The Professional Women’s Hockey League (PWHL) is off to a fantastic start with plenty of exciting games and individual plays, backed by some strong marketing and view counts. So many players have had their dreams come true and are now an inspiration for all of the young girls looking to make a career out of the sport.
PWHL Ottawa has developed quite a strong fanbase, including the 8318 fans who attended their inaugural game, setting a record for the largest attendance in a pro women’s hockey game, which ended up being topped by the 13,316 in a PWHL Minnesota game.
Each of the six teams is built through their own styles, but all started with three initial signings. PWHL Ottawa landed their captain Brianne Jenner, assistant captain Emily Clark, and starting goaltender Emerance Maschmeyer.
Related: NHL Needs to Be Innovative Like the PWHL
Following the initial three signings, the PWHL Draft was held, where each team picked up 15 more players, and then PWHL Ottawa signed more players to contracts and invited more to training camp to round out the roster. Right here, you will be able to find a breakdown of each of the players on Ottawa’s roster.
PWHL Ottawa Forwards:
#88 – Lexie Adzija, 23
Selected in the 11th round of the PHWL Draft, Lexie Adzija is coming out of a 109-point career with the University of Quinnipiac, where she captained the team last season. During her senior year (2021-22), Adzija had some fantastic results, posting 28 points, a team-leading +29 rating, had the fourth most faceoff wins in the entire NCAA for women with 536, and was named the Mandi Schwartz Student-Athlete of the Year.
She played a lot of center in the NCAA but lined up in the first PWHL game as a right winger. She missed time due to injury in her final NCAA year, but Adzija’s talent still landed her a spot on the Ottawa roster. Adzija plays a power-forward type of game that adds physicality and skill. Adzija has the ability to play any role that head coach Carla MacLeod can insert her in the lineup. The combination of her great play on the ice and her fantastic ability to market herself and the league via TikTok and Instagram will make her a sure-fire fan favorite.
#26 – Emily Clark, 28
One of the initial three players signed in the PWHL, Clark has quite an impressive resume representing Canada. She has a pair of gold medals in the Under-18 World Junior Championships, at the World Championships she has one bronze medal, four silvers, and two gold. On top of that, she has had a pair of appearances at the Olympics, earning silver and gold medals. It is hard to ask for any better of a resume there. But just in case you wanted more, she was one of five women to appear at the NHL All-Star event in 2023.
Sign up for our NHL Prospects & Draft Substack newsletter
On Team Harvey’s last season in the Professional Women’s Hockey Players Association (PWHPA), Clark finished second on the team in scoring, only trailing Marie-Philip Poulin. What is one of the most exciting things about watching Clark? Well, in the championship game of the PWHPA season, she scored a hat-trick and added an assist for a four-point game. She loves playing in the big moments.
#25 – Kristin Della Rovere, 23
Drafted in the 10th round of the PWHL Draft, Kristin Della Rovere is another young player coming straight out of the NCAA. Through four seasons with Harvard, Della Rovere scored an impressive 122 points. She never finished any lower than second in team scoring through her entire career, was a fantastic option in the faceoff dot, and played hard every night.
Della Rovere was consistently one of the best players on her team. She had good defensive play, great health throughout each season, and was always one to shine in the big moments with a team-leading three game-winning goals in 2022-23. Lining up on the fourth line for the first game and projected to be there again for the second game, Della Rovere is someone who will add great scoring depth to the Ottawa roster.
#94 – Fanni Garát-Gasparics, 29
Fanni Garat-Gasparics played in a number of leagues, most recently playing in the top Swedish league, the SDHL, last season in the Premier Hockey Federation (PHF), and prior to that, she played five seasons with Hungary in the European Women’s Hockey League (EWHL). Her tenure in the EWHL lasted 63 games, and she finished with a whopping 166 points.
In her only PHF season, Garat-Gasparics scored a solid 14 points in 24 games with the Metropolitan Riveters. Once going to the SDHL, she posted 11 points in 13 games and is now with Ottawa in the PWHL. She is projected to stay on the fourth line in Ottawa but adds great depth to the team.
#10 – Becca Gilmore, 25
Becca Gilmore spent four seasons with Harvard in the NCAA, with her best year being her final year, which saw her post 45 points in 32 games. She has good two-way play, which will likely see Ottawa utilizing that in defensive situations, including the penalty kill. Expected to start the second Ottawa game on the top line, Gilmore has impressed the coaching staff, earning an upgrade from where she was initially practicing on the third line.
Gilmore’s five game-winning goals in her senior year at Harvard is part of the reason that following the PWHL Draft, Gilmore was the first undrafted player to sign with a team. Ottawa was eager.
#13 – Mikyla Grant-Mentis, 25
Mikyla Grant-Mentis had a great tenure in the PHF, scoring 63 points in 51 games. Those totals leave her top ten in league points per game. Prior to her transition to the top league in North America, Grant-Mentis had a fantastic stretch in the NCAA, posting 117 points across her four seasons.
Playing as a top-six forward for Ottawa, Grant-Mentis scored the first goal in PWHL Ottawa history (that was called off…) after going from undrafted to signing a one-year deal to earning a top-six spot. It has been an impressive stretch for her, and she is certainly making the most of it.
