Latest news with #KoriCheverie
Yahoo
25-06-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Montreal Victoire captain Marie-Philip Poulin wins PWHL MVP, Forward of the Year
OTTAWA — Montreal Victoire forward Marie-Philip Poulin was named MVP of the 2024-25 PWHL season Wednesday afternoon, finishing ahead of former Boston captain Hilary Knight and Toronto's No. 1 defender Renata Fast. The Victoire captain was the favorite to win the award — named the Billie Jean King MVP — after she led the league in goals (19) and finished fourth in points (26), just three off the lead. Poulin was critical to Montreal's success in the regular season, when she scored 26 percent of the team's goals and factored into 34 percent. She never went more than two games without a point this season, and no player scored more game-winning goals (six), first goals (five) or insurance goals (three) to put a game out of reach than Poulin. Advertisement Poulin said it was an honor and a privilege to win MVP and to have the award announced by Billie Jean King. But, she's also never been one for individual milestones. 'This just makes me want to go back to work,' she said. 'I want to get better. I want to keep improving because I know it's a big year this year.' She also won Forward of the Year, beating out Knight and New York rookie Sarah Fillier, who finished tied with the most points in the league's regular season (29). Montreal coach Kori Cheverie said 2024-25 was one of the best seasons she's seen from Poulin. 'She's been the leader of our team, the heartbeat of our team, the workhorse. Everything you could want in a captain, she embodies it,' Cheverie said. 'I'm just so happy for her. I know she's a competitor, and I know that there's a couple of team championships that she would have liked to have this year. But the individual accolades are certainly remarkable.' Advertisement Poulin was a runner-up for last year's MVP, which went to Toronto forward Natalie Spooner after a dominant inaugural season. She's the only two-time finalist for the award in the PWHL's two-year history. Now, Poulin adds an MVP award to a trophy case that already includes three Olympic gold medals, four world championships, multiple MVP and scoring awards during her time in the now-defunct Canadian Women's Hockey League and a Canadian Athlete of the Year award, among many other accolades over a career destined for Hockey Hall of Fame enshrinement. Poulin already won the league's goal title after the regular season. And Ottawa goalie Gwyneth Philips won the Ilana Kloss Playoff MVP after she led the Charge to the Finals and had an unbelievable .952 save percentage over the postseason. The PWHL announced the winners of four other major awards at a ceremony Wednesday afternoon. Here are the results and the finalists. Advertisement Rookie of the Year: Sarah Fillier (New York) Fillier, 25, was one of the best forwards in the league this season after being selected first in the 2024 PWHL Draft. She finished her rookie season tied for the league lead in scoring. Her 16 assists were the most by a forward, and her 13 goals ranked fourth. Fillier led rookies in all three categories. Coach of the Year: Kori Cheverie (Montreal) Cheverie was a finalist for the award last season and beat out Toronto's coach, Troy Ryan (the inaugural winner), this year after leading Montreal to a first-place finish in the regular season. Goaltender of the Year: Ann-Renée Desbiens (Montreal) Desbiens was the very best goalie in the PWHL this season. Her 15 wins, 1.86 goals against average and .932 save percentage led all starters and were critically important to Montreal's success in the regular season. The Victoire lost in the first round of the playoffs, but Desbiens was also excellent there with a 1.55 goals against average and a .943 save percentage that was only bested by playoff MVP Gwyneth Philips. Advertisement Defender of the Year: Renata Fast (Toronto) Fast became the first defender to be voted a finalist for MVP, a credit to her impact at both ends of the ice for the Toronto Sceptres. No defender had more points (22) or hits (63) this season than Fast. With almost 740 minutes of play, Fast was on the ice more than any player in the league, averaging 24:39 per game. PWHL All-Rookie Team Forwards: