While Minnesota faces various challenges, including those beyond the draft, the Professional Women’s Hockey League’s Montreal team, under general manager Daniele Sauvageau, appears relatively stable. Sauvageau has yet to finalize contracts with her pending unrestricted free agents, a move that allows her to assess the outcomes of the draft before making decisions. With exclusive negotiation rights until June 21, there’s no immediate pressure to act. However, Sauvageau did make an early move on draft day by signing Lina Lunjgblom, her last-round pick in the inaugural draft, to a three-year contract. Despite Lunjgblom’s prior commitment to play in Sweden, Sauvageau’s preemptive action to secure her signing rights demonstrates astute decision-making by the GM.
While last year’s inaugural draft allowed every team to select 15 players, the latest draft comprised only seven rounds. Despite being swept in the playoffs, Montreal’s draft position was determined by its regular season finish in the standings. Having secured the second spot behind Toronto, Montreal holds the penultimate pick in each round.
The team’s goaltending situation appears stable if Elaine Chuli opts to re-sign, as Ann-Renée Desbiens is regarded as one of the world’s top goaltenders. However, Montreal’s defensive line leaves much to be desired, contrasting with Desbiens’ formidable skills.
On the offensive front, injuries to key players like Poulin and the retirement of Melodie Daoust have exposed a lack of depth in goal-scoring capabilities. Nonetheless, the addition of Lunjgblom promises to bolster the team’s attack. In the recent Women’s World Championship, Lunjgblom impressed with two goals and an assist in Sweden’s five games. As a 22-year-old alternate captain, she concluded her season in Sweden with an impressive tally of 46 points in 36 games.
First Round Pick: Cayla Barnes – Defender
Montreal needed to shore up its defence and with Claire Thompson off the board, Cayla Barnes was the best option available. At just 25 years old, she has two Olympic medals, a gold and a silver, two World Championship gold medals and three silvers on top of being an NCAA national champion with the Ohio Buckeyes last season. She played 39 games and picked up 36 points in the process and while the plus/minus stat is no one’s favourite, it’s not misleading when you’re a plus-71.
By improving its blue line corps, Montreal will make Desbiens’ life a little easier when the second season gets going (and Chuli’s as well if she is signed to a new contract). They killed two birds with one stone on that one, always a good way to go.
For scoring depth, Montreal once again turned to the Ohio Buckeyes and picked up their captain Jennifer Gardiner, Barnes’ teammate last season and therefore also an NCAA national champion. She put up 45 points on the season including 18 goals and was the very last player cut from Team Canada this past year. In Montreal, she’ll have a lot of help to make it from Team Canada captain Poulin, wingers Laura Stacey and Kristin O’Neil.
At just 22 years old, these young legs will also be useful if Montreal’s playoff games next season (should there be any) last as long as this past season’s.
Third Round Pick: Abigail Boreen – Forward
Abigail Boreen spent last season in Minnesota as one of their reserves as she was attending pharmacy school there. Much like Melodie Daoust was taken as a straight reserve by Montreal, Boreen got the same treatment in Minnesota. She spent five years playing for the University of Minnesota in the NCAA and captained the team in 2022-23.
In her last year in the NCAA, she got 36 points in as many games. Last season she appeared in nine games for Minnesota gathering five goals along the way. She also featured in the first round of the playoffs, picking up an assist in five games. Montreal gets the best of both worlds here, some experience in a 24-year-old.
Fourth Round Pick: Dara Greig – Forward
Clearly, Sauvageau and head coach Kori Cheverie have heard enough about the lack of depth up front after their marathon playoffs games which they almost completely played with only two lines. They drafted yet another forward in Dara Greig from Colgate University in the NCAA; the New Jersey native has Canadian nationality nonetheless.
Last season, she picked up 42 points in 40 games and should be more than able to provide secondary scoring for Montreal. The Daily Faceoff mock draft called her “an offensive powerhouse”, I’ve got to say I’m intrigued now. Good bloodlines in any case as father Mark was a first-round pick for the Hartford Whalers in the 1990 NHL Draft and brother Ridly now plays for the Ottawa Senators.
Fifth Round Pick: Anna Wilgren – Defender
Ambrose must have let out a sigh of relief there as Montreal finally picked another blueliner in Anna Wilgren, a Wisconsin native who played for the University of Minnesota for five seasons and ran into injury troubles more than once. Still, the captain kept battling but eventually decided to go home where she joined the Wisconsin Badgers.
She managed to play 40 games and put up 24 points in her first and only season with the Badgers and will be hoping to stay healthy as she moves north of the border. There is another Badgers alumni in Montreal, but with the Montreal Canadiens, perhaps Cole Caufield will introduce her to her new home.
Sixth Round Pick: Anna Kjellbin – Defender
Sauvageau went to Sweden for the 35th-overall pick and selected blueliner Anna Kjellbin, a 30-year-old who played in the Svenska damhockeyligan (SDHL) for a seventh season last year. It was her third with Lulea HC and she served as an alternate captain for her farewell season racking up 13 points in 34 regular season games and five points in nine playoff games.
Kjellbin also captained her country’s national team in the latest World Championship but was held off the scoresheet. This deep into the draft, it’s tricky to have much information about these players, but there’s plenty of experience there and after declaring for the draft, it’s hard to imagine her not crossing the pond to try her luck in the PWHL. At least Lunjgblom will have a travelling companion and someone to keep an eye on the 22-year-old rookie who has never left her home country.
Seventh Round Pick: Amanda Kessel – Forward
This was a very good selection with the second to last pick of the night. Amanda Kessel started playing for Team USA in 2011-12 until 2022-23 when she took a year away from her playing career, concentrating on her role as special assistant to Pittsburgh Penguins general manager Kyle Dubas. She won’t be too lonely in Montreal as head coach Cheverie also worked for the Penguins’ organization. Furthermore, she’ll be teaming up with a few former Team Canada rivals.
While she may not be considered a young player at 32, turning 33 by the start of the season, she has proven to be a consistent point producer before taking her break. In her last World Championship appearance in 2022-23, she tallied nine points in seven games, and in the previous year’s competition, she recorded 17 points in seven games. The rivalry between Montreal and Boston might intensify even further with Courtney Kessel, her sister-in-law, coaching Boston’s team.
As anticipated, Montreal diligently addressed the gaps in their lineup, focusing on bolstering depth scoring upfront and shoring up stability on defense. Their inclination towards selecting younger players bodes well for the team’s long-term prospects, even in the league’s nascent stage.
However, there’s a concern that they may face criticism for not drafting Emmy Fecteau, a Quebec native who was picked by New York in the sixth round. This move recalls Montreal’s snagging of Jillian Dempsey from under Boston’s nose in the inaugural draft. Despite potential backlash, drafting should prioritize winning over appeasing local sentiments. Notably, two out of the three initial free agent signings made by Sauvageau were from Quebec.
Sauvageau’s top priority now is to secure a deal with Chuli, given the limited vacancies around the league, with Ottawa’s selection of Gwyneth Philips in the third round potentially limiting options. As for other pending unrestricted free agents, they may face challenges retaining their spots against the influx of rookie talent. Blueliner Amanda Boulier is likely to stay, given her significant impact on improving the defense last season. Upfront, another contract offer may be extended to Ann-Sophie Bettez, who, despite ending last season on long-term injured reserve, has expressed a desire to continue playing at 36. Given her longstanding tenure in Montreal and her popularity among fans, she deserves to retire on her own terms.
