Ranking the top 25 PWHL players

theScore's Kyle Cushman and Nick Faris unveil their top 25 PWHL players ahead of the 2024-25 season, with comments from players and personnel from around the league.

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Schroeder pitched a 29-save shutout in the first-ever PWHL game on Jan. 1 against Toronto, which set the tone for the rest of her campaign. The 5-foot-11 netminder was a bright spot on a last-place New York team and a Goaltender of the Year finalist.

"She's fun to learn from," New York Sirens goaltender Abbey Levy said. "She's a very technical goaltender, and it's something that we're kinda a little bit different on, where I like to see that part of the game and learn from her. We're just good goalie partners. We know how to work well together."

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Jaques led all Minnesota Frost defenders in points despite playing on a different team for the campaign's first nine games. Minnesota acquired Jaques in the PWHL's first trade, and she was a significant factor in the team claiming the Walter Cup. The 24-year-old is the youngest player in our top 25.

"At Ohio State, her game really took off," former Buckeyes teammate and Toronto Sceptres forward Emma Maltais said. "Offensively, she was able to really just excel at Ohio State and was given a lot of opportunity. Then, you saw some adversity that she had to go through at the beginning of last season, and I think that was huge for her. I think she really took advantage of that and with her new opportunity in Minnesota, she's really blossomed there."

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Maltais was the joint top-scoring rookie last season and is among the league's best penalty killers. She netted the league's first "jailbreak" goal Jan. 5 against New York, a shorthanded marker that ended the opponent's power play. Maltais played over 20 minutes in all five of Toronto's playoff games and is primed to be another vital two-way winger in her second professional season.

"She's such a pest," Sceptres captain Blayre Turnbull said. "That's a trait we love about having her on our team, that she has the ability to get under any opponent's skin."

The Frost still drafted Thompson third overall despite her not playing a single game last season. The 26-year-old was away from hockey as she focused on her studies at NYU Grossman School of Medicine but has returned to gear up for the 2026 Olympics. Thompson set the Olympic record for points by a defender in 2022 and is ready to remind everyone of her talent.

Frost captain Kendall Coyne Schofield described Thompson as "gifted." The veteran pointed to the blue-liner's immense talent using a recent example from the Rivalry Series when Thompson launched a perfect pass over American defenders in the neutral zone and over to Sarah Nurse at the far blue line. Coyne Schofield reacted to the play by saying, "Well, I can't wait to play with her."

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Watts proved doubters wrong last season in Ottawa. One of the greatest scorers in NCAA history, the Toronto native rounded into form down the stretch with 15 points in her final 15 games. Watts is one of the most skilled players in the game and will remain a must-see talent after signing with her hometown Sceptres in the offseason.

"When I play with her, I really have to remember that she can make something out of nothing," Watts' new Sceptres linemate, Sarah Nurse, said. "A play like that seems dead, like it seems like she's out of position like nothing's really gonna happen. But she somehow finds the puck on her stick, and she's in open ice all of a sudden. I always have to be ready, and I know that somehow if my stick is in the right position, she's gonna hit it."

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There was worry about Campbell early last season when she had a rough .876 save percentage through the first six games. Then she stopped Marie-Philip Poulin three times in a shootout on Jan. 20, and everything seemed to change. That win sparked a 12-game streak for Campbell, a run that helped her earn Goaltender of the Year. Also, she allowed only five goals in five playoff games, making those initial concerns look silly.

"She's had a big evolution over the years," said Ottawa Charge goaltender Emerance Maschmeyer, a teammate of Campbell's on the Canadian national team. "She focuses on all the little details, and she never leaves a stone unturned. She's found a lot of consistency in the last year. She was a big game-changer for Toronto. She's very technically sound and sharp."

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With Ann-Sophie Bettez unsigned and Gigi Marvin retiring in the offseason, Larocque is now the oldest player in the PWHL. And though she's 36 years old, Larocque still looks the part of the elite defensive defender she's been for years. The Manitoba native played over 25 minutes most nights, and her workload isn't decreasing any time soon.

"She's just so composed, and she's so easy to read off of," longtime defense partner Renata Fast said. "I think we've had great chemistry just because of the calmness that she brings. She's positionally sound, and I think she always takes care of the defensive side. But that's not to say she doesn't have offensive abilities in her game; I think they've been showing in the last couple of years. The biggest thing that comes to mind when I think of Joce is just the calmness that she plays the game with, and it allows me to kind of settle and play my game, too."