Sarah Fillier (New York), Jennifer Gardiner (Montreal), Britta Curl-Salemme (Minnesota) Defense: Cayla Barnes (Montreal), Anna Wilgren (Montreal) Goalie: Gwyneth Philips (Ottawa) PWHL Second Team All-Stars Forwards: Daryl Watts (Toronto), Tereza Vanišová (Ottawa), Kendall Coyne Schofield (Minnesota) Defense: Claire Thompson (Minnesota), Ella Shelton (New York) Goalie: Aerin Frankel (Boston) Advertisement PWHL First Team All-Stars Forwards: Marie-Philip Poulin (Montreal), Hilary Knight (Boston), Sarah Fillier (New York) Defense: Renata Fast (Toronto), Sophie Jaques (Minnesota) Goalie: Ann-Renée Desbiens (Montreal) The PWHL provides performance bonuses as laid out in the collective bargaining agreement: Billie Jean King MVP: $5,000 Forward of the Year: $4,000 Defender of the Year: $4,000 Goalie of the Year: $4,000 Rookie of the Year: $4,000 'Hockey for All' award: $4,000 This article originally appeared in The Athletic. NHL, Women's Hockey 2025 The Athletic Media Company
Forbes
25-06-2025
- Sport
- Forbes
Marie-Philip Poulin Is 2025 MVP As PWHL Rosters Are Reshaped At Draft
Montreal Victoire forward Marie-Philip Poulin was named MVP and top forward at the 2025 PWHL Awards. ... More (Photo by David Kirouac/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) Wednesday morning, Marie-Philip Poulin and Montreal Victoire cleaned up at the 2025 PWHL Awards. The Montreal captain, who led the league with 19 goals in 30 regular-season games, was named the league's top forward and winner of the Billie Jean King MVP Award. Amid a decorated career that includes three Olympic gold medals, four world championship golds and, last week, the IIHF's 2024-25 female player of the year award, the 34-year-old called her latest honors 'pretty special.' After acknowledging the support of her teammates, she admitted that 'Honestly, I would exchange these trophies for the bigger one — that's for sure.' Despite finishing comfortably atop the regular-season standings, the Victoire failed to advance out of the first round of the Walter Cup playoffs for the second-straight year. Montreal netminder Ann-Renee Desbiens was also named the league's goaltender of the year, coach Kori Cheverie was named coach of the year, and forward Laura Stacey received the 'Hockey for All' award, which recognized the player who made the biggest impact in her community during the 2024-25 season. Stacey raised over $100,000 through her 'LS7 Sticks In For Charity' Road Hockey Tournament, with funds supporting under-resourced communities in Toronto and Montreal. Laura Stacey was named the winner of the PWHL's 2025 'Hockey for All' award. (Photo by Troy ...) 'As I'm starting to get older and realize that I do want to have an impact and we could leave a legacy,' said Stacey, 31. 'There's so many leaders, trailblazers and community heroes who have done so much for sport and for women, so it was a huge honor to receive this award today. I definitely don't take it lightly.' Renata Fast of the Toronto Sceptres won the league's defender of the year award, and Sarah Fillier of the New York Sirens was named the league's top rookie. Sirens Take Big Swings At The Draft New York Sirens GM Pascal Daoust with 2025 1st overall pick Kristyna Kaltounkova and PWHL hockey ops ... More boss Jayna Hefford. On Tuesday, Fillier's Sirens had a dramatic evening at the PWHL's third entry draft. After his team finished last in the standings for a second-straight season, GM Pascal Daoust elected to shake things up with the league's first-ever draft-day player trade, moving defender Ella Shelton to Toronto in exchange for the third-overall pick and the No. 27 pick. After scoring the fewest total goals over the league's first two seasons and losing top forwards Jessie Eldridge and Alex Carpenter to Seattle during the expansion process, the Sirens made Kristyna Kaltounkova of Colgate University the first Czech player ever to be selected first overall at the PWHL draft. Then, Daoust followed up by choosing 2025 Patty Kazmaier Award winner Casey O'Brien out of the University of Wisconsin, thus boosting his forward group with arguably the two top talents available this year. Later, Daoust dealt forward Abby Roque to Montreal in exchange for gritty forward Kristin O'Neill and the 28th pick. When the dust settled, the Sirens had made nine picks in the six-round draft — six forwards, one defender and two goaltenders. 