With the season beginning on Saturday, we now know the players who have made the cut for the Montreal Victoire to start the 2024-25 PWHL season.
The roster includes 12 players who were on Montreal’s 23-player season-opening roster last year: six forwards, four defenders, and two goaltenders. Three others, Catherine Dubois, Amanda Boulier and Mikyla Grant-Mentis were added in-season last year.
Among newcomers are three PWHL veterans who were invited to training camp: Sandra Abstreiter (3GP with Ottawa), Alexandra Labelle (24 GP, 1G, 2A with New York) and Clair DeGeorge (23 GP, 0G, 1A with Minnesota). Drafted players Lina Ljungblom (2023, 15th round), Cayla Barnes (2024 1st round), Jennifer Gardiner (2024 2nd round), Abigail Boreen (2024 3rd round, 9GP, 4G, 1A with Minnesota), Dara Greig (2024 4th round), Anna Wilgren (2024 5th round), and Anna Kjellbin (2024 6th round) also made the roster.
“We brought in a lot of experience, size, physicality,” said Montreal general manager Danièle Sauvageau. “Every team improved, but we’re very happy with the players who now make up our team.”
“We said last year we wanted to be an offensive team, we’re not changing that,” Sauvageau said. “We managed to finish second in the standings last year despite 65 games lost to injury. That’s not insignificant so we didn’t change our philosophy. We want a team that will score goals and for that, you need to defend well, you need to move the puck well, you have to be fast not only on your feet but you have to be fast mentally, with execution, with your hands, and that’s how we’ll continue to develop the DNA of the Montreal team.”
Two players, Dominika Lásková and Kennedy Marchment will start the season on the long-term injured list. LTIR means the players will be out at least 21 calendar days.
The reserve roster will have returning players Gabrielle David and Catherine Daoust plus rookie Kelly-Ann Nadeau.
With 25 players under standard player agreements, it means that the team will have to terminate contracts once the injured players are ready to return to get to the 23-player limit.
FORWARDS (14)
24 Abigail Boreen
42 Claire Dalton
41 Clair DeGeorge
28 Catherine Dubois
12 Jennifer Gardiner
18 Mikyla Grant-Mentis
17 Dara Greig
13 Alexandra Labelle
25 Lina Ljungblom
22 Kennedy Marchment*
21 Maureen Murphy
43 Kristin O’Neill
29 Marie-Philip Poulin
7 Laura Stacey
DEFENDERS (8)
23 Erin Ambrose
3 Cayla Barnes
44 Amanda Boulier
2 Mariah Keopple
71 Anna Kjellbin
96 Dominika Lásková*
9 Kati Tabin
5 Anna Wilgren
GOALTENDERS (3)
30 Sandra Abstreiter
20 Elaine Chuli
35 Ann-Renée Desbiens
* Denotes starting season on LTIR
RESERVE ROSTER
8 Gabrielle David (F)
4 Catherine Daoust (D)
51 Kelly-Ann Nadeau (D)
Montreal opens the season on Saturday, November 30 at Place Bell in Laval against the Ottawa Charge. The game will be broadcast on TSN and RDS in Canada. People outside Canada can watch on YouTube.
