Latest news with #PWHLAwards
Yahoo
11-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Simply The Best - Renata Fast's Spectacular Season
Voting for the PWHL Awards in season two was tricky in some areas, but there's one category where there was simply no contest: best defender. Toronto's Renata Fast was far and away the best and most valuable defender in the league, and deserves consideration for the overall league MVP. Fast led all defenders in assists, hits, points, power play points, power play assists, time on ice, game winning goals, and PIM. She was tied for 8th in league scoring, had the most hits of any player, tied with Sarah Fillier for most assists with 16, and was the time-on-ice leader over stalwarts like Megan Keller and Micah Zandee-Hart. Fast was instrumental in Toronto's move up the standings to second overall after a tough start for the team. I got the chance to talk to the Burlington, Ontario native and Team Canada star at the end of the regular season to ask about the playoffs, and about her stellar season. What kind of challenge does Minnesota present specifically? They've got a deep roster. They're solid, they play a pretty structured game and obviously winning last year, they know what it takes to win. But at the end of the day, every team in this league is solid. So every single night throughout the entire season has been a battle against every opponent. I think we're expecting a hard-fought game and we're going to have to be ready to play in those hard areas to get our chances. In the playoffs things do tighten up. How do you add to the transition game to try to increase the offense? I think 'transition' is probably the key word there. The game is going to be full of transitions and who can capitalize the most on those. There's no doubt when you get to playoffs the defensive details are sharpened up on both sides of the ice – better sticks, better gaps. So we're going to have to fight for every inch on the ice. But it's got to start with being willing to get pucks in and behind their players and then going and getting those and making them turn. So the transition game will be key. The team was practicing zone entries; is that an emphasis? Yeah, zone entries has been a little bit of our focus the last bit, just improving those and deciding times when we can enter with numbers and take advantage of that entry versus realizing that they have good defensive zone structure and we need to get it in behind them. So just making that read, but you look at their core on Minnesota, they have a pretty solid D core. We're going to have to be able to read that when we have an opportunity to get pucks behind them or when we can take advantage of their gaps. It's not about revenge, but the experience from last year is very helpful. Yeah. Last year was a huge learning experience. We had never played a five-game series before. I think the most any of us had ever really played was maybe like a three-game series. We came out of the gates hot and then you see how quickly the momentum can shift and next thing you know you're fighting game five and it can go either way. So I think the group just understands the dynamics of how a series can work. And when you play the same opponent consistently, how adjustments can be made and how you need to be capable of also making adjustments on your end with the way the game changes. So yeah, obviously it's in the back of our mind. There's a lot of players that experienced that last year, but we also have a lot of new players who this is their first time in this situation. So just onboarding them and using kind of our experiences from last year. You make adjustments during a series and after games, but even in-game, does that become important? Yeah, the best teams can make in-game adjustments. The best teams can make adjustments in periods, during periods, right? So not waiting till the period's done, but noticing something and making the change. So you have to be a really adaptable team in the playoffs because those are the ones that usually are able to capitalize the most. We have the group to do it. I think some of our focus this year has been to be adaptable and to be smart with our structure and our systems. So we have the group that that can do it. You have had an outstanding year, and we talked a little bit about how Troy Ryan has helped you make some adjustments to shoot more. From the mental side of things, has there been a message or self-talk change, even a mantra or anything that you've added? Yeah, I feel like it started a little bit at the end of last year, actually, at the World Championship last year, it was in our preliminary game against the U.S. in Utica. We went to overtime and I didn't start overtime, but I got my first shift and I remember sitting on the bench before I went out and I was like, 'Why not me?' Like, why not me? What's holding me back to just going out there and play my game? What's there to fear? And I had probably some plays in OT that typically I'd be too fearful to make. And they were good plays and it gave me confidence. And then I think I just rolled with that from that moment on, just literally being like, why not? Why not me? Asking myself that question all the time and, what is there to lose? It's a game, it's hockey. Yeah, there's a lot at stake and playing in gold medal games or in playoff series like this, there's a lot at stake. But if you don't put everything towards it, you'll have regrets. So just trying to play with literally, coming out of the game, like I gave 100% effort and that's all I can ask for. So I think it's just allowed me to have a free mind and willing to take a little bit more chances. So, just that little extra, like if you make a mistake, it's okay. But better that you try, right? Yeah, I've literally been like, well, if I make a mistake it would motivate me more to have a better play the next time. I think even in the gold medal game this past year in Czech, on one of the goals against, I didn't love my play on it. But I came back to the bench and I was like, now go make a good play. Just kind of flipping the script a little bit and realizing