2026 Walter Cup Playoffs predictions, storylines and picks
The regular season is finished. It’s time to get down to business.
After four months of thrilling action and drama, the PWHL gets set to drop the puck on its postseason, with plenty of storylines heading into the third edition of the Walter Cup Playoffs.
Today, our “experts” at Daily Faceoff – Hunter Crowther, Scott Maxwell and Tyler Kuehl – come together to give their thoughts on the postseason outlook, and which team will be hoisting the trophy when it’s all said and done.
Did Montreal make the right choice?
Tyler: Let me begin this segment by stating that I believe finishing first in the PWHL is bad juju. It didn’t work for Toronto, and it was a disappointing end for Montreal last year. That said, head coach Kori Cheverie stated that the team went through its “internal process” (whatever that means) in choosing the Frost. If that process was thinking, “Let’s not face one of the best goaltenders in the world,” then the Victoire made the right choice. Sure, choosing the two-time defending champs is a head-scratcher to the naked eye, but for a Montreal team that has struggled to score in the playoffs, facing a team with a weaker defense is the solution that can help get it over the hump and into the final.
Scott: Look, I get it. Montreal has spent its first two playoff stints scoring 10 goals in seven games against Frankel and Philips. Even “Captain Clutch” has just two goals in two playoff runs. The last thing the Victoire wants is to face off against a hot goaltender again, and Philips is arguably in a better form than she was last year. But the Charge are the worst team in the league in terms of both creating and preventing chances, while Montreal is the best at both. It feels like that gap is far larger than the gap between Philips and Ann-Renee Desbiens. That said, Montreal is far better at controlling play than Minnesota (just by 6% instead of 12%), so they should be the favorites regardless. But telling the two-time defending champs you WANT to play them feels like a recipe for disaster.
Hunter: I don’t think any of us expected the Victoire to pick the Frost, but at the same time … hell yeah, dude. Can we give Montreal some credit for having a choice in opponent and picking the two-time defending champs? I know some will say Montreal is overthinking it, that they’re avoiding Gwyneth Philips and the fear of “getting goalie’d” drove their decision. But maybe … maybe this Montreal group is looking at this postseason and figures the best path forward is straight through the mud. Minnesota just completed the most productive offensive campaign in league history, but the Victoire also allowed the fewest-ever goals. And for goodness sake, Montreal has the goat. To paraphrase a North Carolina legend: To be the best, you have to beat the best.
Which team has nothing to lose?
Tyler: I said it last year, and I’ll say it again, the Ottawa Charge are the team playing with house money. While we know what to expect from the likes of Philips, Jenner and Emily Clark, this team still has a significant mountain to climb to get back to the championship series. They are facing a Fleet team that has gone wire-to-wire as a top-two team in the standings, and seems to be better built for the playoffs than the Victoire were last season. The Charge aren’t expected to be playing for the Walter Cup once again…which is just the way they like it.
Scott: You could argue Ottawa because they barely snuck into the playoffs, but it feels like the only team truly with nothing to lose is the one that hasn’t yet in Minnesota. If they win, they remain the only team in the league to win the Walter Cup. If they don’t, then that’s it. There’s no feeling of true disappointment beyond wanting to keep winning, they’ve had their taste. I’m a Manchester City fan, I would know. You want to keep winning, but losing doesn’t feel painful. That’s where the Frost are at right now.
Hunter: I’ll go off the board and say the Fleet. Coming off a 2024-25 campaign where Boston missed the playoffs, few predicted the team would raise much of a ruckus, especially with the departure of Hilary Knight, Hannah Bilka and Emily Brown, as well as a new head coach in Kris Sparre. But the Fleet have been at or near the top of the standings for most of the season, and it’s felt like they’ve been playing with house money. Yes, a first-round loss to the Charge would be less than ideal, but they will still have a world-class goaltender in Aerin Frankel and plenty of talented young pieces to build off of next season.
Which team has the most to lose?