#17 – Gabbie Hughes, 24
Ottawa opted to use their fourth-round draft pick to pick Gabbie Hughes, who, surprisingly, was available to them. The high-scoring winger is the type of player everybody wants at the top of their lineup. She had a very impressive NCAA career, including a career-high of 59 points, which earned her a spot as a finalist for the Patty Kazmaier Award.
With some high praise from general manager Mike Hirshfeld, there is hope that Hughes can be one of the biggest breakout stars in the PWHL and eventually one of the top players. Her high-octane offense is something that Ottawa will lean on, and she will be put in a position to thrive.
#19 – Brianne Jenner, 32
Oh, captain, my captain. If we went through the entire list of Brianne Jenner’s accolades, we would be talking longer than it takes you to read this entire post. She is a three-time Olympian, including two gold medals and a silver, was awarded the most valuable player at the 2022 Olympics, and has 17 points in as many games in her three appearances. That is all just at the top level in the world. She also has nine World Championship appearances where she has 51 points in 52 games, she is over a point per game across her six Canadian Women’s Hockey League (CWHL) and dominated in the PWHPA.
Pure captain material. You couldn’t ask for anyone better than someone as experienced, decorated, and committed to the game as you get with Jenner.
#16 – Katerina Mrazova, 31
One of the top European options for the PWHL landed in Ottawa. Katerina Mrazova has dominated the top Swedish leagues for years now. In the SDHL, Mrazova has a whopping 168 points in 86 career games, and after her team was relegated in her final year in Sweden, she dominated the Division 1 league with 35 points in just seven games.
Mrazova has plenty of experience representing Czechia internationally, including six World Championships, the Olympics, and three Under-18s. She also played in the PHF, scoring 29 points in 34 games over her two seasons.
#14 – Hayley Scamurra, 29
Hayley Scamurra is one of Ottawa’s top options as a defensive forward, but she certainly isn’t afraid to rack up some points. She earned Newcomer of the Year in the National Women’s Hockey League (NWHL) as well as Rookie of the Year in the PHF. She makes her presence known as soon as she hits the scene.
She spent last season in the PWHPA where she scored 12 points in 18 games. Scamurra scored the first official goal for Ottawa, so her name is already going down in history with the team, but her play will certainly make her name a staple for this team for this year and moving forward.
#11 – Akane Shiga, 22
Akane Shiga is the only Japanese player to join the PWHL, and there is a ton of excitement that comes with that. She led Japan to a gold medal in D1 and D1A World Championship gold medals. She developed as a defender but eventually transitioned to forward. That plan worked out pretty well, considering she is the youngest player in one of the top women’s leagues as a forward.
While she wasn’t drafted, Shiga was invited to Ottawa’s training camp and made the team. She is certainly one of the top stories to follow this season, and see how her development pans out. The sky is the limit for Shiga.
#8 – Natalie Snodgrass, 25
Another training cap invitee who made the team, Natalie Snodgrass, was tied for the lead in points with the Minnesota Whitecaps in the PHF as a rookie. Before that, Snodgrass spent five years in the NCAA, where she was a very reliable top-of-the-lineup asset that could get the team on the board.
#9 – Daryl Watts, 24
Daryl Watts was Ottawa’s sixth-round draft pick, and for very good reason. In her freshman year in the NCAA, Watts posted a ridiculous 82 points, which, of course, earned her Rookie of the Year, but also won the Patty Kazmaier Award. She is the only freshman to win that award. To put into perspective how crazy 82 points as a freshman is, the last time an NCAA player did that, male or female, was Paul Kariya in the 1992-93 season.
She was a Patty Kazmaier finalist in each of her NCAA seasons, was a first-team All-American member in all but one season, and earned an NCAA championship. Her college career was phenomenal, and there is little doubt that her incredible talent can transition to the PWHL.
PWHL Ottawa Defenders
#21 – Ashton Bell, 24
Ashton Bell has quite an intriguing history as a hockey player. Starting off as a forward, Bell was fantastic in the Under-18 AAA league in Manitoba, leading the league in points with 49 in 22 games. After that season, she made the transition to the NCAA with the University of Minnesota-Duluth. In her rookie year, she posted 23 points in 35 games, followed by 17 points in the same number of games.
Her Junior season is where things really kicked off as she made the transition to defense and bolstered that blue line. In her first season in the position, Bell scored 32 points in 36 games, crushing her previous career high. Like many players on this list, the pandemic made NCAA eligibility a bit odd, but in her fifth and final season with UMD, Bell scored 33 points in 39 games. On top of a stellar NCAA career, she has two World Championship gold medals and an Olympic gold, plus an NCAA Defender of the Year award. Not bad for a second-round pick for Ottawa, eh?
#28 – Amanda Boulier, 30
Drafted in the 13th round of the PWHL Draft, Amanda Boulier is a veteran defender who has played for six years across the PHF and NWHL. She captained St. Lawrence University in her final NCAA, which also saw her post her second-best totals, ending up with 29 points in 38 games. That season was only topped by her 32-point campaign.
