PWHL Players of the Week: Hughes, Tabin, Desbiens help their teams earn wins

Another week, another trio of talented standout performances from around the PWHL. While we’ve seen a few of these faces before, one of these athletes had a true breakout performance, helping their team earn a comeback win.

Here is the latest edition of Daily Faceoff’s PWHL Players of the Week.

Gabbie Hughes (F, Ottawa Charge)

Ottawa Charge forward Gabbie Hughes has been a reliable two-way forward for her club, but her offense was practically nonexistent through the first chunk of the season. In fact, Hughes didn’t score a goal in the first 14 games of the 2024-25 campaign.

But she’s thrived in February, scoring five times and adding three assists for eight points in her last five contests. She capped that off with a three-point effort on Wednesday against the New York Sirens, scoring twice and leading the way with 21:45 of ice time while taking a career-high 27 faceoffs.

Hughes’ second goal was the first overtime goal in Charge history. Typically averaging somewhere between 15 and 18 minutes per game this season, the Ottawa forward has been awarded with more ice time, playing nearly 33 minutes Feb. 22 against the Montreal Victoire. Now third on the team in points with 10, Hughes will be a key figure in the Charge’s late-season run.

Kati Tabin (D, Montreal Victoire)

Hockey is a funny sport. Kati Tabin led all PHF defenders in scoring in 2022-23, helping the Toronto Six win the league’s final Isobel Cup. In her first PWHL season, she scored just one goal in 24 games for the Victoire, finishing with six total points.

Now in her second PWHL season, the 27-year-old Tabin has been a stable force on the Montreal blue line, focusing more on keeping the puck out of her own end than pushing it in her opponent’s. But on Saturday against the Boston Fleet, Tabin had a career game, scoring twice and forcing the game to go to overtime.

The Victoire would win in overtime, thanks to a Laura Stacey goal, and Montreal continues to pull ahead with the No. 1 spot in the standings. As for Tabin, on a team where two highly productive defenders like Erin Ambrose and Cayla Barnes play, seeing offense from an unlikely source only highlights the depth this Montreal team possesses as the regular season winds down.

Ann-Renee Desbiens (G, Montreal Victoire)

The Victoire’s Ann-Renee Desbiens picked up two wins this week, stopping 39 of 42 combined shots faced from the Sceptres and Fleet. Now with a record of 11-2-0-1, Desbiens has been arguably the game’s best goalie in 2024-25, leading the league in both goals against average (1.76) and save percentage (.934).

All of that was on full display this past week, stopping all but one of Toronto’s 25 shots in a 3-1 win last Tuesday, especially impressive when you consider the Sceptres have been arguably the league’s hottest team in the last month or so.

One thing to keep an eye on is how much the Victoire use backup Elaine Chuli in the first chunk of the season. Chuli was all-world last season, but has taken a back this year with a .903 SV% and 2.80 GAA. While Desbiens could finish as the Goalie of the Year, keeping her healthy and rested should be Montreal’s top priority.

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