Tyler: Am I the only one who thinks the Fleet can’t afford to mess this up? Year one, they rode Frankel to the final with unquestionably the most disappointing lineup in year one. Year two, they rode Frankel until she was hurt at the Women’s Worlds, and it killed their season. This year? The Green Monster has played at an MVP level, plugging the holes from a blue line that is prone to giving up several dangerous scoring chances. Boston has to be counting its blessings, but how many years in a row can the Fleet use this formula? I’m not saying this season was a flash in the pan, but the way this team plays, this is certainly their best chance to win it all.
Scott: Two teams have made the playoffs all three seasons: Minnesota and Montreal. Minnesota has two championships. Montreal has one playoff win. I’m not going to be one of those people saying Poulin is as close to being done with her career as Sidney Crosby is, but she’s also 35 years old. Other key players like Laura Stacey, Hayley Scamurra, Erin Ambrose and Desbiens are also in their 30s. They only have so many kicks at the can left in their careers, and as more teams are added each season and the talent pool is spread out, they’re not going to get a better shot at winning the Walter Cup than this season.
Hunter: This may sound odd, but I feel like it’s the Charge. They were blessed with a late-season run that punched their ticket to the Walter Cup Playoffs, despite being mostly average for a chunk of the year and lacking a true superstar beyond Philips. I know they’re far and away the biggest underdogs, and no one will blink if they lose to the Fleet. But the way this postseason is set up, it feels like Ottawa has a more favorable path to a Walter Cup than they did last spring. With teams that missed the playoffs this year likely taking steps forward next season, it’s now or never for this veteran-heavy group.
Who has the money goaltender?
Tyler: Eeny, meeny, miny, moe…Give me Philips for 1,000, Alex! I know the analytics have been favoring her Team USA partner, but is Ottawa even top-six in the league without the Ohioan? Even in a game that the Charge didn’t have to win last Saturday, she came up with a shutout against the Sceptres. She’s been the team’s bread-and-butter all season, and manages to come up with the clutch (and sometimes outrageous) stops to give Ottawa a chance to win.
Scott: Philips had an incredible season carrying Ottawa to the playoffs, but it’s gotta be Frankel here. Philips saved about 11 goals more than expected on the year, but Frankel saved 17.3, transforming Boston from a middling team to a contender. Add in the Olympic experience she added where she was nearly impossible to beat, and there’s no scarier goaltender in these playoffs than Frankel.
Hunter: Well, if Tyler and Scott are taking Philips and Frankel, I GUESS I’ll have to go with Ann-Renee Desbiens, who finished with the best save percentage (.955), the best goals against average (1.11), and the second-most shutouts with seven. In 25 games this season, she allowed more than two goals just once! She was last season’s Goaltender of the Year and improved! While there’s a case to be made for Philips or Frankel, sometimes being reliable is the best trait in the postseason.
Which player has to step up?
Tyler: Along with relying on Philips to stand on her head, the Charge needs some offense, so why not ask last year’s playoff hero to come through once again? Clark’s production took a massive dip during the regular season, scoring just nine points after a career-best 19 points in the 2024-25 campaign. That said, we know what she can bring to the table, as she was Ottawa’s best skater in last year’s playoffs. After a tough 30 games heading into the postseason, it’s the perfect time for her to rise to the occasion against the Fleet.
Scott: I love to joke about how Poulin isn’t “clutch” because of Montreal’s playoff struggles thus far in the PWHL, but she’s at least put together some production (four points in seven games). Stacey sees an even larger drop from regular season to playoffs, and if Montreal wants to go on a championship run, they’ll need more than the one goal and one assist she’s produced through two postseasons so far, especially as the team’s second fiddle to Poulin.
Hunter: Sticking with Tyler’s theme of the Charge needing offense, one player who could help bring Ottawa back to the Walter Cup Final is Michela Cava. She was acquired by the team in January after a slow start with the Vancouver Goldeneyes, but failed to score a goal in 17 games with the Charge. No one will confuse Ottawa’s forward group with Minnesota’s, where Cava had 14 goals and 27 points across two seasons, but she’s proven with both the Frost and the PHF’s Toronto Six that she can be a source for production. If she unlocks that championship pedigree against Boston, the Charge could end up with their own trophy.
