Like every PWHL team, the Montreal Victoire has got a lot of new players this season, but one of their rookies has been particularly impressive: Natalie Mlynkova.
After a lengthy break, the Montreal Victoire were back in action for a Sunday matinee against the Toronto Sceptres. The fans who made the trip to the Place Bell in Laval didn’t go home disappointed as the locals put on a hockey clinic, thanks to great collective play in the first 40 minutes and to some fantastic goaltending from Ann-Renee Desbiens in the final frame.
The 3-1 scoreline doesn’t really reflect how the game unfolded, as Toronto goaltender Raygan Kirk made some big saves, but it wasn’t her that caught my eye, it was the play of Czech international Natalie Mlynkova. The Victoire’s second-round pick at the last draft was skating in just her third PWHL game, and she shone bright once again.
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Skating on the second line alongside Shiann Darkangelo and Maureen Murphy, the speedy winger was a threat all game long. In minutes and 42 seconds of action, she managed to make her mark on the match. She was directly responsible for the first goal of the game, managing to outskate a rival to nullify an icing call before spotting rearguard Kati Tabin in acres of space at the blueline and finding her the puck to notch the primary assist on the lamplighter.
At just 24 years old, she has remarkable awareness and understanding of the game. While that assist was her only point in the game, she took five shots on goal and did tremendous work on the power play. She gets into the tough area and is not afraid of battling both for space and for the puck. In the first frame, she had an opportunity in close on Kirk and her fast hands allowed her to take a good shot, and while she didn’t score, she did enough to get on the Sceptres' radar.
As a result, later in the game, her presence near the crease prompted veteran blueliner Ella Shelton to take an interference penalty when she flicked the stick out of her hands to neutralize her. That penalty allowed the Victoire to deploy a five-on-three power play for a minute and a half, and while they couldn’t find the back of the net, it certainly helped them gather even more momentum.
In the third frame, with the game on the line and the Victoire leading 2-1, she once again showed remarkable awareness on the PP. She had once again set up camp in front of Kirk, and when she saw the goalie give up a rebound, she let Laura Stacey go for it as she was in the better position while also getting out of the way, not to stop the puck or to interfere with the goaltender. While the play was reviewed to see if there had been goaltender interference, it looked obvious that there hadn’t been just from the way she moved on the play.
Mlynkova is precisely the kind of player who could have a significant impact on the women’s game and will benefit so much from the PWHL. For years, Canada and the United States have been dominant on the international stage. Now that players like Mlynkova regularly play alongside and against some of the best players in the world, other countries are bound to improve.
Thanks to her two points in three games, she trails the leaders in the rookie scoring race by just one point. Abby Newhook, Rory Guilday and Maddie Wheeler all have three points, but the first two have played four games while the third has already played five games. Mlynkova is one of the players fans should keep an eye on as a candidate for the rookie of the year title. I have a strong suspicion that if the league goes ahead with another wave of expansion, new teams’ GMs will be interested.
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