Predicting top 5 scorers of 2024-25 PWHL season

Natalie Spooner won the inaugural PWHL scoring title after an outrageous 20-goal campaign. That should make the Toronto Sceptres star the favorite to lead the league again, right?

Not quite. Spooner unfortunately won't be ready to start the season as she continues to recover from ACL surgery, so we're likely to see a new scoring champ in season No. 2.

Here are our predictions for the PWHL's top-five scorers this season as the league increases its schedule from 24 to 30 games:

5. Sarah Fillier, New York Sirens

2024 stats (NCAA)

A rookie in the top five? If there's a player who can do it, it's Fillier, the first overall pick this summer.

Fillier is 24 years old, has a World Championship MVP under her belt, and has featured in Canada's top six for multiple years. This isn't like a teenaged Macklin Celebrini stepping into the NHL and immediately being a top-five scorer; Fillier's an established, elite commodity in the women's game.

Despite finishing last, New York scored the most goals on the player advantage (19) and had the second-most efficient power play (24.4%) last season. Adding an offensive talent like Fillier should see the Sirens' special teams remain a legitimate threat.

Fillier was Princeton's best player by a notable margin last season. She'll have significantly more help on a Sirens team boasting Alex Carpenter, Jessie Eldridge, and Ella Shelton, the league's top-scoring defender. We're in store for a statement rookie campaign from the Georgetown, Ontario, native.

Fillier's 30-game projection: 15 goals, 13 assists, 28 points

4. Daryl Watts, Toronto Sceptres

2024 stats

Watts moved from Ottawa to Toronto in free agency and is poised to take a step toward stardom.

The 25-year-old was one of the PWHL's top scorers from the middle of February through to the end of the campaign. Watts registered nine goals and 15 points in her last 15 games after tallying only one goal and two points in her first nine.

Watts was one of the most prolific scorers in NCAA history, recording 136 goals and 297 points in 172 career games at Boston College and Wisconsin from 2017-22. She briefly retired after her collegiate career and made a comeback a few months later with the PHF's Toronto Six in 2022-23, but she didn't have the immediate offensive impact some expected of her.

The rust from her retirement is long gone, and Watts now joins a Sceptres team that already led the PWHL in goals (69). She'll be deployed alongside other elite offensive talent, and with Spooner out to start the campaign, she'll be leaned on heavily offensively early on. Look for Watts to continue to prove her doubters wrong in Toronto.

Watts' 30-game projection: 17 goals, 13 assists, 30 points

3. Alex Carpenter, New York Sirens

2024 stats

Carpenter was a finalist for PWHL MVP and Forward of the Year despite playing for New York, which finished last.

It was a stellar campaign from the veteran American. Carpenter was tied for second in league scoring and had nine more points than the second-highest-scoring New York forward.

Help is on the way: the Sirens added Fillier and also Finnish standout Noora Tulus through the draft. Both could find themselves on Carpenter's wings this year. If Carpenter racked up the numbers she did last season and now gets to play with Fillier, what kind of campaign could she produce now?

It'll be a treat to see two of the top offensive talents from the American and Canadian national teams cook together in New York. Expect even bigger things from Carpenter in the PWHL's second season.

Carpenter's 30-game projection: 11 goals, 21 assists, 32 points

2. Marie-Philip Poulin, Montreal Victoire

2024 stats

The undeniable queen of Canadian hockey is a surefire challenger to lead the league in scoring if she's healthy.

Poulin was one of two players to eclipse the point-per-game mark (alongside Spooner), though she missed three games due to injury.

Montreal's power play was inexplicably dormant for much of last season. Poulin's five power-play points were the fewest among the PWHL's top six scorers, and she had only one goal on the advantage. An improved Victoire power play would see Poulin's production soar.

There are few more dangerous than a motivated Poulin - just look at her performances in gold-medal games. A difficult semifinal exit against Boston will surely fuel the Victoire captain, and a charge toward an MVP is the expectation for the 33-year-old.

Poulin's 30-game projection: 16 goals, 19 assists, 35 points

1. Sarah Nurse, Toronto Sceptres

2024 stats

Nurse was lights out after Toronto's surprisingly poor January, showcasing the offensive prowess that could see her lead the league in scoring this year. The 29-year-old had 10 goals and 20 points in her last 16 regular-season games.

A broken finger sustained late in the regular season limited Nurse's effectiveness in the playoffs. She managed only one assist in Toronto's five-game series against Minnesota, a disappointing outcome that left a bitter taste for the Sceptres.

Nurse and Watts seem like a perfect match and could form one of the premier duos in the league. Sceptres and Canadian head coach Troy Ryan put Watts on Nurse's wing at the Rivalry Series earlier in November, and it wouldn't be a surprise to see that continue into the PWHL campaign.

Watts brings immense skill and offensive talent that could bring the best out of Nurse in the attacking zone, a terrifying prospect for the PWHL's other five teams.

Nurse's 30-game projection: 15 goals, 21 assists, 36 points