Boston Pride: Season 7 Preview
A new general manager. Signing a pick from the first-ever international draft. Acquiring not one, not two, but three major talents from rival PHF teams. A summer of celebration, departures, and league-wide rebrands.
The 2021 offseason was very busy for the Boston Pride, but the season is finally upon us. As the Boston Pride looks to repeat, a very different path is ahead of them for season seven.
Changes and Opportunities
Of all PHF teams, the Pride underwent the fewest changes on and off the ice. They have the most returning players of any team (including all their leadership), have Paul Mara behind the bench, and still play at Warriors Ice Arena. Even their jerseys have stayed the same, unlike their opponent down in Connecticut and New Jersey. The loss of Karilyn Pilch as a general manager is no small one, but the team and culture she helped build are still intact and ready for Danielle Larouco to take over and begin the search for their third Isobel Cup.
While we posted an in-depth look at the Boston Pride roster when it was initially announced, a few players have been added since. Namely, Swiss forward Evelina Raselli and former Minnesota Whitecap/Connecticut Whale defender Amanda Boulier. Carlee Turner, Briana Mastel, Taylor Turnquist, Mary Parker, Meaghan Rickard, Tereza Vanisova, and Lexie Laing have all departed the team, leaving some holes in the center position and offense-minded defense. Friesen and Raselli will hope to step into those center roles, and Amanda Boulier to offset the loss of Turnquist’s offensive presence on the blue line. Boulier’s resume of an Isobel Cup, a PHF all-star appearance, and 50 points in 56 games leaves little doubt that she’s perfect for the job.
Several players are looking to complete their first full professional hockey season due to last season only containing 9 total games for the Pride. Sammy Davis, Kayla Friesen, Meghara McManus, Katelynn Russ, Taylor Wenczkowski, and Paige Capistran have all yet to hit the ten-game mark at the pro level. The 20 game PHF season can be mentally grueling, full of travel and back-to-backs, but there are also advantages to it compared to the Lake Placid season. Only playing on weekends provides a week of practice, adjustment, film coaching, and physical recovery time before having to play again. The mental challenges of social isolation and playing the entire season away from home is no longer present. All the sophomore players mentioned above have a chance to fully blossom this year.
For both those players experiencing it for the first time and those who know the Boston crowd well, playing in front of a home crowd for the first time in over a year is the biggest opportunity of all. During the PHF’s media availability, Kaleigh Fratkin stated "I'm really looking forward to being back at Warrior in front of our home crowd, we never got to play in front of fans last year winning the cup, so I'm just really excited to be back with the team and on home ice."
Preseason Performance (and what it tells us)
A 2-1 win over Toronto in preseason gave us a taste of what to expect for the Pride, a proactive team maintaining their identity of relentless offense and speed. Via Pride play by play broadcaster Sam Fryman, The Pride line up for their preseason game was as follows:
Davis - Dempsey - Brand
Putigna - Friesen - Wenczkowski
Sullivan - Raselli - McManus
Russ
Fratkin - Souliotis
Boulier - Rheault
Capistran - Kelly
Cook
Selander
Hanson
Burt
While it may just be for preseason, we see the top line of Putigna-Dempsey-Brand broken up in favor of Putigna on the second line and Davis in the first left-wing start. Numerous plays from Davis made it onto Jeff Lane of MyHockeyLive’s highlights, meanwhile Putigna’s familiarity with the Pride’s systems and performance that earned her all-star votes last season can help guide young players and new additions like Friesen and Wenczkowski.
After the depth forwards, which primarily contained rookies, struggled to produce in Lake Placid as they got acclimated, Putigna’s presence on the second line is a smart way to avoid the same problem in season seven and maintain team identity throughout the lineup. On defense, the top pair of Fratkin and Souliotis stayed together while Boulier was paired with a stay-at-home defender in Rheault, providing equity between her and the puck-moving style of Boulier.
Goals for the Pride came from McKenna Brand, who showed off her speed and stickhandling skills on a breakaway. Evelina Raselli got the game-winner in a scrum in front of the net, up to the challenge of the second, third, and fourth effort required to get the puck to cross the line. The Pride peppered Chuli with quality chances, including one by defender Souliotis that showed the continued offense-first mentality of the Pride.
Predictions
To end on a high note, here are three predictions for the upcoming Boston Pride season.
Kayla Friesen will be an All-Star: She only scored one goal in the Whale’s Lake Placid campaign but showed the skillset to be an offensive threat. In a more stable environment than season six could provide, Friesen can translate the talent that earned her 30 points in 28 games as a senior at Clarkson University to the PHF.
All three goaltenders will have the opportunity to start: The Pride relied on tandem goaltending more than most teams in the two-season that they’ve had Selander and Hanson in the mix, and no fan should be surprised if Burt starts a handful of games too. While third goaltenders in the PHF have mainly been used in case of injury, Burt has been a starter at the PHF level before and national team, and leaving her on the bench or as purely an injury option seems like a waste for the Pride. Additionally, the Pride previously avoided signing a third goaltender at the beginning of the year in the past two seasons and likely would not have signed one if they did not intend to get Burt some starts. Selander is still the starter for Pride, but utilizing Burt and Hanson helps avoid fatigue or scheduling conflicts, especially in back-to-backs.
Sammy Davis will be over a point per game player: Last year, Davis had 6 points in 9 total PHF games, including 5 goals. Coming into the season with experience under her belt, more time to practice with the team, and likely starting on a line with Dempsey and Brand, Davis should blow that out the water. Her NCAA total was just under a point per game, with 142 points in 147 games. Davis has the opportunity, with how quickly she translated that goal-scoring touch to the professional level and playing on one of the best lines in hockey, to have her best season yet.