PWHL Power Rankings: Fleet stay No. 1, shuffling among Canada’s teams

The calendar turns to 2026, and the PWHL season is starting to ramp up. While some teams are looking like the class of the league, others are trying to find their footing as we close in on the Olympic Break.

Ben Steiner, Scott Maxwell and Tyler Kuehl put their heads together to see where the eight teams sit heading into the first full week of January.

1. Boston Fleet

Record: 6-0-1-2, +8
Last Week: 1st
Ben’s Rank: 1st
Tyler’s Rank: 1st
Scott’s Rank: 1st

Tyler: Oh no! The Fleet lost again. Should we panic? Absolutely…not.

Yes, losing in the fashion they did to the Vancouver Goldeneyes in Detroit on Saturday isn’t ideal. However, given the fact that it marked just the second time this season that Boston has given up four goals in a game, I’d like to think the team is in good hands, and with the team getting set for a busy schedule with a pair of home games and another Takeover Tour battle on the horizon. Frankel, Keller and the bunch are more than capable of bouncing back. I’m curious to see if Frankel gets a break during this stretch, as the Fleet has just five games before the Olympic Break.

Ben: The Boston Fleet might not have my pick for top spot in the power rankings this week, but they’ve got top spot in the standings and a game in hand on second-place Minnesota. However, it was a quieter week for them, and they lost their only contest, 4-3, to the Vancouver Goldeneyes at the first Takeover Tour stop in Detroit. 

While captain Megan Keller still leads all PWHL blueliners with three goals and five assists, Vancouver held her off the scoresheet, as they did with several of Boston’s most influential players. Yet, Olivia Mobley scored her third goal of the season, bringing her to three goals and four points in five games so far in her rookie season.

The Fleet are back in action on Wednesday night when they host the Seattle Torrent.

2. Minnesota Frost

Record: 4-1-2-3, +6
Last Week: 3rd (+1)
Ben’s Rank: 1st
Tyler’s Rank: 2nd
Scott’s Rank: 3rd

Ben: The Minnesota Frost might be back. It wasn’t the best start to the season for the two-time defending Walter Cup champions, but their dominant 5–1 win over the Toronto Sceptres and an overtime loser point in a 3-2 loss to the Montréal Victoire brought them to within three points of the Boston Fleet this week. 

Britta Curl-Salemme has also continued to elevate her level this season and became the first player in the league to reach 10 points, doing so with a goal in the 5-1 win over the Sceptres. Although the Frost still trails Boston in the standings, their offense leads the PWHL with 28 goals, four more than the next closest team, while Kendall Coyne Schofield and Kelly Pannek make it three Frost players within the top six of league scoring. 

Tyler: I’m sorry, but when you have arguably the toughest travel schedule of the season, and come away with a winning record, that has to account for something. This Frost team showed the bite and tenacity that has made them two-time Walter Cup champions. Sure, they ended up on the wrong side of a 5-2 decision against the Charge last Saturday, but given that they were less than 30 seconds away from stealing three points from the Victoire the next day, it proves to me that this team is a unit that’s tough to slow down consistently.

The Frost have a week off as they finally return home next Sunday, facing off with the Torrent.

3. New York Sirens

Record: 5-0-0-5, 0
Last Week: 6th (+3)
Ben’s Rank: 3rd
Tyler’s Rank: 3rd
Scott’s Rank: 4th

Tyler: Are the Sirens back? Given how this team has played over the past week, I think so. They used Casey O’Brien’s amazing effort to pull out a win over the Torrent in Dallas, before shutting out the Goldeneyes on New Year’s Eve. Then, Kayle Osborne played out of her mind against the Montreal Victoire, with her 42 saves holding off some of the game’s best in a 4-3 victory.

I know their metrics might not be ideal for a .500 team, but how New York was able to battle back after a sluggish stretch that sent them spiraling to the bottom of the standings shows that this year’s group is different from the first two seasons. They still need to clean some things up, but they’re certainly heading in the right direction.