'We felt that it was an opportunity for us to gear up and cover a new angle,' Daoust said. 'We're very happy with it.' Vancouver And Ottawa Take International Approach As the PWHL prioritized competitive balance when setting the stage for its expansion process and with more expansion on the horizon, it has become apparent that teams might not get the opportunity to develop their draft prospects over a period of time. Five of last year's six first-round picks were claimed by the two new expansion teams, with Seattle bringing in Danielle Serdachny (Ottawa), Hannah Bilka (Boston), Cayla Barnes (Montreal) and Julia Gosling (Toronto), while Vancouver signed Claire Thompson away from Minnesota. Rather than look for NCAA prospects to develop at the draft, the GMs for Vancouver and Ottawa looked to Europe to add immediate offensive pop. Vancouver GM Cara Gardner Morey used her team's first-round pick at No. 7 to select Michelle Karvinen, a 35-year-old Finn who is a legend in the international game. Her eight world championship medals include a silver from 2019, and she served as captain of Finland's bronze-medal group in 2025. Lately, Karvinen has been playing in Sweden. Earlier in her career, she spent three years at the University of North Dakota. She also won a championship with the KRS Vanke Rays in Russia's women's league in 2021-22, on a team coached by new Vancouver bench boss Brian Idalski which also included PWHL Vancouver players Michela Cava and Hannah Miller. 'I just kept hoping that no one picked her ahead of us,' said Gardner Morey. 'We obviously wanted a top forward and Michelle is a proven winner — she's got the experience. I think that leadership, and veteran players, are really important in this league. We had a chance to get one of those in an entry draft that's usually not available. I've gotten to know her personality through some players, and she's going to be one of those special players in the locker room.' Gardner Morey also shored up her crease through a trade. Former Toronto Sceptres netminder Kristen Campbell headed west along with the 19th pick in a deal that saw Vancouver send the 16th and 23rd picks to the Sceptres. Vancouver then selected North Vancouver native Nina Jobst-Smith with that 19th pick and closed out the draft by choosing the PWHL's first-ever South Asian player and the only player this year from Canada's USports program — local product Chanreet Bassi from the University of British Columbia. After the Walter Cup finalist Ottawa Charge lost 15-goal-scorer Tereza Vanisova to Vancouver as well as seeing Serdachny go to Seattle, GM Mike Hirshfeld set his sights on two veteran forwards from Russia's women's league. With the fifth pick in the second round, he selected 28-year-old Anna Shokhina. He added her 27-year-old St. Petersburg teammate, Fanuza Kadirova, in Round 6. 'We think Anna Shokhina — we had her as probably the fourth-most-talented player in this draft. That's how highway we thought of her,' Hirshfeld said. 'To get her at 13 was really exciting for us. We think she's going to be a superstar in this league.' One other veteran from the European leagues was also selected. Sara Hjalmarsson, a 27-year-old Swedish defender, went to Toronto in the fifth round. Roster Rebuilds After the shocking losses of the expansion process, the inaugural six teams and their fanbases can now breathe a little easier. Forty-six new roster spots were created by adding the Vancouver and Seattle franchises, and 48 players were selected in Tuesday's draft. That breaks down to 30 forwards, 13 defenders and 5 goaltenders, with 43 players coming out of NCAA programs. Ohio State University led the way with six players selected, followed by the University of Minnesota Duluth with five. Of the 48 players, exactly half hail from the United States, followed by 17 from Canada, two each from Czechia, Finland and Russia and one from Sweden. With 192 players declaring for the draft this year, the next step for undrafted players will be to try to earn training-camp invitations for a chance to play their way onto a team or its reserve squad. Will the next Marie-Philip Poulin emerge from the PWHL's class of '25?
