After just three official practices, the Montreal Victoire are set to play their two pre-season games against the Boston Fleet on Saturday and Monday. Then, by Wednesday their roster will need to be finalized before their first game on November 23.
Although the Victoire were one of the two original teams that retained all three of its foundational players — Ann-Renée Desbiens, Marie-Philip Poulin, and Laura Stacey — that doesn’t mean it was business as usual. With the addition of two new teams, the Vancouver Goldeneyes and the Seattle Torrent, the team lost a few players to the expansion draft, while reloading with a stacked free agent class, and the incoming 2025 draft selections.
As a result, teams have a lot to figure out when it comes to which players fit best, and they don’t have a lot of time to do it.
Three things to note: Desbiens sat out for precautionary reasons, but the start to her season is not in jeopardy. Forward Lina Ljungblom didn’t participate due to illness, and third-round pick Skylar Irving was not present at Friday’s practice.
Lineups still a mystery
No official line combinations have been announced, and with Kori Cheverie running dynamic, high-paced drills, it was at times difficult to track who was playing with whom. It looked like they were using focused pairs and rotating the third player to see what might stick. Here are some of the consistent pairings:
- Poulin – Stacey
- Catherine Dubois – Alexandra Labelle
- Maureen Murphy – Shiann Darkangelo
- Hayley Scamurra – Jade Downie-Landry
Kaitlin Willoughby was matched with Poulin and Stacey multiple times, and after Friday’s practice those three returned to the ice with Erin Ambrose for extra work. Abby Roque also had her opportunity on that line. When asked about seeing that trio in games, Cheverie said, “They will certainly have opportunities to play together, and we’ll see how it goes. I don’t know when yet, but we can already feel a great chemistry developing.”
One of the Victoire’s issues in the first two seasons was secondary scoring. There were glimpses of magic, but consistency is what they need. Free-agent forward signings Hayley Scamurra (Sceptres), Jade Downie-Landry (Sirens), and Shiann Darkangelo (Charge) could be exactly what the team has been missing.
As mentioned, the third player was rotated through each pair, giving draftees like Maya Labad, Skylar Irving, and Natalie Mlýnková chances to skate with all potential lines. Camp invites Claire Vekich, Dara Greig, and Audrey-Anne Veillette also got their shot.
Draft Picks fighting for spots
After practice on Thursday, the media spoke with Irving, Mlýnková, and Gosling to hear what they thought they could bring to the table.
“I’m energetic. I like to go, go, go — kind of a North-South style, shooting pucks,” Irving said. “That’s the type of game I want to bring here… learning the systems and how to bring my game to this level and help our team win.”
Mlýnková added: “I definitely want to bring more offence to the team. And just as Skylar said, bring yourself to the game and play your game. At the same time, learn and develop… especially on the defensive side of the puck. But also find ways to provide more secondary scoring opportunities.”
Gosling was drafted fourth overall by the Victoire and is the only 2025 Draft Pick with a contract in hand, signing a three-year contract before camp started. “I’m a two-way defenceman. I like to take care of the D-side first, but obviously offence is fun. It’s fun to score and set up teammates, but honestly I just want to be reliable in any situation,” she said.
Defensive Picture
Kati Tabin’s contract was extended two more years. Jessica DiGirolamo (Fleet) and Maggie Flaherty (Frost) were added in free agency, joining Erin Ambrose and Amanda Boulier. With Gosling signed, a Montreal seemingly have six blue-line spots filled.
That leaves draftee Tamara Giaquinto (Boston University) and Kelly Ann Nadeau (reserve call-up last season) battling for what is likely the final active roster spot.
The most consistent early camp pairings were:
- Ambrose – Gosling
- Tabin – Boulier
- DiGirolamo – Nadeau
- Giaquinto – Flaherty
DiGirolamo was sought after in free agency, but chose Montreal. “I do feel like there are a lot of reasons why I came to Montreal,” she said. “I knew I wanted to when my contract was up, and then having conversations with Kori and some of the girls on the team, I knew that this was a great place for me to go. […] I knew [Poulin] and [Stacey] and I obviously respect them both as people and players, so having their knowledge and understanding about the game and how can fit in and help this team is something that I wanted to do, so this is why I’m here.”
Goaltending
Desbiens and Sandra Abstreiter are already signed. With Desbiens sitting out for precautionary reasons, Montreal used the opportunity to take a closer look at camp invite Megan Warrener and returning depth goalie Tricia Deguire. Both looked strong, though the real test will come in preseason games.
Deguire is expected to start Saturday, with Warrener backing up.
Cheverie’s outlook
“We might be a little tougher to play against, given all the players we’ve recruited,” Cheverie said. “The fact that our team has more bite — more physically imposing, more athletic — is going to allow us to play a lot of tough games.”
“This group is doing everything we’re asking. They’re committed. They want to be here in Montreal, and they want to win in Montreal,” she said.
On training camp standouts: “There were a few players who are getting a little bit more accustomed to the speed and what they bring. Mlýnková was looking threatening around the net. Scamurra had some good opportunities off the rush. Pou and Stacey were finding ways to get themselves available. Roque has been finding ways to get open. Our D are doing a really good job of a concept that we’ve been working on. We introduced it yesterday, and today was day two and so I was really happy to see. I could say probably a positive thing about everybody on the ice, and I think that that’s the beautiful thing is that I see a progression from day one to day two. So I was impressed with many of them.”
