Ronja Savolainen, PWHL Ottawa's second round pick, is excited to join the team, and the league, where she feels she'll become the best version of herself on the ice. The Ottawa Charge announced their 2024-25 training camp roster on Friday morning. After training camp, which begins Nov. 12, the 29 players named must be cut down to 23 roster players and three reserve players by Nov. 27. Ottawa is carrying 21 players who have already been signed to contracts for the upcoming campaign, 16 of which were on the roster last season. They’re headlined by established players Emily Clark, Gabbie Hughes, Kateřina Mrázová, Hayley Scamurra and Brianne Jenner, Ashton Bell and Savannah Harmon. The group also includes five invitees: forwards Taylor House and Audrey-Ann Veillette, defenders Jessica Adolfsson and Sam Isbell and goaltender Allie Lehmann. “We are excited to start our second training camp with the addition of highly skilled players,” said general manager Mike Hirshfeld in a press release. “We feel this will be a very competitive camp as we put efforts into improving our team at every position. There will be strong battles in the upcoming weeks.” Those battles will likely be fiercest at the centre and left defence positions, as Ottawa was given an injection of talent through 2024 draft selections Danielle Serdachny and Ronja Savolainen. They’re projected to take important roles right out of camp, making things less certain below. Here’s h the Charge’s depth chart appears going into November training camp: FORWARDS After piling up 61 points in 40 games for Colgate University, Serdachny looks poised to take up residency in the No. 1 centre role among Ottawa’s veterans. She’ll provide some sorely-needed offensive spark to the top unit that can stack up to the young talent of other teams. Additions Alexa Vasko and Rebecca Leslie from Toronto help shore up some of the missing depth after losing Darryl Watts, Becca Gilmore, Lexie Adzija and Mikyla-Grant Mentis. With an abundance of left-shot players, some natural centres could be moved to left wing. Veillette, who lit up U Sports in 2022-23 with 26 goals in 22 games for the Montreal Carabins, is looking to force her way onto the roster after being a reserve player last season. An injury prevented her from participating in last year’s camp, so Veillette is a bit of a wild card [https://thehockeynews.com/womens/pwhl/audrey-anne-veillette-could-be-a-steal-for-ottawa]. House could also challenge for a spot coming off a season for MoDo Hockey in Sweden. On the left side, 2024 draftee Anna Meixner will look to establish herself. Last season, the 30-year-old Austrian notched 24 points in 22 games with SF Byrnäs in Sweden. McMahon is likely on the outside looking in with Vasko already signed, but she posted 31 points in 39 games as captain of the University of Minnesota-Duluth Bulldogs. DEFENDERS Hirshfeld solidified the blueline as a position of strength for the Charge, especially after nabbing Savolainen with the eighth pick in June. The 26-year-old Swede will immediately make the team better after spending seven seasons in the SDHL as one of the league’s highest-scoring defenders. Another intriguing player from the SDHL is Adolfsson, who is the same age but has lacked the same consistency as Savolainen. Ottawa has six defenders signed, which leaves Adolfsson, Sam Isbell, Stephanie Markowski and Madeline Wethington. As a sorely-needed right-shot defender with a standout season at Ohio State, 20th-overall pick Markowski seems the obvious choice to make the team. She’s a versatile defender who is tough to play against, something the Charge blueline often wasn’t last year. GOALIES Things are most certain in the crease, where Mashmeyer and Philips are virtual locks to be on the opening night roster. In the summer, Hirshfeld signed Angers, an undrafted goalie from Quinnipiac University, to a one-year deal. She has solid college numbers, but nothing that can touch Philips’ sparkling resume. That said, the competition at camp should be fierce, and Ottawa’s goaltending shouldn’t be a weakness again. Lehmann, who played right down the street for Carleton University before moving to Switzerland, will soak up experience from those three goalies in her first PWHL training camp.