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Muller led Boston in scoring and was a Rookie of the Year finalist last season. The Swiss international's biggest moment came in Game 4 of the Walter Cup Final. About a minute after Minnesota's overtime goal was overturned due to goaltender interference, Muller sniped the game-winner to force a decisive Game 5. She's the top European in the league.

"I really think she's one of the most complete hockey players I've ever seen," Fleet head coach Courtney Kessel said. "I'm just really looking forward to watching her grow again and more and more this year, and really just take the ice and be confident. She can be such a big threat every time she touches the puck."

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Knight led a low-scoring Boston team in goals and had strong five-on-five metrics despite her lack of overall production. However, the playoffs were a disaster for Knight, as she failed to register a point and was a minus-6 in eight postseason games. The 35-year-old has remained elite when playing for the United States, and that's the version of Knight that the Fleet need this year.

"When you look at a player that's been around for so many years, I think there's so many ways to gauge her success," coach Kessel said. "Her leadership in our locker room was second to none. I don't think we would've created the culture that we have without her in there, and I think her voice and her presence alone show these young players what it looks like to be a professional athlete, to be an Olympian, to be successful. Obviously, we wanna see her put a few more points on the board, but I couldn't be happier with her leadership for us last year and really looking forward to that this year."

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Shelton was the top-scoring defender in the league and tied teammate Alex Carpenter for the PWHL lead in power-play points last campaign. The 26-year-old had a superb offensive season to become a Defender of the Year finalist. Shelton will truly launch herself into the conversation as the game's best at her position if she can maintain that level of offense while improving her defensive results.

"I had the opportunity to play against Ella all through college, and then I played with her on the national team starting in 2021," Sirens captain Micah Zandee-Hart said. "Just seeing her confidence, holding onto pucks, slowing down, making things happen, those are the kind of D you want on your team and you wanna play with. I think she leads this team from the back, and it's really cool to see her do that now and how her game's come so far. She's made herself an elite defenseman in this game."

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Coyne Schofield registered two assists in Minnesota's Game 5 triumph over Toronto to advance to the Walter Cup Final. Then, in the winner-take-all Game 5 versus Boston, the 32-year-old fired a game-high seven shots on goal and sealed Minnesota's victory with an empty-netter. Coyne Schofield was also a key figure in creating the PWHL; no one was more fitting to be the first person to lift the Walter Cup. Oh, and she did it all after giving birth to her son Drew in July 2023.

"Her overall game has grown tremendously," said Frost bench boss Ken Klee, who first coached Coyne Schofield in 2014 with Team USA. "She used to be the extremely fast player that everyone talked about. Now, she's making plays. She's evolved her game to be, 'I need to be more than just fast.' She's still one of the most dynamic skaters in the game, and she knows that's a big part of her game, but she also knows, 'Hey, I need to slow up sometimes, get open, make plays with the puck, use my linemates.'"

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Zumwinkle notched the league's first hat trick Jan. 6 against Montreal and carried that momentum throughout the rest of the campaign. Her 11 goals were tied for second-most league-wide, and she did so as a professional rookie. The 25-year-old tallied only one point in the playoffs but was a key penalty killer on a unit that went a perfect 19-for-19 in the postseason. Zumwinkle is poised to be one of the game's top power wingers for years to come.

"She's a big body. She's gonna go, and she's gonna do what she needs to do in the corners," Frost forward Taylor Heise said. "She has these moves that just pop outta nowhere. Like the one in the Rivalry Series that everyone saw, that doesn't just happen. You don't just do that. She's like, 'I don't know where that came from,' but that comes from the work that you put in. She just does so many things correctly and so many things over and over and over again that all of these things you're seeing in the product on the ice is just a consistent effort she's put in outside of the game."

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Poulin gets much of the focus among Montreal Victoire skaters, but don't sleep on Stacey's impact. The power winger tied for fourth in goals and ranked third in shots on net last season. Stacey enters the new campaign on the heels of an excellent showing at the Rivalry Series with two goals and four points.