Ben: The New York Sirens are rolling right now. This week saw them pick up two regulation wins: a 2-0 victory over the Goldeneyes and a 4-3 result against the Victoire, both on home ice, where they have now won three of their five games this season. 

Kayle Osborne has been fantastic as of late, tying Boston’s Aerin Frankel for five wins on the season. The 23-year-old made 27 saves in the stout defensive effort against Vancouver and stood out with 42 stops, despite allowing three goals against the Victoire. Now, with three straight wins, the Sirens look to set their franchise record for longest win streak against Toronto on Tuesday night.

The Sirens get set for a Tuesday-night clash with the Sceptres in Toronto.

4. Montreal Victoire

Record: 3-2-0-4, +5
Last Week: 2nd (-2)
Ben’s Rank: 4th
Tyler’s Rank: 4th
Scott’s Rank: 2nd

Ben: The Victoire finally picked up a win, but their recent run has been brutal. While Marie-Philip Poulin scored a famed overtime goal for a 3-2 win over Minnesota this week, the week started with a third straight loss, falling 4-3 to New York despite outshooting the Sirens 47-21. 

When you look at their three losses, the Victoire have been the better team in nearly every one over the last two weeks. Yet, they only boast two points from a possible 12, a significant hit to their hopes of catching the top spot in the regular season, now six points back of the Frost. At least Poulin is playing well, with five goals and 11 points, good for second in the league. Hopefully, she can maintain that for Team Canada at the Olympics and through the PWHL Playoffs. 

Tyler: I’m not all that pleased with how things are trending for the Victoire. I know they dominated against the Sirens on the road, and just didn’t get enough bounces to go their way. However, how they failed to capitalize on a travel-ridden Minnesota Frost team on Sunday, only coming away with an overtime win, is concerning. It’s play like this that has held Montreal back in the playoffs and why they’ve won just one postseason game in two years. For a team filled with stars, they currently lack the killer instinct to push them ahead of the pack.

One glaring issue is the lack of variable scoring. Sure, Natálie Mlýnková’s been impressive, but the line of Marie-Philip Poulin, Laura Stacey and Abby Roque have been carrying the load, similar to what the top line did last year. If Montreal wants to be among the league’s elite once again, they need more than just a three-headed monster filling the net.

Montreal has time to rest up before its Takeover Tour game in Quebec City against the Goldeneyes.

5. Seattle Torrent

Record: 3-1-1-3, -1
Last Week: 5th
Ben’s Rank: 6th
Tyler’s Rank: 5th
Scott’s Rank: 5th

Tyler: In just their one game this past week, the Torrent elected to make the most of it. They really pushed the Sceptres around in the Takeover Tour game in Hamilton on Saturday, with Corinne Schroeder coming up with some big saves, especially in the shootout. Unlike the Victoire, Seattle has shown that more than the top six are capable of scoring. Mikyla Grant-Mentis is showing glimpses of the player that stood out during the league’s inaugural season, and Lexie Adzija is doing Lexie Adzija all around the ice.

As we get into the dog days of the season, especially coming out of the Olympic Break, Seattle still has some things to work on if it wants to be a true postseason contender.

Ben: It was a restful week for the Torrent, picking up a 3-2 shootout win over the Toronto Sceptres in their only game of the week, which came in front of a crowd of 16,012 at the newly renovated TD Coliseum in Hamilton. 

Alex Carpenter and Julia Gosling linked up once again on the tying goal in the third period, as their line alongside Hilary Knight continues to be one of the best in the league. All three currently sit within the top 15 in league scoring. Things get a bit busier for them this week as they visit Boston and Minnesota, two games that will surely test their qualities.

Seattle pays a visit to the league-leading Fleet on Wednesday night.

6. Toronto Sceptres

Record: 4-0-3-3, -6
Last Week: 5th (-1)
Ben’s Rank: 5th
Tyler’s Rank: 7th
Scott’s Rank: 7th

Ben: The Toronto Sceptres picked up just a single point this week with a 3-2 shootout loss to the Seattle Torrent on the Hamilton Takeover Tour stop, after an embarrassing 5-1 defeat against their two-time playoff rival, the Minnesota Frost. 

