The Professional Women’s Hockey League (PWHL) announced the finalists for some of its inaugural season’s awards this week. The finalists for the Rookie of the Year were revealed on Tuesday, the Coach of the Year on Wednesday, and yesterday (May 16), we learned the identity of the Forward of the Year finalists.
Each finalist had a great first season in the PWHL, but one of them clearly played at a higher level. Before we get into this argument, let’s remind ourselves of the finalists; PWHL New York’s center Alex Carpenter, PWHL Montreal’s center Marie-Philip Poulin, and, last but not least, PWHL Toronto’s right winger Natalie Spooner.
A Little Bit More on Carpenter, Poulin and Spooner
Carpenter started the season with a roar, quickly taking the lead in the points category. At the end of the season, she found herself in a three-way tie for second place points-wise. She played each of her team’s 24 games and gathered 23 points, not far from a point-per-game pace.
Poulin hardly needs an introduction, so we’ll go without, but she was one of the three players tied for second place in points with 23. Unlike the other two players, however, she did not play each of her team’s games being limited to 21 contests, meaning she finished the season with a 1.10 points-per-game (P/G).
Related: PWHL Montreal’s Dramatic Win Highlights Recurring Issues
Finally, Spooner featured in all the games her team played, scored 20 goals and picked up seven assists to win the scoring race with 27 points. While she wasn’t above the P/G pace, she scored 0.83 goals per game, which is an amazing feat. As the player with the most points and goals at the end of the season, she has already won two awards.
A Two-Horse Race
No offense to Carpenter, but I see this as a two-horse race. While Carpenter scored plenty of points, her team was one of the two teams that failed to make the playoffs, and for me, that’s fatal to her chances of winning.
As for the other two finalists, on one side you have a legend of the game nicknamed “Captain Clutch” who was completely indispensable to her team’s success. On the other side, you have an incredible athlete who terrorized the league’s goaltenders all season long and did it not that long after giving birth to her first child, a little boy named Rory.
Both players are worthy candidates for the award but only one can skate away with the distinction. As much as Canada (while the United States can’t help but marvel at her) is in love with national treasure Poulin for her accomplishments on the international scene ever since she burst onto the scene at the 2009 World Championship, this is not what the award is about. You must forget about the three Olympic gold medals, the four World Championship gold medals, the Olympic silver medal, the seven World Championship silver medals, the bronze World Championship medal, and so many more obtained at various levels, and focus only on this season in the PWHL. If you manage to do that, you will eventually admit, even if you don’t want to, that Spooner deserves the award.
There’s Another Award to Be Had
Do not misunderstand me though, I’m not saying Poulin had a bad season, I’m only saying Spooner’s was better. However, I believe Poulin should win one of the other awards for which the finalists haven’t been announced yet, the Billie Jean King MVP Award. Why? Because this distinction is given to the athlete who is the most valuable to their team. Without Poulin, this Montreal team doesn’t even qualify for the playoffs. When she had a knee injury and missed three games, there was no life in Montreal’s play, they weren’t scoring at five on five, the power play wasn’t scoring, the penalty killing was struggling, heck, even the fans were struggling.
Furthermore, Poulin is an excellent playmaker and makes everyone around her better. Mikyla Grant-Mentis was never better in the PWHL than when she got to ride shotgun on Montreal’s first line with Poulin and Laura Stacey. Lord knows Grant-Mentis is a great player in her own right, she won the PHF’s MVP in 2021 and became the highest-paid women’s hockey player when she signed a $80,000 USD contract with the Buffalo Beauts. Yet, with Poulin, she gets even better. The same argument can also be made for Montreal’s Catherine Dubois who spent most of her time on Montreal’s fourth line but shone much brighter when she was on the ice with Poulin.
While I genuinely believe Spooner was the best forward this season, I can’t argue she was the most valuable player for her team; no one is as important for their team as Poulin. One of these days, someone will be taking over that title, but the time hasn’t come yet.
