As players were entering the 2025 PWHL Draft, it looked like the Montreal Victoire were entering the season with the same leadership core they had for their first two seasons. Expansion took a toll on all six existing teams, but Montreal was able to keep their three foundational players (Ann-Renée Desbiens, Marie-Philip Poulin, and Laura Stacey) plus the rest of their original leadership group of Kristin O’Neill, Kati Tabin, and Erin Ambrose.
By the end of the night, O’Neill was traded to the New York Sirens for Abby Roque, a shake up that along with the rest of the off-season showed that general manager Danièle Sauvageau was on a mission to try and get the Victoire to the Walter Cup Final in search of their first championship.
The mindset
New York Sirens general manager Pascal Daoust was at the podium discussing his big trades at the PWHL Draft. In addition to trading Roque to Montreal, he traded defender Ella Shelton to the Toronto Sceptres for the third overall pick (in addition to the first overall pick they already had).
“There’s an expression that says only the stupid go back to the same solution for the same problem. When you don’t have the right solution for that problem, but you try again and again, we just felt that there was an opportunity for us to gear up and cover a new angle,” he said.
He was talking about his mindset after back-to-back last place finishes but it easily could have been his trade partner, Sauvageau.
Montreal has had two successful regular seasons but in back-to-back first-round losses the recipe was very similar. The team struggled to score goals, and were staring at a 1-6 record through seven playoff games and two early exits.
Going back with the same core, albeit losing most of their 2024 Draft class through the expansion process, would be trying the same solution to the problem and expecting a different result. The Roque trade was part of an off-season reset that saw them focus on being a team that could win in the postseason.
”This offer came to us and at first it was like, ‘why would we be doing this?’ And then as it was going, I said this would be good for both organizations, and both players as well,” said Sauvageau. “This is when I said yes, and I started to shake.”
Sauvageau said that she had discussed the move with her staff and head coach Kori Cheverie, and when she told Cheverie she eventually agreed to the trade she had the same reaction.
“Trades are hard for our players, hard for the staff,” Sauvageau said. “I do understand that, but they are in the league, they’re still playing professional hockey and at the end of the day, this is what we have to do.”
A potential gem in Roque
It isn’t that far from when Abby Roque was seen as the next superstar in women’s hockey. It was in 2021 when Roque seemed on top of the women’s hockey world. She had just graduated from the University of Wisconsin and was scoring in the PWHPA’s Dream Gap Tour, which led Hilary Knight to say that she thought she would be the best player in the world.
From there, she would represent Team USA at three World Championships and the 2022 Olympics. In the 2022 and 2023 World Championships, she had 17 points in 14 games. It would be the last time she represented her country. Her play in the PWHL did not meet the lofty expectations put in front of her. She was signed as one of New York’s foundational players, and had 30 points in 54 games (12 goals, 18 assists).
Roque showed flashes of brilliance, including the league’s first (and, so far, only) Michigan goal, and was generally a pain to play against. Her one-on-one battles with Marie-Philip Poulin are numerous, but they will now be teammates.
”I think a lot of people are like, ‘Oh, they don’t get along’ to the stuff on the ice, which that’s always been my role is to not get along with people while I’m on the ice for those 60 minutes,” Roque said. “I take pride in it. I like going out there and playing on the edge and being tough to play against. I want the other team to hate playing against me. I think that’s a great way to be. But the second I’m off the ice, it’s always the complete opposite with me.”
Off the ice, Roque is someone easy to get along with, and she said she had dinner with Poulin and Laura Stacey shortly after the trade was announced.
In short, she brings an element that Montreal sorely needed. Someone with edge, to make life of their opponents harder, and with offensive upside.
She’s someone you hate to play against, but love to have on your team. There’s a reason she was often booed by the Montreal crowds whenever the two teams faced off, and there’s a reason she should quickly become a fan favourite. Roque is a player you don’t have to squint to see someone who will thrive in a playoff environment, and after two years of playing in front of modest crowds in New York, will feed off of the sold out crowds in Montreal.