"When you look at Stacey the last two or three years - the best line of Team Canada - she never gives up," Victoire general manager Daniele Sauvageau told CBC's Devin Heroux. "She brings a lot of energy. She's a student of the game."

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Keller has every quality you look for in an elite defender. She stands at 5-foot-11 and happily uses her size to shut down opposing top forwards. Keller showed her solid offensive skill set by ranking second in Boston in scoring last campaign and tying for the team lead during the postseason. The 28-year-old also didn't play under 21 minutes in a game and only dipped below 22 minutes three times.

"Megan's just so talented," Fleet general manager Danielle Marmer said. "She sees the ice so well, first of all. The decisions she makes, she doesn't turn pucks over often. Her offensive involvement, whether it's driving the rush from the back end or it's her mobility on the offensive blue line, she's able to find lanes and get pucks to net. And then the physicality, you see her blow players up sometimes when she's defending the rush. She makes you second-guess going to go battle a puck with her in the corner. I'll gladly put my stamp on her being the best D in the league."

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Fast forms one half of arguably the best pairing in women's hockey (both in the PWHL and internationally on Team Canada) with Larocque. The 30-year-old encapsulates the Sceptres' identity as a hard-skill team and led the league in hits last season once the stat began being tracked. Fast's breakout ability, both passing the puck and carrying it up the ice, makes her one of the game's most well-rounded defenders.

"I think her biggest asset is her speed," Larocque said. "She is such a phenomenal athlete. When she does anything in the gym, most of us are like, 'How do we play the same sport?' She is just such a phenomenal athlete, and her skating ability definitely separates her from other players."

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Jenner had seven goals and 14 points in the last 10 games of the campaign as Ottawa chased a playoff spot, ultimately coming up one win shy. Only league MVP Natalie Spooner had as many points in that span. Jenner's statement game came in Ottawa's first outing after the World Championship break when she notched a hat trick in a 4-0 win over Minnesota.

"Brianne has proven throughout her career how great of a player she is," Charge head coach Carla MacLeod said. "Part of her success has been her approach to preparation in her training and in her assessment of the game. All of this is highlighted by her capacity to find the nice spots on the ice to score goals. She probably doesn't get enough credit for her defensive game, too. She's a reliable, dependable player. Those are attributes that elevated her to one of the best players in the game."

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Fillier is an MVP candidate from the get-go. This summer's first overall pick has a sparkling international resume with Canada that includes three World Championship gold medals, an Olympic gold, and an MVP title at the 2023 Worlds. At 24 years old, Fillier is entering her prime, and it'll be a treat to watch her cook on a Sirens team that struggled in the standings but boasts elite talent. Her hat trick in the preseason finale against Toronto could be a sign of things to come.

"I think there's only a certain amount of players in our league who have the talent to find the right spot at the right time to get a goal, and I think she's one of them," Sirens forward Abby Roque said. "She finds a way to get lost, to get in the right spot, be in the right place so somebody can make a pass to her so she gets those goals. I don't think there's a ton of players in the league who know how to just get to the perfect spot to be in that wide-open net lane, and she's one of those players who just has the knack for it."

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Desbiens took the reins as Canada's top goaltender from future Hall of Famer Shannon Szabados in 2021 and hasn't looked back. While her numbers were good last season, Desbiens wasn't the dominant goaltender many expected. Backup Elaine Chuli posted a better save percentage, and Desbiens was out-battled by American counterpart Aerin Frankel in the playoffs (though Desbiens had a .931 postseason save percentage). Look for a statement campaign from the 30-year-old.

"She's very calm," Sceptres goaltender Kristen Campbell said. "I think that's her strength: No matter what happens, she's very calm and poised. Getting to be her goalie partner (with Team Canada), us pushing each other and learning together and from each other, has been really special over the last three or four years."

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Looking back a year, it's a bit wild that Ambrose wasn't signed as a foundational free agent and then wasn't drafted until the final pick of the first round. The 30-year-old claimed Defender of the Year after finishing second in scoring among defenders. Ambrose was also named the best defender in the final year of the CWHL in 2019. Victoire general manager Daniele Sauvageau stole a cornerstone piece at the draft.

