While the NHL is getting things underway, the Professional Women’s Hockey League (PWHL) is starting to ramp up the excitement in preparation for its season to start in early November. The team schedules were released a couple of weeks ago, but late Thursday morning, Oct. 16, the teams announced their training camp rosters.
After the PWHL Expansion Draft this past summer to help grow the new teams, PWHL Seattle and PWHL Vancouver, the two-time defending Walter Cup champions, the Minnesota Frost, still have a strong team that’s coming to training camp. They’ll be hoping to find a way to three-peat, and they have the players to do so. In this article, we’ll take a look at who’s coming to training camp, starting with their forwards.
Frost’s Forward Depth
The Frost were lucky enough to get out of the expansion draft with most of their forwards still intact. Of course, they still have their top forwards of Taylor Heise and Kendall Coyne-Schofield, but they did lose Michela Cava, Liz Schepers, and Denisa Křížová. They also still have Britta Curl-Salemme, Claire Butorac, Klára Hymlárová, Katy Knoll, Kaitlyn O’Donohoe, Kelly Pannek, Dominique Petrie, and, of course, Grace Zumwinkle.
While the majority of their forwards are returning, they do have some new draft picks joining them at training camp and bringing quite a bit of talent with them. Their second overall pick at the 2025 PWHL Entry Draft was Abby Hustler, who will make a strong addition to their talented group. They also have Anna Segedi and Vanessa Upson. It’ll be interesting to see where these draft picks fit into the lineup with so many scorers already.
The final group of forwards are the ones who are brand new to the group and may not make the cut in the end. The camp invites are those who aren’t draft picks and haven’t been with the team yet. The Frost have four in their forward group, and they are Peyton Anderson, Alyssa Machado, Madison Mashuga, and O’Donohoe, who is considered a camp invite despite spending part of last season with the Frost.
Frost Defense Needs Help
This is where the Frost were hit the hardest during the expansion draft; they lost Claire Thompson and Sophie Jacques. However, after the expansion draft, they also lost Maggie Flaherty, Mellissa Channell-Watkins. They do still have Mae Batherson, Natalie Buchbinder, and Lee Stecklein, all are strong defenders.
New to their team this season will be their first overall pick in Kendall Cooper, who will hopefully be a strong presence on their defense, as well as Brooke Becker and Ava Rinker. All three of these players will likely be in the Frost’s lineup this season, as stated above; their defense was hit hard during the expansion draft and then free agency.
That leaves the camp invites, and there are just two in Madison Bizal and Cameron Sikich. Plus, the offseason signing they made in Sidney Morin, who will also be an important part of their defensive squad. Their defense is going to need the most help, and it could be difficult for them to find those right missing pieces.
Frost’s Goaltending Returns
The Frost don’t have to worry too much about their goaltending. While the tandem may have its ups and downs throughout the season, they are rock solid through the postseason. The tandem of Maddie Rooney and Nicole Hensley has been together from the start of the PWHL, and they’ve been through it all together, from the very first game to fighting back in the postseason to win their first Walter Cup and doing it all over again to win their second.
They know what it takes to win, and they have a lot of talent that the Frost has managed to keep. They’ll be returning once again to try for a third Walter Cup, and they are easily one of the best tandems in the league, regardless of what the statsheets may say. However, they always need a third goaltender in case of injury or illness, and they have one in Marlène Boissonnault.
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She was part of their team last season, and she’s going to return alongside Rooney and Hensley as well. So, while their defenders may be struggling, they have solid goaltending to back them up when needed.
This coming season will likely be the most difficult for the Frost, as they know what it takes to win it all, not once but twice. Now, everyone will be expecting them to go for a third after having key players leave. It’s going to be a different team, and it’s going to be entertaining to watch how they do, and hopefully they’ll battle strongly for a third Walter Cup.
