CreaseAndAssist Posted May 30 Share Posted May 30 (edited) I am not sure if any of you followed this first PWHL season. We've talked about it on our podcast at times, but finally a Minnesota professional hockey team did it. They won a league championship with a dominant 3-0 victory over Boston in Game 5! It's too bad they weren't able to win it on Sunday in front of the 13,000+ in attendance at the X but it was a great moment for the team; the state and women's hockey in general. I found the women's games very refreshing to watch and there was plenty of physicality without turning into a thugfest. Taylor Heise was named Playoff MVP. I will admit, I wasn't sure if Natalie Darwitz was up to the task...but she certainly proved me wrong big time. Either way...I hope they get a huge celebration in St. Paul as they certainly deserve it! I really feel Minnesota's hidden strength was the play of their defense corps. Lee Stecklein was certainly their workhorse, but Sophie Jacques, Channell, Greco, Flaherty and Buchbinder were rock solid all season. They were so good at neutralizing opposing forwards and then helping Minnesota transition quickly to the attack. We don't get many celebration threads here...so I figured why the hell not?!?! Edited May 30 by CreaseAndAssist 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tomdog Posted May 30 Share Posted May 30 The PW really is an entertaining game. Plenty of skill, as you said physical yet clean. Clearly not as fast ad the nhl but still a good game. Definitely more skill and talent than I ever had. Congrats to the ladies. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brewin Flames Posted May 30 Share Posted May 30 I followed it because boston had a solid team this season, and i was hoping for that title, but congrats to the Minny Ladies. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brewin Flames Posted May 30 Share Posted May 30 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brewin Flames Posted May 30 Share Posted May 30 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Math Posted May 30 Share Posted May 30 I haven't followed much but as far as what've heard, it's been a very positive first season. At leats much better than international competition that are, to say the least, ridiculous until the semi-finals are reached. Now the goal is to fix the grade A+ mistake consisting in having lame jerseys with no logo. There has been a logical excitement for sure for all teams that were seen like expansion ones in the new league but now it's absolutely obliged to build on this momentum and grow the game around faithful fanbases. The marketing will have a huge task in this and it goes by creating a true identity for each team. As an analogy for old geeks, it's like putting water supply in your SimCity town that has well developed, has lot of potential but needs to go further to be perennial. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bbgarnett Posted May 30 Share Posted May 30 (edited) Loved it and tried to watch as much as I could. Streaming the games on Youtube along with having it on TV made it really easy for people to watch. I can't wait until we get names and a logos in August and also can't wait for expansion but it'll be a little while before that happens. Overall a very good inaugural season that hopefully won't get interrupted by multiple international competitions each season. Edited May 30 by bbgarnett 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IllaZilla Posted May 30 Share Posted May 30 I watched a few of the games and was impressed. I hope this league can make a go of it. Very entertaining! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CreaseAndAssist Posted May 30 Author Share Posted May 30 3 hours ago, bbgarnett said: Loved it and tried to watch as much as I could. Streaming the games on Youtube along with having it on TV made it really easy for people to watch. I can't wait until we get names and a logos in August and also can't wait for expansion but it'll be a little while before that happens. Overall a very good inaugural season that hopefully won't get interrupted by multiple international competitions each season. I agree about YouTube, it was super accessible and we watched at least 80-90% of their games this season. Broadcasts were decent, I wish Alexis Pearson would calm down a bit; but normally the play-by-play was decent and commentary was normally pretty good too. The trophy looks terrific and all in all...even without logos, they did a pretty great job. The point system, the choose your opponent idea and the jailbreak rule are all great. AND Minnesota gets to select 3rd Overall on June 10th's draft which is in St. Paul? Anyone going to it? (we are still planning on having the NHL draft party at Reid's on June 28th by the way) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CreaseAndAssist Posted June 9 Author Share Posted June 9 Russo's article about why the PWHL canned Natalie Darwitz as PWHL Minnesota's GM 9 days after her club won the Walter Cup sounds like a Wild Country Club situation 2.0. (sigh) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CreaseAndAssist Posted June 11 Author Share Posted June 11 Minnesota selects a 26-year old defender Claire Thompson who didn't play last season as she finished up med school. Interesting choice to go with a player who sat out a year when you had the 3rd overall pick?!? That's different in Minnesota parlance... The Hockey News quote on @PWHL_Minnesota's 3rd Overall selection Claire Thompson (ranked 8th btw) "Former Team Canada defender is a smooth-skating puck mover. Took a year off to continue med school at NYU. She wants to return, but for how long?" @PWHL_Minnesota takes LW, 24-yo, Britta Curl with the 9th Overall pick (ranked 19th by the Hockey News) played at Wisconsin, "Great Motor, Team USA member will be an excellent middle-six checker with offensive upside. Online support for Anti-LGBTQ+ messages may hurt status." @PWHL_Minnesota takes C, Klara Hymlarova, 25-year old, Czechia-native (ranked 18th by the Hockey News), "A versatile player who is a strong two-way competitor, and spent some time playing defense this season in the NCAA." @PWHL_Minnesota takes LW, Brooke McQuigge with the 21st Overall pick (ranked #47 by the Hockey News), Clarkson grad, "tenacious middle-six winger, plenty of character and upside, dangerous on special teams" @PWHL_Minnesota selects C, 23-yo, Dominique Petrie with the 27th Overall selection (ranked #33 by the Hockey News), "Strong down the middle, Petrie comes up clutch and can play off the puck while also contributing offensively, shined in the NCAA playoffs." @PWHL_Minnesota selects D, Mae Batherson (St. Lawrence, 21st by the Hockey News) with 33rd Overall, Nova Scotia-native, "strong in transition, Batherson is a mobile defender, who gets pucks moving quickly up the ice, ECAC 1st team all star this season", brother is Drake Batherson. @PWHL_Minnesota takes F, Katelyn Knoll (Northeastern U.) with the 39th overall selection, 23 years old, not rated by the Hockey News, Buffalo, NY-native, 11-17-28pts in 39 games, 5'7", right shot, alternate captain with the Huskies last year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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