After learning valuable lessons, PWHL Ottawa is ready to build for sophomore season

The team from Canada’s capital is ready to tackle what the future holds despite an early end to their first season.

Even though they came short of qualifying for the inaugural PWHL Playoffs, Ottawa proved they could be one of the four teams to battle for the Walter Cup in the near future.

Heading into the 2024 season, Ottawa was believed to be a team that would struggle to keep up with the upper echelon of the league. However, head coach Carla MacLeod’s squad was one of the toughest teams to beat when they were on their A-game.

Ottawa began its inaugural campaign by (briefly) setting the indoor attendance record for a North American professional women’s hockey game. After losing their first game to Montreal in an exciting overtime finish, Ottawa let their presence be known by waxing Toronto, 5-1, on Jan. 13. Yet, a respectable start with points in three of their first four games was thwarted when Ottawa slipped into a five-game losing streak, each of which coming by one goal.

Ottawa made a strong run late in the season. After the trade deadline on March 18, they won four straight games, and were sitting in the final playoff spot. However, Ottawa dropped each of its final three games, including a loss to rival Toronto on the final day, missing the playoffs with an 8-1-6-9 record, three points back of fourth-place Minnesota.

MacLeod admitted it was disappointing to miss the postseason, but admitted the ebbs and flows of the season highlighted how close the teams in the PWHL are.

“I think when you look at the league as a whole, every team went through the same moments. When it comes down to your last period of your last regular season game, whether or not you get into the playoffs tells you where you need to be, you’re right there. I think it shows the parity in the league, and how competitive these franchises are.”

One of MacLeod’s biggest takeaways from year one was that the team learned a lot about how the game is played in the league, the pace of play, and what it will take to be a playoff team in the future. The Spruce Grove, Alberta native says the hardest part about putting a team together was the many unknowns.

“We didn’t know how what this league was going to be like. We didn’t know the physicality of the league. There were so many variables that you couldn’t truly plan for.”

While missing the playoffs was certainly disappointing, there were some notable performances in year one for Ottawa. Captain Brianne Jenner became the most clutch player during the team’s push late in the season, including notching a hat trick on April 20 against Minnesota. The Oakville, Ontario native led Ottawa with nine goals and 11 assists, and was one of six players in the league to register 20 points.

Arguably, the team’s most valuable player was goaltender Emerance Maschmeyer. The 30-year-old played more minutes than anyone in the PWHL, playing in only one game this season. Maschmeyer went 9-9-4 with two shutouts, posting a 2.30 goals-against average and a .915 save percentage.

MacLeod pointed out that Maschmeyer was a key member of the team not only because of her play in goal but also because of her impact on the locker room.

“Her game speaks for herself, and she did log a lot of minutes this year…she never waivered for us. The consummate professional. Does her job really, really well, and she’s a student of the game as well, which I love.”

While Maschmeyer and Jenner are locked up through the 2025-26 season, one player that is set to be a free agent who really came up big for Ottawa was Daryl Watts. The 2021 Patty Kazmaier Award winner is a player that the team should really want back in their lineup, especially after Watts scored 10 goals and 17 points, including eight points over the final seven games.

MacLeod liked Watts’ game, and knows she is a legitimate scoring threat.

“Daryl’s proven throughout her career that she’s a prolific offensive player…She’s shown for her whole career that when the puck is on her stick in the offensive zone, if you’re a fan in the stands, you’re on the edge of your seat because you believe something can happen.”

As the team heads into the offseason, MacLeod says the team will be better prepared for the 2024-25 campaign, as they know what to expect whenever they step onto the ice.

“We have the experience of the season, got the experience of the grind, and we understand way more now than we did in the fall. Lots of areas where we can get better–lots of areas where I can get better. In the same breath, we don’t have to blow everything up because we were right there.”

One of the areas MacLeod admits the team will address this offseason is improving the lineup’s depth. She felt like that hurt them in some stretches of year one.

“We’ve got a great core, great players we’re trying to bring back…depth is a really important piece. You look at the grind of the playoffs and regular season…we didn’t find the depth that we really wanted.”

Ottawa will have the second pick in each of the seven rounds of the second annual PWHL Draft on June 10. There are plenty of talented prospects to choose from, and with more knowledge about the league, Ottawa will have a better game plan heading into the draft.

“[In 2023] you didn’t know where the line was of experience and caliber, and what that would entail. At least now we have a line of sight to what we believe the league is. We just have more in our dialogue now, which allows us to enter these different scenarios with a little more knowledge.”

Looking back on the season, MacLeod says she was overwhelmed by the league’s success in its first year.

“It’s beyond incredible, in all honesty. It’s a little humbling when you sit here and grind. I played years ago, and the vision was always there. Even when the call came on the phone to have the opportunity with Ottawa, you couldn’t truly believe how it would come out of the gate as well as it has.”