PWHL Training Camp Roster Breakdown: Boston Fleet

Last week, each PWHL team announced its 2024 training camp roster. Training camps are set to begin on November 12 in their local markets before teams move to Montréal (Boston, Montréal, Ottawa) or Ottawa (Minnesota, New York, Toronto) for a preseason mini-camp from November 19-22. Final rosters are due by November 27th. With those dates fast approaching, it’s time to look at who will attend each camp. Today, I’ll be diving into the Boston Fleet, but be sure to keep your eyes peeled for breakdowns of the other rosters from my colleagues.

Rosters could have included up to 32 players, but the Fleet elected to keep their a little smaller with 29 players slated to appear at camp. Per GM Danielle Marmer in a press release, they did this to ensure every player gets a real chance at a spot since they will have limited time to show their skills since it’s a shorter training camp. 16 forwards, nine defenders, and four goaltenders will be vying for one of the 23 main roster spots or three reserve slots. Without further ado, let’s dive into the roster. 

Newcomers to the Fleet organization are noted with the last team they played for and how they were acquired. Players who earned contract extensions this off-season are denoted with an asterisk.

Signed

Boston enters training camp with the bulk of their roster already under contract. 20 players (11 forwards, 7 defenders, and two goaltenders) are already signed. Four joined the team via the draft or free agency, while 16 returned from last season's roster.

Forwards (11)

• Lexie Adzija*
• Hannah Bilka (Ohio State University, drafted 1-4)
• Hannah Brandt*
• Loren Gabel
• Taylor Girard
• Hilary Knight
• Alina Müller
• Jamie Lee Rattray
• Theresa Schafzahl
• Sophie Shirley*
• Susanna Tapani

Just one new forward has secured a contract with the Fleet heading into training camp. However, the impact of Bilka’s addition should not be underestimated. Not only is she an outstanding player, but she elevates her linemates with her high hockey IQ and elite playmaking ability. She’s also a winger, which means Müller should be able to shift to center, where she has spent most of her career and appears most comfortable. That seemingly small bit of increased flexibility will give head coach Courtney Kessel much more wiggle room to find line combinations that get the best out of everyone.

While the lack of new faces is a bit of a surprise given the team finished last in the league offensively last season, it shows a lot of confidence from management that players who had down years will bounce back. It also alludes to them thinking that many of their offensive problems came from not generating much from the back end, which was addressed in the draft (more on that shortly). Both can easily be true, so it shouldn’t be a big cause for worry that the forward corps will be largely unchanged. In fact, it's probably a good thing, since now most players won't have to start from scratch chemistry-wise.

Defenders (7)

• Sydney Bard (Colgate University, drafted 4-22)
• Emily Brown*
• Jessica DiGirolamo
• Emma Greco (PWHL Minnesota, free agent)
• Megan Keller
• Sidney Morin*
• Daniela Pejšová (, drafted 2-7)

Boston’s defensive corps got a big overhaul from last season, with three new faces joining the fold. Greco gives the club another experienced shutdown option, while Bard and Pejšová are both strong transitional defenders. Thanks to the additions, the coaching staff now has the option to split each pairing with a shutdown defender and a more offensively-minded/transitional one. Or, they could make an offensive pairing, shutdown pairing, and a combo to deploy according to each situation. That flexibility is huge, especially since they struggled with generating offense from the back end last season. On paper, this new group is stronger and much more versatile, which will help them at both ends of the ice.

Goaltenders (2)

• Aerin Frankel
• Emma Söderberg

Boston returns their top two goalies from last season which is a big positive. Frankel was a huge part of why the team made it to Game 5 of the Walter Cup Final despite an iffy offense, while Söderberg was a strong backup whose numbers didn’t always reflect her play. Both should only continue to get better and will ensure that Boston has a chance to win every night.

Camp Invites

Assuming all the signed players keep their contracts, six spots are up for grabs for the camp invites, three of which will be reserves. This means just three players will get cut, leaving everyone with a legitimate chance at making the roster like Marmer wanted. If the Fleet follows the standard roster construction, 13 forwards, seven defenders, and three goaltenders will be signed to full contracts. As for the reserve spots, they will likely go to two forwards and one defender. 

Forwards (5)

• Kelly Babstock
• Jillian Dempsey (PWHL Montréal, free agent)
• Shay Maloney (Leksands IF (SDHL), drafted 6-34)
• Ilona Markova (Agidel Ufa (ZhHL), drafted 7-37)
• Amanda Pelkey

Likely number of spots: 4

Three forwards with PWHL experience were invited to camp. Babstock joined the Fleet as a reserve at the trade deadline before earning a full contract just before playoffs. She quickly endeared herself to the fanbase and team with her fiery personality on and off the ice, and it’s not a surprise to see her earn an invite. Meanwhile, Dempsey is a Boston hockey legend who had spent her entire career playing in or near the city before being drafted by Montréal last year. She had a limited role for Montréal but is a Swiss army knife player and proven leader who deserves this chance. Finally, Pelkey had a solid season for PWHL Boston last year before kicking it up a notch in the playoffs and earning more ice time. She’s proven reliable regardless of the size of her role, so inviting her back to camp was a no-brainer.

