Ottawa PWHL Roster Overview
Alright folks, it’s time: we are going over every PWHL roster and who these players are and how they got here. Today, we’re looking at New York, as we’re going alphabetical by city, and they’re fourth. In a previous article (which you can find just below this paragraph) you can see I wrote about each team’s initial free agency signings, so if you want to read about New York’s three signings, read about them there. In this article, all I will be doing is giving brief biographies about each player. I don’t expect these articles to be too long, so let’s get into it.
Anyway, let’s start with the defenders:
Amanda Boulier: After playing five seasons in college, Amanda would go pro in 2017 to play for the Connecticut Whale in the then known-as NWHL, later, PHF. She would play only one season for them before going to the Minnesota Whitecaps for three seasons, winning an Isobel Cup. After three years, she joined the Boston Pride for a season, won another Isobel Cup, and then returned to Minnesota. Internationally, she has represented the USA once, back in 2011 on the U18 team, where she won a gold medal.
Aneta Tejralová: Professionally, Aneta has been all over the place. She started in the Czech Women's Extraliga, playing for HC Slavia Praha, winning a championship. Then, she would go play in the WHL, Russia’s top women’s league. She would play for Dynamo St. Petersburg for six seasons, and SKIF Nizhny Novgorod for two more. In 2022, she would come over to North America to play for the Boston Pride in the PHF. Earlier this season, she played for MoDo Hockey in the SDHL, but left the team to play in the PWHL.
Ashton Bell: This will be Bell’s rookie season as most recently, she played five seasons with the University of Minnesota-Duluth. Internationally, she has represented Canada in 2016, and won two gold medals at the World Championships, one at the Olympic Games, and two silvers with the U18 team.
Jincy Roese: After playing five seasons with the Ohio State University, Jincy went pro in 2020, playing in the PWHPA, where she played for two seasons. Internationally, she has represented the USA since 2013, and has one gold and two silver medals with the U18 team. While on the U18 team, she was named the “Best Defender” by the IIHF twice (2014 and 2015). With the adult team, she has two silver medals at the World Championships and one at the Olympic Games.
Savannah Harmon: Playing for Clarkson University for four seasons and winning two championships, Savannah went pro in 2018. She would play for the Buffalo Beauts of the PHF (then known as the NWHL) before going to the PWHPA for three years. Since 2021, she has represented the USA in internation competition, winning a gold medal in the World Championships, two silver medals in the same competition, and a silver in the Olympic Games.
Victoria Howran: Playing four seasons at the University of New Hampshire, Victoria went pro in 2020 to play for the Connecticut Whale in the PHF. She played for the Whale for three seasons. Internationally, she has played for Canada once, in 2016 for their U18 team. She won a silver medal.
Zoe Boyd: This will be Zoe’s rookie season, having come off five seasons with Quinnipiac University. Internationally, she has represented Canada once on their U18 team in 2018. She won a bronze medal.
Moving on to goaltenders:
Emerance Maschmeyer: For college, she would play for the Harvard women’s ice hockey team, and then would play two seasons in the CWHL. Internationally, she hasn’t had much playing time as she has consistently been the backup to Ann-Renée Desbiens for Team Canada. But, when she has played, she has done well.
Rachel McQuigge: Coming off four seasons with Princeton University, Rachel spent her rookie season last year with the Metropolitan Riveters in the PHF.
Sandra Abstreiter: Having her first professional season in 2013 with ESC Planegg of the Deutsche Fraueneishockey-Liga (DFEL), Sandra would come to North America in 2017. From there, she played six seasons of college hockey with Providence University, before returning to Germany last year to play for ECDC Memmingen of the DFEL. Internationally, she has represented Germany since 2016 (missing a few seasons) and has no medals.
And finally, the forwards:
Akane Shiga: Until this upcoming year, Akane has only played professionally once. That was in the 2018-19 season, playing for the Obihiro Ladies (now known as the Tokachi Obihiro Ladies) in the Women's Japan Ice Hockey League. Mostly, she has just played in international tournaments, representing Japan. She has done so since 2016. Her sole medal comes from playing with the U25 team in the 2023 Winter World University Games.
Becca Gilmore: Playing five seasons with Harvard University, Becca had her rookie season last year with the Boston Pride in the PHF. Internationally, she has represented the USA, three of those times with the U18 team. She has two gold medals and a silver with the U18 team, and a gold medal with the adult team at the World Championships.