Boulier brings an offensive game to Ottawa and will play a top-four role on the blue line. She certainly has defensive capabilities but will be looked at for her offensive impacts on the team. In her first appearance in a PWHL game, Bell had a pair of assists and led her team in points.
#3 – Zoe Boyd, 23
A stronger defensive presence than some of the other names listed, Zoe Boyd has been lined up on the top pair alongside Bell to give the pair a nice balance. While her offensive skills never stood out, she does have some impacts. With 12-14 points in each of her four seasons in the NCAA, Boyd was always one of the more trusted defenders at the University of Quinnipiac.
#15 – Savannah Harmon, 28
The first-round pick by Ottawa in the PWHL Draft was used to select Savannah Harmon. With two silver and one gold World Championship medals, an Olympic silver, and a nomination for the Kenzie Kazmaier award, Harmon comes with quite an impressive resume.
In her final two seasons with Clarkson University in the NCAA, she captained the team to back-to-back championships, scoring 70 points in 82 games. Her leadership is a great asset, but her on-ice impact is a huge selling point for her. During her Olympic run, she led the USA blueline with seven points in as many games. She loves the big stage and should be a staple on the Ottawa blueline for the next three seasons.
#5 – Victoria “Tori” Howran, 25
Tori Howran was an invitee to Ottawa’s training camp and came out of it with a one-year deal. She is currently lined up as the seventh defender but adds some strong depth to the roster. She spent the last three seasons with the Connecticut Whale in the NWHL/PHF, posting 18 points in 47 games.
#33 – Jincy Roese, 26
Jincy Roese is all about leadership. After wearing a letter in four NCAA seasons, she has been named an assistant captain for Ottawa. Roese had a fantastic NCAA career, but some of her best plays have come at the international level. Through three years of Under-18 World Junior hockey (which is impressive enough), she tallied up two silver medals, a gold medal, the award for best defender twice, and led all defenders in points twice.
Roese played in the Olympics, winning silver with the Americans, and won Defender of the Year in the NCAA’s WCHA league twice. Roese’s accomplishments make her a huge attraction, which landed her worthy of a third-round pick in the PWHL Draft. Lined up on the third pair for Ottawa isn’t telling of her talent, but more so the depth this roster has. Don’t be surprised to see her jump up in the lineup when changes inevitably happen.
#2 – Aneta Tejralova, 28
Ottawa’s seventh-round pick from Czechia, Aneta Tejralova, has been lined up with Roese so far in the first season, and that could make for quite a good pairing. The majority of her hockey has come in the top Russian league for women, being the Zhenskaya Hockey League (ZHL). On top of some great offensive seasons, Tejralova once earned the award for most goals by a defender and most points by a defender twice. Through 204 games, she scored at a 0.84 point-per-game pace, leaving the league with 172 points in eight seasons.
She earned two bronze medals with Czechia at the World Championship, as well as multiple other medals with Czechia in the D1A World Championship division.
PWHL Ottawa Goaltenders
#30 – Sandra Abstreiter, 25
Sandra Abstreiter is the backup goaltender for Ottawa, but as the team is carrying three goalies on the roster, there is a chance she is rotated out. The German-born goaltender spent four seasons in the NCAA and was nothing short of dominant. With 104 games played, her career stats from the league include 53 wins, a .931 save percentage (SV%), and a 1.88 goals-against average (GAA). Despite Germany being an underpowered nation when compared to other nations in the women’s World Championship, Abstreiter finished the tournament with a .929 SV%, which was third-best in the tournament.
While Ottawa has their starting goaltender set, there is certainly a possibility that Abstreiter can get some more attention within the new league and be looked at as a top option in the net for a team in the future.
#38 – Emerance Maschmeyer, 29
Maschmeyer was another one of the initial three signings and is the starting goaltender for the club. Now considered a veteran of women’s hockey, she has quite a lengthy resume of success throughout her career. The majority of her hockey has been played in the CWHL and NCAA, where she had a .935 SV% or higher in all but one of the seven seasons she played between the two leagues.
In the World Championships, Maschmeyer has one bronze medal, three silver medals, and one gold, plus an Olympic gold medal in 2022. This is yet another incredible resume for a player on this Ottawa roster, and she is looking to build on it by being the go-to goalie for Ottawa.
#34 – Rachel McQuigge, 25
Rounding out the fantastic trio of goaltenders Ottawa has is Rachel McQuigge. While most of her NCAA career has been as a part of a 1A/1B tandem type of team, her senior year is when she took over the crease. Making an appearance in 29 games, McQuigge finished the season with a phenomenal 1.88 GAA and .938 SV%. Those numbers get even more impressive when you look at the struggles her Princeton University team had. Despite her excellent stats, she had a record of 10-14-4 to no fault of her own.
McQuigge and Abstreiter are certain to both get looks in the PWHL. The only reason McQuigge is projected as the third-stringer is because Ottawa has such fantastic options. It is not just a telling of her talent level.
Exciting Days Ahead for Ottawa
There is a ton to be excited about with this impressive lineup. There is so much potential, proven talent, and dedication to the sport throughout this entire team.