The PWHL just ended their second season by awarding the Walter Cup to the Minnesota Frost, who remain the only team in PWHL existence to win the Walter Cup. They wrote another item in the history books as the first team to win back-to-back. While the Frost will be celebrating for some time, it’s going to be different than their first win as the PWHL is expanding and the two new teams will start building their rosters in a few days.
The protected list comes out on Tuesday, June 3, and teams are able to start signing players on Wednesday, June 4th, until Sunday, June 8th, with the Expansion Draft on June 9th. Both Seattle and Vancouver, who have yet to release team names, will begin signing and drafting players this week, and that means every team in the league, including the Frost, will no longer be the same.
Each team is only allowed to protect three players at first, but after they lose two players, they can protect another. It is important to note that each team can only lose a total of four players throughout both expansion processes. Players who are under contract for next season or have their rights held by a team for next season are the only ones eligible for protection.
In this article, we’ll take a look at the three players the Boston Fleet should and likely will protect. They have a lot of great names, and they’re going to lose some strong pieces, but choices have to be made. They have to choose from Sydney Bard, Hannah Bilka, Hannah Brandt, Emily Brown, Hadley Hartmetz, Aerin Frankel, Megan Keller, Hilary Knight, Shay Maloney, Ilona Markova, Alina Müller, Daniela Pejšová, Jamie Lee Rattray, and Sophie Shirley.
Frankel Should be Priority
The Fleet have a lot of great players that they would love to protect; however, they have a limited number of spots, and they have to make hard choices. Now, just because they don’t protect someone doesn’t mean that player is automatically gone, but four players will likely be gone at the end of this process. While many may think the first player they should protect should be their leadership, like Knight, it’s very hard to find a solid goaltender, which means Frankel should be their main priority.
She played in 23 of the Fleet’s 30 regular-season games and had a record of 12-8-3. She was their main starter and has been a reliable goaltender both this season and last, and that earned her the recognition of being named a finalist for the league’s goaltender of the year in both seasons as well. The Toronto Sceptres’ Kirsten Campbell took home the award last season, but Frankel has another chance this season. The other two finalists are Ann-Renée Desbiens from the Montréal Victoire and Gwyneth Philips from the Ottawa Charge.
Every team is going to change this week, but the Fleet have to make sure goaltending is one of their top priorities. This league is already tight, and it’s going to have even more talent coming in, which means more scoring power, so having a goaltender a team can rely on is key, and that’s why they need to protect Frankel. She’s only 26 years old, so she has quite a bit of career left.
Keller’s Defense Needed
While every team needs a strong goaltender, they also need a strong foundation for defense, and for the Fleet, that means Megan Keller. Another player who is in her late 20s, but has found a way to produce both offensively and defensively. Her points were slightly down from last season, but anytime a defender can produce in almost half of the team’s games, it’s a bonus.
In her first season, she played in 24 games and registered four goals plus 11 assists for 15 points. This season, she played in all 30 games for the Fleet and tallied five goals and eight assists for 13 points. While her overall point total was less, she did find a way to score more, even if it was just one goal, it’s encouraging. One area they do need her to watch if she stays is her penalty minutes. She went from 12 minutes in her first season to 18 in her second, and they need her killing penalties, not taking them.
She’s not afraid to put her body on the line to block shots, and she’s a heads-up player who knows where to play the puck. She keeps her opponents to the outside and is strong in board battles, along with using her body. She’s their best defender, and they need to protect her to help build their future.
Müller Can Lead
This last one was a hard decision to make because it means leaving their star captain and future Hall of Famer, Hilary Knight, off the protected list, at least at first. The biggest deciding factor in this pick had to do with age. Knight had the better season overall, but could this have been a one-and-done year, while Müller still has years ahead of her? Both players are great, but when it comes to the future, oftentimes you have to go younger.
Knight is going to be 36 years old, and while she can still play, at that age, things can change quickly compared to still being in her 20s, especially with how physical this league has become and will continue to be. That fact alone will benefit Müller in the seasons to come, and she can lead, especially after learning from Knight these past two seasons.
She was second on the team in points this season with seven goals and 12 assists for 19 points, 10 behind the team leader, Knight. That was an improvement from her rookie season, where she put up 16 points. She’s steadily getting better offensively and will hopefully only continue. If Knight does leave, they won’t be left empty-handed in terms of leadership either, as Keller was an associate captain and Jamie Lee Rattray was as well, if they both stay into next season.
Knight Could be the Fourth
After the team has let two players go, they can protect another, and if Knight is still available, they should protect her. She may not have as many seasons left in her career as some, but her experience and play are still valuable. She put up 29 points this season, more than doubling her previous total of 11 from last season, with just six more games to do so.
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If Knight goes unprotected, it won’t be a surprise if she’s one of the first players chosen by either Vancouver or Seattle. She’s an Olympic medalist and a World champion with a veteran presence not many players can bring to a lineup; again, the only thing going against her is her age. 36 is not old in living terms, but in hockey, it’s getting towards the end of a career.
Knight has more playing time left in her career, whether it’s one or more; it just depends on what team she will be on. It’ll be hard for Fleet fans to see her go if she does, as she is the face of this franchise, but at the same time, it’ll be good for the next team she’s on to have her leadership when trying to grow the game of women’s hockey.
Expansion is Coming
It’ll be bittersweet for fans when this all starts, and the reality will start to hit when players become signed. While it’ll be difficult to see players leave, it’s important to remember this is for the good of the game, and it means women’s hockey is growing. Once the Expansion Draft is over, it’ll be time for all of the teams to build their rosters with the Entry Draft at the end of June.