“The fans are amazing. I’ve always loved playing there,” Roque said. “I’ve been booed at Place Bell, and I’ve loved it. For me, I’m like, ‘Yeah, boo me’. That’s awesome. I’m excited. Playing in front of a sold out rink and fans that are really passionate about the game, I like that. I want to be held responsible for our for our games and wins, and I want a market that really wants to see them bring home the Walter Cup. So I’m excited for that.”
The Victoire didn’t acquire Roque thinking she will regain her form from 2021. Between Roque and some of the other additions the team made, the hope is the team will have finally fixed the issue of secondary scoring that has plagued them for two years.
The supporting cast
Before trading for Roque, the Victoire already rebuilt their roster in free agency. The team brought back defender Kati Tabin, and added veteran defenders Jessica DiGirolamo from Boston and Maggie Flaherty from Minnesota. The three won’t necessarily be flashy, but they are solid defenders that will fit in nicely with a defence that already included Erin Ambrose and Amanda Boulier. At the draft, they added Nicole Gosling with the fourth overall pick and sixth-round pick Tamara Giaquinto. Kelly-Ann Nadeau will be in camp as an invite.
Up front, they added Shiann Darkangelo, Hayley Scamurra, and Jade Downie-Landry in free agency. The three of them provide a ton of professional experience, and Scamurra is still in the picture for Team USA, scoring a goal in the Rivalry Series on Saturday. The three players fit into the profile of player that Sauvageau was looking for, and a big reason why the leadership group of Poulin, Stacey, and Desbiens took pay cuts and restructured their contracts to keep the team competitive.
Darkangelo was a major reason why the Ottawa Charge beat the Victoire in the playoffs and her style playing behind Poulin changes the outlook of the forward group. At times, they struggled to find the right centre to lead the team’s second scoring line. With Darkangelo and Roque they have two options right off the bat.
”What we’ve done in free agency has been unbelievable,” said Ambrose earlier in the off-season. “We really added some key pieces and some great leaders. I think that there’s a lot of things to look forward to with this group next year.”
”When we can attract that calibre of player to come play in Montreal, it’s an amazing thing,” said Stacey. “It’s not an easy time period, and especially with an expansion draft and all the unknown.”
In the Draft, the team added Natalie Mlýnková in the second round, Skylar Irving in round three, and Maya Labad in round five. The team traded their fourth-round pick and Kristin O’Neill for Roque. Mlýnková is a skilled forward who will be likely to get top offensive minutes. Irving is a player who may learn a lot from Roque. She said at the draft that she wants to be the player opponents hate to play against. Labad is a local player who will bring energy and emotion with the ability to chip in offensively.
Returning for Montreal is a group of forwards that will be expected to continue to contribute: Maureen Murphy, Lina Ljungblom, Catherine Dubois, Alexandra Labelle, and Kaitlin Willoughby. The team also has camp invites in Dara Greig, Audrey-Anne Veillette, and Claire Vekich.
The team will have to deal with the losses of Cayla Barnes, Abby Boreen, Jennifer Gardiner, and Anna Wilgren in the expansion process as well as several veterans from the team’s first two seasons: Elaine Chuli, Claire Dalton, and Mikyla Grant-Mentis, among others. However, with the additions it’s not hard to think that this might be the deepest and most balanced forward group in the team’s short history.
Only Gosling is signed to a contract from the 2025 Draft Class, meaning that roles and roster spots are up for grabs to whoever steps up in camp. The other opportunity up for grabs is the third goaltender spot. After Desbiens and Sandra Abstreiter, who was the third goaltender last season, there are two camp invites: Tricia Deguire who was the team’s part-time fourth goaltender last year, and Megan Warrener.
Montreal training camp will officially open with on-ice sessions on Wednesday. The team will play two closed-door pre-season games on Saturday night and Monday afternoon. Their season gets underway on November 23 in Boston. All games are against the Fleet. Montreal’s home opener will be November 25 against the New York Sirens at Place Bell.
