PDRD returns as a team-by-team recap of the past week of PWHL action, now moved over from its former home on Rinksiders. This year, it will be formatted as a PWHL power ranking and will include an outside-the-box stat for each team! With every home opener in the books, here’s where things stand.

8. Vancouver Goldeneyes (Last Week: 2)

This Week: 5-1 L @ OTT, 5-1 L @ NY

So much for not throwing out the on-paper rankings. While Sarah Nurse’s day-to-day injury threw a wrench in Vancouver’s lineup, it doesn’t excuse two consecutive four-goal losses without a tally from their forwards. They’re the only team in the PWHL yet to hold a lead, and with undefeated Boston and a rematch with New York coming up, the Goldeneyes won’t have it any easier.

Nat’s Stat: Vancouver Goldeneyes defender Emma Greco is the first player in PWHL history to have more penalty minutes (15) in a game than seconds spent on the ice (11).

7. Seattle Torrent (Last Week: 4)

This Week: 3-0 L vs MIN

The expansion teams occupying the bottom two spots at any point this season wasn’t on my bingo card, even if it’s early. The concerns about Seattle’s scoring were lent some credence this week, as they failed to put one past Nicole Hensley in their home opener. Corinne Schroeder wasn’t her usual self once again on Friday, but perfection would have been necessary out of her and that’s just too much to ask.

Nat’s Stat: Seattle Torrent forward Alex Carpenter won 19 of her 24 faceoffs on Friday. Her 79.2% winning percentage is the second-highest single-game mark of her career (13/16, 81.2% at Boston on Feb. 17th, 2024), and she’s put up this exact number once before on Jan. 10th, 2024, against Montréal.

6. Toronto Sceptres (Last Week: 5)

This Week: 3-1 L vs BOS

Okay, so the Sceptres didn’t entirely dodge that bullet with Daryl Watts’ injury. The new-look first line without her ended up being on for both of Boston’s non-empty-net goals, and Toronto got none of their own at even strength. They did only allow 12 shots, but that’s a defensive performance that should get you an easy victory. Expect Elaine Chuli to get the nod in goal next game, with that said.

Nat’s Stat: For the second consecutive season, Toronto scored a jailbreak goal in their home opener. The only other team to notch a jailbreak in their first home game of a season is the New York Sirens, who did so approximately two hours prior to the Sceptres on Saturday.

5. Minnesota Frost (Last Week: 6)

This Week: 3-0 W @ SEA

The Frost’s shutout of Seattle in front of a record-setting home-opening crowd was impressive, but there’s still some worries here. All of their even strength goals are from one line thus far, and they’ve been outshot in both of their games. On the positive end, though, Kelly Pannek is getting some well-deserved puck luck, and Nicole Hensley should get a good shot at solidifying the 1A position after her performance on Friday.

Nat’s Stat: Minnesota Frost forward Abby Hustler has held sole possession of the team lead in hits in both games so far this season. She is the only player selected in June’s Entry Draft to do so even once, and one of only two rookies in all, along with Vancouver’s Darcie Lappan.

4. Montréal Victoire (Last Week: 8)

This Week: 4-0 W vs NY

Ann-Renée Desbiens. That’s it. That’s the summary.

Okay fine, there’s a bit more to say. Like the Frost, Montréal’s only gotten even strength offence from one line, but is that one line ever good. Abby Roque put on a show against her former team, and Laura Stacey and Marie-Philip Poulin bounced back from a rough start with multi-point efforts. There may be cracks still, but the core of this Victoire team has undoubtedly arrived.

Nat’s Stat: Montréal Victoire defender Maggie Flaherty’s empty net goal on Tuesday was the first by a blueliner in team history. The only remaining Inaugural Six team to have never had an empty-netter scored by a defender is the Ottawa Charge. Speak of the devil…

3. Ottawa Charge (Last Week: 7)

This Week: 5-1 W vs VAN

I’d say Ottawa showed flashes of the team that made the Walter Cup Finals last season, but they may actually have outdone themselves. Moving Brianne Jenner to centre paid off in spades, Rory Guilday looked like a veteran on the blueline in just her second game, Kate Reilly put in 19 solid minutes in her PWHL debut, and Gwyneth Philips faced less than half as many shots as she did last time around. This was an ideal game for the Charge in just about every way, but we’ll have to see if they can keep it up.

Nat’s Stat: Ottawa Charge captain Brianne Jenner (2-2-4) set a new single-game career high in points on Wednesday. Last season, the least amount of time it took her to score four points was a stretch of three games between March 22nd and 29th, 2025, which included her only multi-point game of the season.

2. Boston Fleet (Last Week: 3)

This Week: 3-1 W @ TOR

The Fleet ran back a similar script to their opener on Saturday. A solid performance from Aerin Frankel, another game-winner from Susanna Tapani, and a two-goal victory. Unfortunately, entering the second half of a game with only three shots on goal is an automatic disqualifier from #1, even if Boston is the only undefeated team remaining.

Nat’s Stat: Boston Fleet forward Hannah Brandt recorded an assist in Saturday’s game. Dating back to Feb. 12th, 2025, Brandt’s last six points are all against Canadian teams, as are 17 of 22 in her career.

1. New York Sirens (Last Week: 1)

This Week: 4-0 L @ MTL, 5-1 W vs VAN

The 4-0 score against Montréal did the Sirens pretty dirty. Along with one of the goals being on an empty net, they had the better chances overall but ran into Desbiens in peak form. They remedied this with a dominant victory in their home opener, which saw their top six wake up emphatically after a quiet first couple games. New York tends to start strong, which is good reason to be wary considering how their other seasons have gone, but something about this team just feels different.

Nat’s Stat: New York Sirens defender Nicole Vallario is the second rookie in PWHL history to score their team’s first shot of the game in their first career game. The only other time this has occurred was in the third game ever played in the PWHL, courtesy of Minnesota’s Taylor Heise.