that hockey is a game of mistakes. And so physically, you've got incredible athleticism to start with, but have you changed anything or made any adjustments this season? No, I don't think so. I honestly think I'm just at an age where I've put in years and years of work on my strength and conditioning, my habits, the way I eat, the way I recover. And I think my mind is just finally putting it all together. I feel like I'm reading plays a lot better. It just feels like all the work I've been putting in for years is finally – all of those different buckets are filled and I'm seeing the results from it. So it's it's just been years of it. And it's been rewarding to see it come together and just giving me more confidence. And then the other stat that you're probably aware of is the penalty minutes, you've got that edge, but I think that comes from your competitiveness, obviously. You're more competitive than maybe people realize and that's really showing up this season. Just yeah, I mean, I'm not happy with my penalty minutes, but I realize, yeah, I do play a game on the edge, and I'm very aware of that. And It's a fine line. You have to read the refs every night. And like, I know I'm going to go to the box sometimes just with the way I play, but yeah, the intention is always just to play a hard game and to make the opponent feel like they don't have as much space, but also hopefully motivate my teammates to play that hard game as well. So yeah, I'm ultra competitive and every night I want to win and I want our team to have success and sometimes, you go a little too far and get sent to the box. It shows how invested you are and how much you care. Has that added to your fierceness during the game this year? Yeah, I think I am playing at my best when I have a little bit of a chip on my shoulder. So it's like I said, finding that balance. But at the end of the day, I have respect for every player in this league. And when we do have those battles and those tussles, I know they're just as competitive as I am. So it's all a lot of just wanting to win for your team and doing the best that you can. But yeah, I do know that my game's at my best when I have a chip on my shoulder, but it's just managing it so I'm not in the box.
New York Times
15-04-2025
- Sport
- New York Times
PWHL announces draft in Ottawa, Casey O'Brien leads top prospects
The 2025 Professional Women's Hockey League draft is heading to Ottawa this summer, the league announced on Tuesday morning. The PWHL's third annual entry draft will be hosted at Ottawa's new (yet to be opened) Hard Rock Hotel & Casino on Tuesday, June 24, starting at 7 p.m. ET. It will be the first time the draft is hosted in Ottawa, one of the league's original six markets, and the first time the event will be held in Canada since the inaugural 2023 draft in Toronto, where Taylor Heise was taken first overall by the Minnesota Frost. Last year's draft, along with the PWHL Awards, was hosted in Minneapolis, Minn. Advertisement According to the release, this will be the first event held at the Hard Rock Live theater venue, which is part of the $350 million renovation and expansion project of the local Rideau Carleton Casino. The draft declaration window will be open until May 8; all prospective players interested in playing in 2025-26 must declare for the draft to be eligible for selection and subsequent free agency. The PWHL also announced several top players who, as of Monday afternoon, had already made their official declaration. The group is led by 2025 Patty Kazmaier Award winner Casey O'Brien, who led the NCAA in scoring this season with 88 points in 41 games en route to a third national championship with the Wisconsin Badgers; Czech forward Kristýna Kaltounková, one of the top 10 finalists for the Patty Kazmaier after a 26-goal season for Colgate; and U.S. national team defender Haley Winn, who led Clarkson University in scoring over her final two seasons. Defenders Nicole Gosling, who won gold with Canada at last year's world championship, and Rory Guilday, who won gold with Team USA in 2023, are among the other highlights announced by the league. Forwards Abby Newhook (Boston College), Anne Cherkowski (Clarkson) and Natálie Mlýnková (Minnesota), as well as goalie Hannah Murphy (Colgate), have also declared. U.S. forward Abbey Murphy could be the consensus No. 1 pick should she declare for this year's draft. But she still has the option to return to the University of Minnesota for one final season. If Murphy returns to the NCAA, O'Brien would be the top prospect available. O'Brien is an all-situations center with vision and a solid shot, and was among the best players in the faceoff dot last season. She finished her college career as the all-time points leader in Wisconsin hockey history, with 274 points in 183 career games. There's a case to be made for Winn in the No. 1 spot, given the premium general managers typically put on defenders. Winn is an offensively gifted right-shot defender who could upgrade any team's blue line and top power play. She has also played against top competition for years as a member of Team USA, and is currently playing in her third straight women's world championship in Czechia. Advertisement Selecting Winn would be the first time a defender went No. 1 at the draft in the PWHL's short history. Last year, the New York Sirens drafted star forward Sarah Fillier first overall after winning the Gold Plan, the league's innovative approach to determining its draft order. Essentially, in the PWHL, the draft order is determined by how many points a team earns after being eliminated from the playoffs. No teams have been mathematically eliminated from the 2024-25 season yet, but the Sirens once again sit last in the league standings and could start accumulating draft points soon after the PWHL returns from its international break for women's worlds. According to the PWHL, the Gold Plan will be used again this season, and the team that accrues the most points after elimination will get the top pick among the league's current six franchises. It's unclear how potential expansion might impact the draft order.
