You wouldn’t necessarily know it by the way people are talking about the Montreal Victoire, but they are still atop the PWHL standings.
With seven games remaining in the season, they are six points ahead of their opponent on Tuesday night, the Boston Fleet (7:00 p.m., Amazon Prime [Canada], NESN/YouTube [US/International]). Things can turn around quickly, however. A regulation loss to the Fleet, and the gap closes to only three points.
Kristin O’Neill is fourth among Montreal forwards in ice time, and has been the team’s second line centre since the start of the season. When she was the team’s second-round pick in the 2023 PWHL Draft, it was with the expectation that she would combine her defensive skills that have made her a mainstay on the Canadian national team with an untapped offensive potential.
This season, she started with one goal and three assists in her first seven games. However, in the 16 games since she does not have a single point and has not finished a game with a positive plus/minus, that dates back to January 5 against Boston.
O’Neill does take on a lot of responsibility in terms of penalty killing and defensive zone faceoffs, but she is second on the team in penalty minutes and has a team-worst plus/minus at -12.
“Kristin and I, we have quite a few conversations. She’s in a place where she wants to hep the team a little bit more in terms of production,” said Montreal head coach Kori Cheverie. “For her, it’s a little bit of a reset right now. Let’s shake off what you’ve been feeling the past few games and let’s move forward. We’ll dive in a little bit deeper into your game, we’ll help you, we’ll work with you a little bit more and see if we can get you going a little bit.”
At practice on Monday, the team had Laura Stacey and Mikyla Grant-Mentis on O’Neill’s wings, moving Abby Boreen back to Marie-Philip Poulin’s line.
Willoughby eager to help the team
Montreal was involved in the only trade ahead of the PWHL’s trade deadline, acquiring forward Kaitlin Willoughby from the Toronto Sceptres in exchange for defender Anna Kjellbin.
“It was definitely a shock,” Willoughby said. “But after I took some time to digest it all, it’s a very quick turnaround, so I had less than a day to pack up my life and move here, but after I digested it all, I looked at the positives in it and realized I’m coming to the number one team in the league. I heard nothing but good things about the program here and the people that are in it.”
“I switched from grieving losing my team to now having a new team and looking forward to what that has to bring,” she said.
Willoughby’s best friend Hanna Bunton, who she played with in the PWHPA, lives in Montreal with her partner and former PWHL player Mélodie Daoust. It is something that eased the transition.
“They took me in and they’re like we’ll take care of you,” Willoughby said. “Don’t worry. I have a dog too, so that makes it a little harder but I just feel like everyone’s taking care of me and I’m so grateful.”
There is one player on the Montreal roster that knows all too well what the Saskatchewan native is going through. Amanda Boulier was acquired in a trade at last year’s deadline from Ottawa.
“I’m certainly empathetic to her situation,” Boulier said. “It’s very overwhelming and there’s a lot of change in a really short period of time, and then you also have to do your job well and you’re expected to perform so you certainly want to be a layer of support for her.”
Willoughby doesn’t have a point in 20 games this season, but she wants to bring her speed to help out the Victoire, and is hopeful the change of scenery can do some good.
“My number one asset is my speed,” she said. “Every time I step on the ice, I’m trying to bring energy to our team, disrupting plays, just being a pest to play against. I haven’t found an offensive touch this uear but I’m hoping that a fresh start might spark something for me in that sense.”
Willoughby will make her Montreal debut on the fourth line alongside Catherine Dubois and Claire Dalton.