"Erin's a very skilled player," said Shelton, Ambrose's teammate on the Canadian national squad. "I think she allows herself to slow down the game. I think she's very patient along the blue line and with the puck. She's an over-communicator. She always likes to chat on the ice, which is great because it's always easy to know where the puck needs to go or where she is."

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Frankel stands just 5-foot-5, but that hasn't stopped her from transforming into a brick wall on occasion. The 25-year-old had an incredible run in the playoffs, posting a .953 save percentage in eight games. Frankel made an absurd 53 saves in Boston's Game 1 overtime win against Montreal and followed it up with 56 stops in Game 2's triple overtime triumph. Boston doesn't make the Walter Cup Final with someone else between the pipes.

"There's no one in the world that plays like Aerin does," said Hensley, who plays with Frankel on the U.S. national team. "I just watch most of the time like, 'I don't know how you did that, but you did.' It's a lot of fun, and she's a great goalie partner to have on and off the ice."

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Heise has consistently been among the truly elite talents in the game since winning MVP at the 2022 World Championship in her major tournament debut. The Minnesota native scored twice in the do-or-die Game 5 against Toronto and followed it up with another two goals in Game 1 of the Walter Cup Final versus Boston. The 24-year-old won playoff MVP with a league-best five goals and eight points in the postseason.

Zumwinkle joked that if she could steal one thing from Heise's game, she'd take her longtime teammate's skill at scoring highlight-reel goals so she could appear on "SportsCenter," too.

"That shiftiness, being able to find the time and space on the zone entry," Zumwinkle added. "I think she does a great job of coming in and cutting laterally and baiting defensemen."

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Spooner claimed league MVP with an outrageous 20-goal campaign. Her goal rate in the 24-game season was comparable to that of Toronto Maple Leafs superstar Auston Matthews, who netted 69 goals in 2023-24. This achievement becomes even more remarkable when you remember it was Spooner's first full season after giving birth to her son Rory in December 2022. However, an ACL injury she sustained in Game 3 against Minnesota has sidelined her to start the new campaign.

"Spoon's been an elite player for a really long time," said Jenner, a member of the Canadian national team with Spooner. "I had the chance to begin my career by playing with her. She's an amazing power forward who has a real knack for the net. She's really lethal in that crease area. She doesn't get pushed off the puck. She's got the finishing skills. She really has it all."

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Nurse dominated down the stretch, tallying nine goals and 17 points in her last 12 regular-season games. A broken finger sustained just before the playoffs limited her effectiveness in Toronto's semifinal loss to Minnesota. The 29-year-old could be in store for an even bigger campaign with the Sceptres' marquee signing, Daryl Watts, set to feature on her wing.

"I think Sarah's at her best when she's playing a little bit on edge," Sceptres head coach Troy Ryan said. "I like that because it's not necessarily her personality or her persona off-ice. But when she plays with a little bit of grit, she's at her best offensively as well."

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Carpenter made a statement with a decisive goal and two points in the first-ever PWHL contest Jan. 1 against Toronto. Though the season didn't pan out in New York's favor, Carpenter was a legitimate MVP candidate. Her 23 points were nine more than the next highest-scoring New York forward. The 30-year-old was also exceptional at the Worlds with the United States, as she finished tied for the tournament lead in goals (six) and points (10).

"Her shot is just so good, and she knows it," Roque said. "She'll shoot from anywhere, and I want her to. When I get to play with her, I'm more of a playmaker, and I'm like, 'Get Carp the puck' because she has the shot for it, and she wants to shoot, she wants to score. Her speed is another thing. She just breaks away from players, and with those two things, it's why she was so productive last year. She gets the puck on a rush, and she's gone, and that shot is wicked. We saw so many unreal goals from her. It's really something only a select few have that real talent for, and she's one of them."

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Poulin remains the most dangerous, well-rounded, and dependable player in the game at 33 years old. She battled through a midseason injury but was still one of just two players to exceed the point-per-game mark. Poulin provided another clutch performance in the gold-medal matchup at the Worlds with her only two goals of the tournament. Arguably, the moment of the PWHL season came when a sold-out Bell Centre welcomed Poulin with a standing ovation - a moment years, if not decades, in the making.

"She's a legend," her teammate Chuli told Sportsnaut's Jim Cerny. "That's the easiest way to put it. Just the way she works and leads our group is something we all want to emulate. She does everything the right way."