As for the 2024 draftees, Maloney is a Quinnipiac alumna who spent last season with Leksand of the SDHL. She’s not the flashiest player, but has some offensive upside and is a smart playmaker who is strong at both ends of the ice. Meanwhile, Markova was one of the most interesting names picked this year. She’s spent her career in Russia, where there is limited scouting of women’s hockey. The last time she was on the international stage was in 2021 due to contracting COVID-19 before the 2022 Olympics and the ongoing IIHF ban on Russia due to the war in Ukraine. Not much is publicly known of her recent play other than she posted 40 points in 42 regular season games and 10 points in seven playoff games last season. Regardless, she has a lot of upside, and while it’s a big jump from the ZhHL to the PWHL, Marmer and her staff clearly think she has what it takes. If she cracks Boston’s roster, she will be the first Russian player to make the PWHL.

Prediction: Babstock, Dempsey, Markova, Pelkey. 

Given these will all be limited roles, PWHL experience should give the free agents an advantage. All three of them had limited roles last season, so they know what it takes to be successful in them. As for Markova, I feel she has the edge on Maloney simply because she likely has more untapped potential and more to gain from being in the PWHL. Maloney will be fine going back to the SDHL and then coming back for another try next year, but Markova would likely go back to the ZhHL and the longer she goes without being challenged at a higher level, the worse off she’ll be. She never even played in the NCAA and it's unlikely that two weeks is enough time for her to show whether or not she can adjust. So, combine all of this with what was likely a complicated visa process they won't want to repeat unnecessarily, and I imagine she'll get a look as a reserve to start. Whether she keeps that spot all season is an entirely different question, but barring a catastrophically bad camp that shows no hope, I think they give her a little longer to show whether she can adjust and succeed in the North American game.

That said, if Maloney has a strong camp, she might be able to knock out one of the PWHL players. If I had to guess, it would be Babstock since her ice time dipped significantly in playoffs and while her locker room presence is valuable, she hasn’t proved she can produce on-ice results over a full season. There's also an argument for keeping her instead of one of the PWHL players if they choose to sign Markova but aren't sure she'll stick all season. As mentioned earlier, Maloney will likely return to the SDHL if she doesn't make the PWHL. That will make it so she can't easily be brought back over if the Fleet needs another reserve midseason. If that becomes a major consideration, it would make Dempsey or Pelkey a little more likely to get cut. Babstock played in the Swiss league (SWHL) before joining the Fleet last season, and it's fair to assume she'd at least consider going back. On the other hand, Dempsey didn't seem to love playing in a different city, and Pelkey's wife, Venla Hovi, is an assistant coach at Harvard so she may not want to go too far either. Teams don't have to stick to just signing their reserves or players they're familiar with so this may all be a moot point, but it's worth mentioning if everything else ends up being equal.

Defenders (2)

• Hadley Hartmetz (Ohio State University, drafted 7-40)
• Maude Poulin-Labelle (PWHL Toronto, free agent)

Likely number of spots: 1

Hartmetz is a strong two-way defender who played on the top pairing at Ohio State last season en route to a national championship. However, she was injured in the NCAA championship game, and the recovery timeline is likely why she was available so late. The last report that came was from Matt Porter of the Boston Globe on June 24, who said she blew out her ACL, MCL, and meniscus and will be out until January. It’s unclear if that’s changed, but it seems unlikely she’ll be ready for the start of the season, which will seriously hurt her chances of making the team out of camp.

As for Poulin-Labelle, she spent last season with PWHL Toronto. She started with Montréal before being waived before the season began, and Toronto snapped her up. She was solid in a limited role with the team, and going into camp holds a big edge on Hartmetz simply by being healthy.

Prediction: Poulin-Labelle, at least until Hartmetz recovers.

Goaltenders

• Cami Kronish
• Klára Peslarová (Brynäs (SDHL), undrafted free agent)

Likely number of spots: 1

Kronish did not appear in a game for the Fleet last season, although she did dress as the backup a handful of times. Still, her play in practice and attitude were enough to earn her an invite back to camp. That said, she will face stiff competition this year in Peslarová, a longtime member of the Czech national team and proven SDHL starter. Despite her injury history, it surprised many that she was not drafted. She played massive minutes for one of the Brynäs last season, finishing third in the league in save percentage, mere tenths of a percent from first. She also always performs well at national tournaments and is one of, if not the, best goaltenders outside North America. As long as she adjusts to the PWHL okay, she’d be able to challenge Frankel and especially Söderberg more than Kronish, who had a strong college career but not much experience otherwise.

Prediction: Peslarová. 

Simply put, she has a resumé that is hard to ignore and she is better prepared to push the top two more. Kronish is good and experienced in this exact role, but it seems like this is Peslarová’s spot to lose right now.