Brianne Jenner: She played four seasons of college hockey with Cornell, seven seasons in the CWHL, and three seasons in the PWHPA. She also has a long history of international play, having two silver medals with Team Canda’s U18 team and five gold medals with the top-level team for Team Canada. In addition, she has six silver medals and one bronze with Team Canada. She was also the Olympic tournament MVP in 2022.
Daryl Watts: In college, she played a total of five seasons, but only two were with Boston College before transferring to the University of Wisconsin. With Boston College, she was the first to win the Patty Kazmaier Award as a freshman (an award for the best female college hockey player). After transferring to Wisconsin, she would win a national championship. Last season was her rookie year, playing for the Toronto Six, and winning the last ever Isobel Cup with them. Internationally, she has represented Canada twice, both times on the U18 team. She has two silver medals.
Emily Clark: She played four seasons at the University of Wisconsin, missed what would have been her rookie year in professional hockey due to COVID, before debuting in the PWHPA. She only played four games in 2020-21, then skipped another year, before having a breakout season with Team Harvey’s in 2022-23. She had 17 points in 18 games. Internationally, she has two gold medals with Team Canada’s U18 team, and three with the top-level Team Canada.
Fanni Garát-Gasparics: Having gone pro in the 2012-13 season, Fanni has bounced between Russia’s top league, the WHL, and the European Women’s Hockey League (EWHL). Last season, she came to North America and played for the Metropolitan Riveters of the PHF. This season, she started with Brynäs IF of the SDHL but has since come back to North America for the PWHL. Internationally, she has represented Hungary since 2010. She has one gold medal, in the second division of the IIHF, and that being in 2019.
Gabrielle Hughes: This will be Gabrielle’s rookie season, as she has finished five seasons with the University of Minnesota-Duluth. Internationally, she has represented the USA twice, in 2017 and 2023. She has won a gold medal in both World Championship appearances.
Hayley Scamurra: Having played four seasons with Northeastern University, she went pro at the end of the 2016-17 season with the Buffalo Beauts of the then NWHL (later PHF). She only played two full seasons (and the end of the 2016-17 season), and won Rookie of the Year and “NWHL Players' Association Top Player of the Year Award” honors. She also won the Isobel Cup with them. Since then, she has played in the PWHPA. Internationally, she has represented the USA since 2019, and won two gold medals, two silver medals, and a silver medal at the Olympic Games.
Kateřina Mrázová: In the 2012-13 season, Kateřina went pro and played for the Boston Blades of the CWHL for one season, winning a Clarkson Cup. She would then go to college, playing for the University of Minnesota-Duluth for five seasons. In 2018, she went pro again and played for the Connecticut Whale of the then NWHL (later PHF) for one season. After that, she returned to Europe and played for Brynäs IF of the SDHL for three seasons. Last season, she returned to North America to play again for the Connecticut Whale. This season, she started with Färjestad BK in Sweden before returning to North America for the PWHL. Internationally, she has represented Czechia since 2008, winning two bronze medals and one with the U18 team.
Kristin Della Rovere: This will be Kristin’s rookie season, coming off five seasons with Harvard University.
Lexie Adzija: This will be Lexie’s rookie season, coming off five seasons with Quinnipiac University. Internationally, she has represented Canada once on their U18 team in 2018. She won a bronze medal.
Mikyla Grant-Mentis: After five seasons with Merrimack College, Mikyla went pro at the end of the 2019-20 season with the Buffalo Beauts of the NWHL (later known as the PHF). Her first full season was the next year, but with the Toronto Six. She would be awarded with four honors at the end of the season, those being: NWHL Fans' Three Stars, NWHL Foundation Award (Toronto Six representative), NWHL Newcomer of the Year, and NWHL Most Valuable Player. This made her the most decorated player in a single PHF season, and the first black player to win MVP and Newcomer of the Year. She would play with the Six for one more season before returning to the Buffalo Beauts last year.
Natalie Snodgrass: Coming off five seasons with the University of Connecticut, Natalie went pro last season, playing for the Minnesota Whitecaps of the PHF. Internationally, she has represented the USA twice on the U18 team in 2015 and 2016. She won a gold medal both times.
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