-old has had a roller coaster college career, but last season it all clicked with Waterloo, and as a member of Canada's gold medal winning Universaide team. Audrey-Anne Veillette was the only USports player drafted, but there are talented players, hidden gems, in the league. If any coach knows that, it's New York's Howie Draper who spent decades at the University of Alberta.
Ottawa
In recent years, Akane Shiga has been in conversations as one of the best players in the world. The issue however, is that it was almost impossible to compare the 22-year-old Japanese forward to her peers given the poor competition domestically in Japan, and how out-gunned Japan was at international competitions. She was set to spend the next two seasons with the Buffalo Beauts in the PHF, but we all know why that didn't happen. Now, Shiga enters PWHL Ottawa's camp seeking a roster spot with a team looking to sign at least four forwards from their free agent invites. Shiga, if she were to make Ottawa's roster, would also instantly become the youngest player in the league. The only other 2001 born player included on a training camp roster was Sweden's Lina Ljungblom, who Swedish officials still assert will be staying in the SDHL this year.
Toronto
On paper, Lauriane Rougeau is the type of defender every team in the PWHL is searching for. She went undrafted, but the 33-year-old could make a massive impact for Toronto. Rougeau has seven medals representing Canada's senior national team, including Olympic and World gold. Looking at Rougeau's skill set and history, she could easily usurp a player Toronto has drafted, and could work her way into a regular position with the team. Many have been wondering if camp invites would steal roster spots from drafted players. In Lauriane Rougeau, there's a real possibility for that to occur.