The Ottawa Charge fell flat in the final weeks of the PWHL season during year one. It's a fate they'll look to avoid. But how will they manage goaltending, and deploy their new depth to become more consistent.
After a season marred by a rollercoaster of emotions for PWHL Ottawa, the Ottawa Charge are ready to move forward into the 2024-2025 season and leave their disappointing end behind.
The team bulked up at all positions in the offseason, amassing a group that will be able to more closely mimic the style of play head coach Carla MacLeod likes to dish out.
Here are three burning questions facing the Ottawa Charge.
How will Ottawa balance goaltending duties?
No team saw a more imbalanced approach to goaltending duties last season than the Ottawa Charge. They rode Emerance Maschmeyer almost the entire season, and when they did put in Sandra Abstreiter, she was injured and didn't return to full health until the Charge were fighting for their playoff lives. Maschmeyer was good but not great, which is perhaps why Ottawa brought in not one, but two young goaltenders in Gwyneth Philips and Logan Angers to push. Philips will need starts, but she's also used to being shelved, something she experienced early in her NCAA career playing behind Aerin Frankel at Northeastern. When she does step in though, Philips could force difficult decisions in Ottawa as she has been one of the most consistent and competitive netminders in the world the last two seasons.
How will Ottawa deploy their forward group?
This wouldn't have been a question if the line of Daryl Watts, Brianne Jenner, and Katerina Mrazova was able to remain together. More likely than not, watch for Ottawa to leave Mrazova with Jenner and look for a new skilled winger (Anna Meixner or Tereza Vanisova perhaps?) to fill that spot, while they let Danielle Serdachny grow into her role down the middle as well. She can certainly play the wing, but sending out Serdachny between Emily Clark and Vanisova or Hayley Scamurra, and letting Gabbie Hughes charge up the third line at centre will give Ottawa some of the best depth at center in the league. It will also allow Ottawa to deploy three relatively balanced lines. A player to watch outside the predicted offensive leaders is Rebecca Leslie. While she was buried in Toronto, and still managed to produce with limited minutes, she was an elite scorer in the NCAA and CWHL earlier in her career. The skill remains there if they can find chemistry.
Will Ottawa suffer the same bad luck they did in season one?
Doubtful. No team had more controversial calls or missed calls go against them last season than Ottawa, and it cost them a playoff spot. No team outperformed their results analytically as much as Ottawa either. The end of season collapse from Ottawa can be pinned almost exclusively on their blueline. With Zoe Boyd back and healthy, and Ronja Savolainen and Stephanie Markowski added through the draft, this team is going to be able to deploy six deep on their blueline, all of whom can step into a top four role if needed. They also drafted Madeline Wethington to fill out their back end and will have other defenders in camp pushing. They look deeper, and the character in this group seems to be stronger and more cohesive already. This team, who has the biggest fan base in the PWHL, will look to give fans what they want by delivering playoff hockey.