CTV News
20-05-2025
- Sport
- CTV News
Toronto Sceptres' Troy Ryan named one of PWHL's Coach of the Year finalists
Toronto Sceptres head coach Troy Ryan directs his team as they play the Minnesota Frost in the first period of a PWHL hockey playoff game Sunday, May 11, 2025, in St. Paul, Minn. TORONTO — Montreal Victoire's Kori Cheverie, Ottawa Charge's Carla MacLeod and Toronto Sceptres' Troy Ryan have been named the finalists for the PWHL's coach of the year. Cheverie of New Glasgow, N.S., is a finalist for a second straight year after guiding the Victoire to first place with a 12-7-3-8 record (regulation wins, overtime wins, overtime losses, regulation losses). Montreal held its first-place position since Jan. 29 with an offence that produced the second-most goals (77) and surrendered the fewest (67) in the PWHL. MacLeod of Spruce Grove, Alta., guided Ottawa to its first-ever playoff berth with a 12-4-2-12 record and 44 points. The Charge sealed third place with a 2-1 overtime win over Toronto in the regular-season finale. The Charge's 12 regulation wins tied for the most in the league — four more than their inaugural total — despite having just two players among the PWHL's top 20 scorers. Ryan of Spryfield, N.S., is the reigning coach of the year. The second-place Sceptres (12-3-6-9) tied for the league lead with nine multi-goal wins, matched the longest win streak at six games (Feb. 1-23), and went unbeaten in nine straight (Jan. 25 to Feb. 23) to climb from last place to within two points of first. This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 20, 2025.
CBC
20-05-2025
- Sport
- CBC
Bench bosses of 3 Canadian PWHL teams named coach of the year finalists
Montreal Victoire's Kori Cheverie, Ottawa Charge's Carla MacLeod and Toronto Sceptres' Troy Ryan have been named the finalists for Professional Women's Hockey League coach of the year honours. Cheverie of New Glasgow, N.S., is a finalist for a second straight year after guiding the Victoire to first place with a 12-7-3-8 record (regulation wins, overtime wins, overtime losses, regulation losses). Montreal held its first-place position since Jan. 29 with an offence that produced the second-most goals (77) and surrendered the fewest (67) in the PWHL. MacLeod of Spruce Grove, Alta., guided Ottawa to its first-ever playoff berth with a 12-4-2-12 record and 44 points. The Charge sealed third place with a 2-1 overtime win over Toronto in the regular-season finale. The Charge's 12 regulation wins tied for the most in the league - four more than their inaugural total - despite having just two players among the PWHL's top 20 scorers. Ryan of Spryfield, N.S., is the reigning coach of the year. The second-place Sceptres (12-3-6-9) tied for the league lead with nine multi-goal wins, matched the longest win streak at six games (Feb. 1-23), and went unbeaten in nine straight (Jan. 25 to Feb. 23) to climb from last place to within two points of first.
CBC
12-05-2025
- Sport
- CBC
PWHL playoff notebook: Montreal Victoire in the driver's seat after 4OT win
Exactly a year ago Sunday, the Montreal Victoire battled over three overtime periods, only to come out on the wrong side of the game. The loss to the Boston Fleet put Montreal down 2-0 in the 2024 Walter Cup semifinal playoff series, a deficit the team couldn't come back from. This time around, the result was different. After an exhausting four overtime periods against the Ottawa Charge, Kristin O'Neill set up Quebec's own Catherine Dubois for the game winner in front of more than 7,100 fans inside Place Bell. The series is now tied 1-1. The 3-2 win was Montreal's first franchise playoff victory, after losing four playoff games over two seasons by just one goal each time. This Victoire team feels different than the one that was swept in the first round in 2024. For one, it's deeper. Montreal's fourth line played sparingly, if at all, during last year's series against the Fleet. This time, head coach Kori Cheverie is using her whole bench. Even in Game 1, which ended in regulation, the fourth-line players all logged more than 10 minutes each. The defence is deeper too. Defender Erin Ambrose played a stunning 61 minutes in triple overtime last year. In this year's marathon game, she still played nearly an hour. But first-round draft pick Cayla Barnes was there to put in more than 50 minutes of work on the blue line, which surely eased the load on Ambrose. WATCH | Victoire edge Charge with Dubois' winner in 4OT to even series: Victoire edge Charge with Dubois' winner in 4th OT to even series 21 hours ago Duration 1:53 Beyond the added depth, Cheverie pointed to another year of