A Closer Look at the Boston Fleet's Unsung Heroes

As we approach the halfway point of the Fleet’s season, things are starting to turn a corner, but there’s plenty of work still to be done. They sit fifth in raw points and fourth by points percentage, with The Athletic’s Dom Luszczyszyn’s most recent projections (Jan. 31) having them finishing fourth. Their offense is ranked fifth with just 2.31 goals per game (ahead of just the Ottawa Charge, who have 1.8), although their 2.54 goals-against-per-game rate is good for third-best (the Montréal Victoire and New York Sirens are in a two-way tie for first with 2.21). On special teams, their power play has cooled off from its torrid start and now sits fourth with an 18.4% success rate, while they boast the second-best penalty kill at 88.9% (which is good, considering their 3.46 penalties per game is also second in the league).

So far, the players you expect to make the most noise for the Fleet have. In a welcome bounce back from last year, Hilary Knight leads the team with 11 points. She and linemate Susanna Tapani are tied for the team lead in goals with five, while their left-wing Hannah Bilka trails them by just one. Defender Megan Keller boasts seven assists for the team lead, and her ten points is ahead of all other Fleet defenders by six. However, those aren’t the players we’re here to talk about today. Instead, it’s time to highlight the forward and defender who haven’t been the flashiest, but have gone a long way in helping the Fleet scrape their way into playoff contention - plus an honorable mention in each category.

Forward: Hannah Brandt

Brandt has never been the flashiest player (although she does have a knack for clutch goals), but she’s one that you can rely on to do whatever is asked. That's why I highlighted her as a priority for the Fleet to re-sign this offseason before she inked a well-deserved two-year contract. Her five points (1G, 4A) are good for sixth on the team, as are her 1.43 points per 60 minutes. However, Brandt’s impact goes far beyond points. She can and frequently does play up-and-down the lineup and in all situations, with her 210:46 total TOI good for fourth in Fleet forward TOI, behind only the Bilka-Tapani-Knight trio. 

Brandt is also highly effective at the faceoff dot. She has attempted the second-most faceoffs of any Fleet player (183), behind only Susanna Tapani (214), and her 94 wins are also second behind Tapani (98). However, her 26.8 faceoff wins per 60 minutes lead the team by a significant margin, with Shay Maloney coming in second with 21.9 and Tapani in third with 21.1. Given the more defensive minutes Brandt tends to play, it’s huge for the Fleet that she is so efficient at the dot. That said, they haven’t been able to do much with those initial possessions, which may have something to do with ill-fitting linemates. Brandt spent Games 2-4 between Bilka and Knight, producing a goal and an assist off plays with Knight. Since then, she has had Jamie Lee Rattray on her right wing and the left wing has been shared between Alina Müller (one game), Theresa Schafzahl (five games) and Jill Saulnier (the past two games). In that time, she tallied three more points, but her linemates didn’t factor in any of them. So, while Brandt has been an unsung hero of the Fleet this season, it’s fair to wonder if she’d be even better with different linemates. It doesn’t necessarily have to be Bilka and Knight, but for the sake of finding such much-needed offense, it’s probably time to try something new.

Defender: Emily Brown

Brown’s playing style makes her a perpetually unsung hero. She rarely chips in on offense (she has just one goal and one assist this season, and two goals and six assists in 37 career games), but every team needs a strong stay-at-home defender like her. Just like Brandt, I highlighted her as a priority to re-sign this offseason because of her reliability last year, and now she'll be sticking around through at least 2025-26. To preface this next stat, I’m typically a plus-minus hater because it’s an incomplete statistic and often says more about the team than the player, but when it's a number that stands out, I find some use in it as a discussion point. In Brown’s case, she has been a minus just once this season (-1 on 12/17, a 3-2 W over OTT), and while her +1 on the season is part of a six-way tie for first on the Fleet, she is the only defender with a positive rating. The only other defender who isn’t negative is Sidney Morin (more on her later). Considering Brown is often tasked with tough assignments, it’s impressive to see her lead all defenders in that metric.

Brown also plays the highly physical game that head coach Courtney Kessel covets, and she does so without taking a lot of penalties, unlike some of her fellow defenders (looking at you, Keller). Her 25 hits are tied for second on the team with Jessica DiGirolamo (Keller is ahead of them with 30), while Brown’s 6.9 hits per 60 minutes lead all defenders and is second overall among the active roster. Meanwhile, she has just four penalty minutes, which were for delay of game and tripping, so unrelated to physicality. The line between legal and illegal contact is incredibly blurry in the PWHL, yet Brown has found a way to always stay within the legal limits despite frequently throwing her body around. She’s quietly one of the Fleet’s most effective defenders, and without her, the goaltenders' jobs (which are plenty hard enough already) would be a lot more difficult.

Honorable Mentions

In the interest of not droning on too long, I chose to dive deep into just two players, but I want to briefly highlight two others: forward Shay Maloney and defender Sidney Morin. Maloney was drafted in the sixth round (34th overall) this offseason, and it was a bit surprising to see her picked. However, it didn’t take long for her to show why she belongs in the PWHL. The 5’9” power forward fits Kessel’s style perfectly. She’s responsible with the puck and her 22 hits lead all forwards, while her 10.5 hits per 60 minutes lead the active roster by nearly four. She's also chipped in with two goals and an assist offensively. She’s not necessarily the best fit between Müller and Sophie Shirley because of the speed difference, but going from a surprise pick to a forward who can handle playing all over the lineup is certainly worthy of a mention.

As for Morin, she’s perhaps the Fleet’s most reliable all-around defender. Keller is their clear number one, but her 10 penalty minutes lead the team (although to be fair, her 1.94 PIMs per 60 ranks fifth among active roster players). It’s something you’re willing to deal with as talented as Keller is, but it’s not ideal, especially considering she’s typically their top penalty killer. Meanwhile, you can always count on Morin being available, as she’s the least penalized Fleet defender, with just one delay of game penalty this season. She’s their least physical defender, with just nine hits on the season, but offensively, her 22 shots are second among Fleet defenders only to Keller’s 26, while her 5.8 shots per 60 lead all defenders. She’s excellent in transition while still boasting an even plus/minus, which as mentioned earlier, is the only non-negative mark among defenders other than Brown. Her four points (2G, 2A) are good for second among Fleet defenders, and overall, she consistently steps up to whatever task she’s given at either end of ice. You can’t ask any more than that.

The Boston Fleet resume games on Wednesday, February 12 with a visit to the New York Sirens. Puck drop is set for 7 p.m. ET at the Prudential Center in Newark, NJ, and you can find the game on NESN, MSGN2, TSN, the PWHL Youtube Channel, and thepwhl.com.