PWHL Players of the Week: Nurse, Fast come up big for Toronto, Chuli backstops Montreal

As the calendar goes from February to March, we’ve officially made it to the second half of the PWHL’s inaugural season. This week, we saw overtime-winning goals and big saves, as well as some fantastic two-way play that leads to championships.

Here’s the three who stood out the most to earn this week’s DFO Players of the Week:

Sarah Nurse (F, Toronto)

There’s no question that on the international stage, Toronto’s Sarah Nurse is one of the best hockey players on the planet. However, through the first half of the PWHL season, Nurse struggled to find consistency on the scoresheet, producing only two goals and four assists for six points in the first 12 games of the season.

But last Tuesday’s two-goal performance from Nurse against Minnesota was more than just a breakout game: it was a statement. The 29-year-old’s OT-winner extended Toronto’s winning streak to six games, then her two-assist effort on Saturday against Ottawa helped push it to seven.

Beyond the points, Nurse’s all-around game looks crisper during Toronto’s win streak. The offensive opportunities that aren’t going in are just as impressive, as are the back-checking efforts in the defensive zone. She had a shift during their game against Minnesota that looked like the Nurse we’ve seen in the Olympics: relentlessly chasing pucks, hard to knock off, making life hell for the opponent.

I’ve said it before, but if Toronto could sort out their secondary scoring beyond Natalie Spooner, this team would be extremely dangerous. Don’t look now, but Nurse has seven points in her last six games and defender Renata Fast has six points in her last six games (that stat courtesy of The Ice Garden’s Mike Murphy).

Speaking of Fast …

Renata Fast (D, Toronto)

One of the joys of covering the league this season has been watching the best players in the game play on a regular basis. While so much attention is paid to the highly-skilled forwards who at times seem like they can score at will, the real joy is watching defenders effortlessly skate on the sheet of ice, making crisp passes on the tape and playing keep away from the opponent when in the defensive zone.

While writing that, the player that comes to mind is Fast, who has been one of the best defenders in the league this season. According to CBC Sports reporter Karissa Donkin, Fast was second in average ice time among all players through the month of February, averaging 26:50 a game (just 11 seconds ahead of teammate Jocelyne Larocque).

Despite being on the ice for nearly have the game and playing well at both ends of the rink, like Nurse, Fast struggled to produce points to start the season. In her first eight games of the year, Fast had one assist. She scored her first goal in Toronto’s 4-1 win over Minnesota on Feb. 3, and since then has become an offensive force. As mentioned earlier, she’s got six points in her last six games, including two two-assist efforts (say that three times fast) this week in Toronto’s two wins.

Here’s Fast finding Nurse in the slot, whose shot gets deflected off Spooner to give Toronto their first goal of the game against Ottawa last Saturday. It was their first power play goal since Feb. 3 against Minnesota.

I repeat: if they keep this up as we get into April and May, look out.

Elaine Chuli (G, Montreal)

When Montreal drafted Elaine Chuli in the 13th round of the PWHL Draft last September, the goalie who backstopped the PHF’s Toronto Six to their one and only Isobel Cup championship in 2022-2023 had no illusions of what she was getting herself into. The club had already signed Ann-Renee Desbiens to a three-year contract nearly two weeks before the draft, so it was clear she would be serving as a backup for the 2024 campaign.

That hasn’t stopped Chuli from playing near-flawless hockey in the Montreal crease, producing a 5-0-0 record in five appearances, with a .962 SV% and a 1.19 GAA, right at the top of every statistical category for netminders who qualify. In her five appearances, she has only allowed more than one goal once, and has made 30 or more saves in three of her five games.

This past week, Chuli stopped 30 of 31 shots in a 3-1 win over Boston, only allowing a snipe from Hilary Knight that I don’t think any goalie in the game could have stopped. After that goal, she stopped the next 10 shots she faced and locked down the dub.

For someone who only plays an average of two games a month, Chuli has never shown any signs of rust. While Desbiens has a 4-2-1-0 record with a .923 SV% and 2.16 GAA, credit must go to Chuli for continuing to help Montreal pad wins and push the starter to be even better than she already is.