Who wins Montreal vs. Minnesota?
Tyler: I truly think the Victoire will look a lot different next year, so they have to get it done this year. Even if Poulin’s not 100%, she has the ability to dig deep and play in the game’s biggest moments. They have the sparkplug in Abby Roque, who I’m jacked to see play in a postseason setting. They have Desbiens, who, you know, is itching to finally be the better goaltender in a series. On top of that, all the hockey that these Frost players have played – two Walter Cups, many participating in the Olympics – fatigue might finally catch up to them. Montreal, 3-1.
Scott: I’m sure Montreal will make all of us pundits look bad with another poor playoff performance, but until it actually happens, I’m going to lean in favor of them taking the series, as I’ve had them at the top for a large chunk of the season. Minnesota has struggled in net this season, and could be vulnerable that way, but they could very easily flip the switch and win it all again. Regardless, it feels like the winner of this series will win it all.
Hunter: Call it a hunch, but this is the year Minnesota finally goes down. When you combine back-to-back Walter Cup Final runs with the Olympics, the World Championships, and NCAA runs their younger players have skated in, time catches up to all of us, and Minnesota’s offense will be parched when they go up against Montreal’s Desbiens and their revamped defensive corps. Expect the Victoire crowd and early goals for Montreal to overwhelm the Frost in Game 1, which will set the tone for a series result that guarantees a Walter Cup champion that doesn’t hail from Minnesota.
Who wins Boston vs. Ottawa?
Tyler: With this being the great battle between Frankel and Philips, I expect (and hope) that we have a low-scoring series. The fact that Philips managed to outplay her Olympic teammate during the regular season has to be sitting in the back of the Fleet’s mind. Given that the Charge have the more recent experience of playing in a Walter Cup Final, having shown it can keep up with the best in the league time and again, you’d be wrong to bet against them when it matters most…give me Ottawa in five.
Scott: I think Frankel will advance over Philips in this one… er, I mean Boston will beat Ottawa. All jokes aside, while both teams have been propped up by their goaltending this season, Boston has the much better team in front of them with plenty of talents like Alina Muller, Jesse Eldridge and Megan Keller to put them over the top.
Hunter: We joke about this series being a goaltender’s dream, but wouldn’t it be soooo hockey for Games 1 and 2 to be absolute barnburners? Yeah, right. Boston has been an impressively disciplined group through the season and their defensive pair of Megan Keller and Haley Winn might have been enough to win if they didn’t already have Frankel. If Eldridge, who has seven goals in her last eight games, keeps up this pace, it will be Boston in four.
Who wins the Walter Cup?
Tyler: An all-Canadian matchup might lose viewers south of the border, but by golly, another Montreal/Ottawa series would be absolute chaos. The two loudest fanbases in the league driving across the border to yell at each other, and two teams that just don’t like each other. Absolute cinema. If the Victoire get through, and get that taste of victory in the playoffs, it’s going to be tough to bring down their confidence. The Victoire win the Walter Cup in a thrilling series.
Scott: As I said, I think the winner of Montreal/Minnesota will pull ahead in the Final, so Montreal takes it all for me. I think if they finally get that first-round series win, especially if it’s against Minnesota, their demons will be exorcised and they’ll have all the momentum going into the Walter Cup Final, and perhaps enough to not get goalied by Frankel or Philips again.
Hunter: Vive le Quebec! I have the Victoire taking down the Fleet to bring the Walter Cup north of the border (hey, you ever think about how Minnesota is north of a good chunk of Canada? Yeah, me neither). Poulin is healthy and Desbiens is playing the best hockey of her career, and you can bet the two of them, plus Stacey and Ambrose, are unsatisfied after last February’s Olympic result. They may have just one playoff win in franchise history, but come the end of May, they’ll have seven.