On Tuesday, PWHL Montreal had their third award finalist unveiled as Erin Ambrose was named a finalist for the Defender of the Year award.
Ambrose was nominated alongside New York’s Ella Shelton and Boston’s Megan Keller.
The Keswick, Ontario native was Montreal’s first-ever draft pick, sixth overall, in the 2023 PWHL Draft. She was the team’s top defender, playing in all situations and being effective in all of them. She was one of the most important players on Montreal’s roster, probably behind only Marie-Philip Poulin.
The 30-year-old was the quarterback on the power play that used a late-season surge to finish third in the league. Her four goals and 14 points in 24 games was second amongst defenders, behind only Shelton. She finished +5 on the season, and only took four penalty minutes. Her 11 points at even strength were second in the PWHL behind only Boston’s Megan Keller.
Ambrose didn’t play below 21:23 all season, and that low amount came in the last game of the regular season when Montreal rolled their bench most of the game. In the post-season, her ice time took a big jump, playing 61:33 in Game 2 of the semifinal, which ended in triple overtime. She was the only player to surpass 60 minutes.
Ambrose won the last CWHL Defender of the Year award when she was also playing for Montreal, with the Canadiennes, in 2018-19. The award winners will be announced next month.