For much of their existence, and in particular this season, it’s been a challenge to grasp the identity of what this Toronto team is supposed to be. Part of that comes with head coach Troy Ryan’s ideal goaltending situation of a 1A-1B, which creates inconsistency, especially when Elaine Chuli has had a run of stellar performances. 

It was a big week for Darryl Watts, though, becoming the first player in league history to hit 50 points all-time.

Tyler: This team really took a step back from the group that pulled out a win against the Victoire in the Duel at the Top. First, they let Minnesota come into their barn and push them around. Then, they give up a lead late in another “home game” against Seattle. I think we saw Raygan Kirk take back the reins as the team’s 1A netminder with how she played against the Torrent, but if the team in front of her doesn’t give her any support, her efforts will continue to be for naught.

The Sceptres are back home on Tuesday night against the Sirens.

7. Ottawa Charge

Record: 2-3-0-5, -4
Last Week: 7th
Ben’s Rank: 8th
Tyler’s Rank: 6th
Scott’s Rank: 6th

Tyler: Hop back on the Charge bandwagon, baby! We’re going for a ride.

I know where the team still sits in the standings, but even for being in last place, Ottawa has done its part in closing the gap to fourth place. Thanks to a four-game win streak, the team is now just one regulation win back of a playoff spot, a welcome change from where this group was last month. How they were able to make the Frost look mediocre for stretches of that win on Saturday gives me hope that Carla MacLeod’s team can turn the corner.

That said, the Charge needs to find a way to stop relying on their goaltender to save their bacon. I know Gwyneth Philips has been playing outstanding, and Sanni Ahola is a capable backup, but the pressure needs to be taken off their netminders to keep them fresh for the long haul.

Ben: The Ottawa Charge have the league’s best power play and a veteran, Brianne Jenner, in stellar form, who is hopeful to have played her way onto Team Canada for the Milano-Cortina Olympics, which will be announced on Friday. This season, she has five goals and 10 points, and this week, she scored twice in the 5-2 win over Minnesota. 

It’s four straight wins for the Charge now, and they can break their record for the longest win streak in franchise history should they find a victory against the Vancouver Goldeneyes on Friday, after having a full six days of rest to recover. 

If they do, expect to see Jenner’s name on the scoresheet, potentially alongside Rory Guilday, the league’s top scoring defender with seven points, and some continued standout play from Gwyneth Phillips, now boasting a .930 save percentage.

The Charge are off until Friday when they host Vancouver, before taking on the Fleet on Sunday in Halifax.

8. Vancouver Goldeneyes

Record: 3-1-1-5, -8
Last Week: 8th
Ben’s Rank: 7th
Tyler’s Rank: 8th
Scott’s Rank: 8th

Ben: The Vancouver Goldneyes won a game away from home! After losing three straight games, the Goldeneyes picked up a thrilling 4-3 victory over the Boston Fleet at the Takeover Tour stop in Detroit. 

It was a gutsy comeback effort from the expansion team, climbing back from a 3-1 deficit in the third period, which also included some standout goaltending from Emerance Maschmeyer as she continues to find consistency in a new market. Local players Jenn Gardiner and Hannah Miller also assisted on the winning goal, making it that much sweeter. 

Vancouver will be better when Sarah Nurse returns from injury. However, their biggest issue might be a lack of consistent home games for now, as well as the challenges of having two Takeover Tour stops, which always bring extra spotlight during their current 33-day, six-game road swing. 

Tyler: I know, I know. How can I still be so low on a team that’s coming off a vigorous effort in Detroit on Saturday? Well, when you look at the fact that Saturday’s win over the Fleet was just Vancouver’s first victory away from the province of British Columbia, this team still has some work to do to convince me that they’re for real. You have to remember, this team lost three games in a row, scoring just three times over that span, including being shut out by the Sirens on New Year’s Eve.

Vancouver will be visiting Ottawa on Friday before heading to Quebec City on Sunday.

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