experience for many players and the Victoire's staff, who have worked hard on the mental preparation of what this year's playoffs could look like. They've been here before and they know what to expect. "[It was] being able to find a way to do the little things in a moment where one team is going to make a mistake and one team is going to capitalize on it," Cheverie said. "Keeping things as simple as possible within our own game plan, within our own individual abilities as well, was going to be crucial." Cheverie didn't like that her team gave up the game-tying goal to Ottawa Charge captain Brianne Jenner in the last minute of regulation in Sunday's game. But the team that gives up a last-minute goal like that doesn't usually end up on the winning side. Not so for the Victoire. The players didn't seem rattled, nor was goaltender Ann-Renée Desbiens, who stood tall despite facing 65 shots. "You know when your team keeps doing the right things like we did today, especially in overtime, that eventually we're going to get one," Desbiens said after Sunday's game. "So just make sure I make the saves so that the girls can have the opportunity they worked so hard for all game long and all overtime long." 'We never gave up' The Charge, meanwhile, left Montreal with a split against the top-seeded team, which is not a bad result. The players who spoke to reporters after the game didn't seem deflated after losing in quadruple overtime. In fact, defender Jocelyne Larocque said she felt the Charge had the momentum. "There's so much to be proud of," Larocque said after the game. "We never gave up." The Victoire may disagree that the Charge have the momentum, but Ottawa has proven that it can't be counted out. That starts with the captain, Jenner, who comes up big when this team needs her most, and extends to rookie goaltender Gwyneth Philips, who doesn't look like she's playing in her first PWHL playoff series. "For us, it's just about staying true to our process and the game that we've been playing," head coach Carla MacLeod said. "I thought we made some nice adjustments from Game 1 to Game 2. I thought we actually played a heck of a hockey game. So I think it's less about the emotion of the momentum and more just the detail of our game that can lend itself nicely to the next game." The series moves to Ottawa for Game 3 on Tuesday at 7 p.m. ET. Decision on Game 4 starter looming for Toronto While the Victoire and Charge made history for the longest PWHL game, the Minnesota Frost's 7-5 victory over the Toronto Sceptres was the highest scoring game the league has seen yet. Minnesota took a 2-1 series lead with the win, and have the chance to advance to the final on Wednesday at home. The game is set for 7 p.m. ET. The Frost's offence is heating up at the right time. The team has now scored 25 goals in the last five games, dating back to the regular season. Many know Frost defender Lee Stecklein as one of the best defensive defenders in the world. She excels at using her long stick to break up plays, and did a lot of that on Sunday. "She's that stability on the blue line, but also is the top of our power play [and] out there playing major minutes," Minnesota forward Taylor Heise said on Monday. Stecklein has found an offensive touch over the last five games. In that time, she's put up nine points including six goals. Her goal on Sunday gave Minnesota a commanding 3-0 lead. She also added an assist on Michela Cava's goal in the third period, which put the game away for the Frost. With offence coming from up front and the blue line — defender Sophie Jaques has seven points in the last five games — Minnesota has become a difficult team for Toronto to stop. Fewer slot chances would help. But some of the issue has been leaky goaltending from Sceptres starter Kristen Campbell, who has now allowed 14 goals over three playoff games. There was discussion about pulling Campbell for backup Carly "CJ" Jackson on Sunday, but the coaching staff decided to keep Jackson removed from the game. "If we so choose to use her in Game 4, at least she can come in fresh with her own start, feeling good about where she is," Ryan said on Monday. Regular backup Raygan Kirk is on long-term injured reserve and not expected to return during this series. That means the team has to decide whether to turn back to Campbell or switch to Jackson for a must-win playoff game on the road. Ryan also said the team has confidence in Campbell, who has had an up-and-down season. With no room for another loss, it could be a series-deciding question. "She knows she has to be better and we know she needs to be better," Ryan said about Campbell.
