The Boston Fleet were within inches of a PWHL title. In year two, as with every PWHL team, they have questions to answer to continue moving forward. Here's a look at three burning questions for the Boston Fleet.
Summer is over, and the PWHL season is rapidly approaching. Teams have signed the bulk of their lineups, venues are secured, and all that's left is schedules and the fierce training camp competition for final spots.
The Boston Fleet will again play in Lowell, Massachusetts this season, and they added talent across their lineup. But there are still question marks. The Hockey News will look at three burning questions for each of the PWHL's six teams. First up, it's the Boston Fleet.
Who will score for the Fleet?
Boston managed to fight their way to the Walter Cup finals last season, but it wasn't on a wave of scoring. Their leading scorer last year was Alina Muller who tied for 13th in the league. Every team in the league had multiple scorers tied or above Muller in the point race. Bringing in Hannah Bilka through the draft should be a significant boost, especially if it means the team can shift Muller into the middle of the ice where her natural talents shine best. A healthy season from Loren Gabel and Taylor Girard, a full year with Susanna Tapani, and finding a magic mix to feed Hilary Knight will all factor in. The x-factor could be Russian foward Ilona Markova. Head coach Courtney Kessel likely wishes the league weren't rushing a preseason as she'll need time to find chemistry among her lines.
Can Boston draw bigger crowds in Lowell?
The PWHL's Walter Cup final was a packed house, and an electric environment. They consistently drew over 4,000 fans per game, but also played their first home playoff game to a year low crowd. Lowell seemed to take to Boston, but there's no doubt the league wishes they had a more central location that wasn't an hour outside the city, or more depending on traffic. Lowell's Tsongas Center survived year one, which is more than can be said for New York, Toronto, and Montreal's primary venues, but still, the city will need to come back even stronger to keep the team from jumping ship at the first opportunity. It will be intriguing to see how the team does if and when they host a game at TD Garden.
Will Boston's draft day bet pay off?
The Boston Fleet made a major splash at the 2024 PWHL Draft when general manager Danielle Marmer pulled the trigger to move up to the seventh overall position to grab Daniela Pejsova. Widely thought of as one of, if not the best defender in the draft, Pejsova is young, mobile and physical. There's no doubt she'll be a long term contributor in the league, and could turn out to be a steal, but the move also cost Boston a pick. While other teams chose seven players, Boston only chose six. They also used a late pick to swing for the fences on the aforementioned Markova, who after multiple seasons without international play, will have a steep learning curve to get back up to speed. Boston did manage to bring in Klara Peslarova as a free agent invite, who is as good as another pick, but will the decision to move up in the draft pay off?