There were plenty of takeaways and some pleasant surprises from PWHL Ottawa’s first intrasquad scrimmage Nov. 21 at TD Place Arena.
The league’s first official puck drop is still many weeks away, and the team’s early showing may not be entirely representative of the final squad in January.
The training camp roster sits at 29 players and just 23 will make the final cut. The players are giving their all in these scrimmages as they compete for a spot on the final roster and the opportunity to play in this new professional league.
The team was split into a white squad and a black squad. Players were challenged in all sorts of situations as the scrimmage took place over four 10-minute periods and a shootout. The fourth period became a three-on-three battle between the two squads.
Early observations
This team is fast.
From the opening faceoff, the players and puck zipped around the ice. In the first half of the scrimmage, the play included almost no physicality as Ottawa’s strong blue-liners were prepared to hold off their opponents with positional play, poke-checks and board battles.
After 20 minutes, only forward Brianne Jenner had managed to score a goal.
Players took risks with long stretch passes and determined offensive drives to the net. This was incredibly exciting to watch as momentum would shift quickly and players were forced to make split-second decisions to keep up with the quick puck movement.
Passes were hard on the tape and difficult for opposing defence to track. These fast passes occasionally ricocheted away from the receiver. This was the only sign of rust in these players, which is understandable considering training camp began only a week ago.
The second half of the scrimmage was surprisingly much more physical as players were hitting and audibly colliding with the boards. Nonetheless, the play remained fast as stick plays and positioning remained the most popular methods of defensive play.
Ottawa’s star players were difficult to ignore.
Emily Clark commanded play for the white squad as she drove the offence and forced opponents to make mistakes.
Jenner played for the opposing black squad, and held a similar role. She showed her elite hockey IQ in scoring the only goal of the first half by placing herself in the slot at the right time to clean up a loose puck.
Goalie Emerance Maschmeyer made some key saves and showed elite post-to-post coverage, especially in the shootout.
Surprise performers
Although she wasn’t claimed during the PWHL’s inaugural draft, Grant-Mentis was invited to PWHL Ottawa’s training camp and is catching attention. She fought hard for every puck and was a constant offensive threat on the ice. Her hard work paid off in extravagant fashion as she scored a Crosby-esque short-side backhander that snuck over Maschmeyer’s left shoulder. But this was no fluke demonstration of skill, as Grant-Mentis scored another shifty backhander in the shootout that left Maschmeyer sprawled across the ice. Grant-Mentis showed she is worth serious consideration for Ottawa’s starting lineup.
Tori Howran, D
Howran was another undrafted depth addition to Ottawa’s roster heading into training camp. Howran played a solid defensive game, but her most eye-catching moment was her blistering one-timer from the point to the top corner against goalie Samantha Ridgewell.
Like Grant-Mentis and Howran, Ridgewell also went undrafted this September and was a training camp invitee. During the main scrimmage she made several confident saves in close quarters, despite conceding an unlucky bounce off forward Daryl Watts. It was in the shootout where Ridgewell showed her chops, making save after save on some of the PWHL’s top draft picks and free agents to lift her team to victory. Ottawa has nothing to worry about between the pipes, as Ridgewell proved Maschmeyer can afford to take a night off.
Ottawa is on the ice at TD Place throughout the week as GM Mike Hirshfeld continues to evaluate his roster ahead of the Dec. 9 roster deadline.
Featured image by David Cummings.
