Ranking the top 15 PWHL players for 2025-26

theScore's Kyle Cushman ranks the top 15 PWHL players ahead of the 2025-26 season, with comments from players from around the league.

Coyne Schofield ranks fourth in PWHL scoring through two seasons, which is even more impressive when considering that she has just two career power-play points. The speedy winger remains among the game's elite even-strength creators at 33 years old.

"Something that isn't talked about enough is her preparation for practices and games," Minnesota Frost teammate Taylor Heise told theScore. "She does anything and everything that will help her feel her best. Consistently warming up and cooling down and making time to make sure her body feels good. She makes sure she's always prepared, and that's something her teammates can count on."

Jaques blossomed into one of the PWHL's best offensive defenders with Minnesota. She ranked fifth in points per game regardless of position and led all defenders with 75 shots on goal despite missing five games. The 25-year-old is a shot generation machine whose game is only going to get better in Vancouver.

"I think Sophie's a very offensive defenseman, and I love that about her," Mellissa Channell-Watkins, Jacques' former defense partner in Minnesota, told theScore. "She makes my job easy by just hanging out, being the shutdown defenseman that I am. I feel like you always need one who's offensive, one who's defensive, and I think that's why we work together."

Ambrose's point production dropped from her Defender of the Year campaign in 2024, but her overall impact did not. The 31-year-old is a sublime defender who takes more pride in her defensive zone play than in her offensive results.

"What I learned from playing against Erin last year, or what I appreciated more, was her ability to block shots," Goldeneyes defender and Team Canada teammate Claire Thompson said. "She blocks a ton of shots on the penalty kill, which is really difficult as a power play, and at five-on-five. She's very positionally sound defensively, but she also sees the game really well from the offensive blue line and is very crafty with her decision making."

Shelton will don the Toronto Sceptres' blue and yellow after a blockbuster trade from New York on draft night. The 27-year-old tallied the most goals by a blue-liner in both PWHL seasons, and she's the league's all-time points leader among defenders.

"It's all in her confidence," Sceptres defender Renata Fast answered when asked about Shelton's growth in recent years. "It's been really fun to watch. She's put in a ton of work, I think, on the mental side of the game, but also she's gotten way more confident with the puck. She's so hard to play against. I think if you ask people across the league, she'd be one of the hardest to play against. She uses her body really well, and then her shot is incredible. It's exactly what you want from the point. She's not afraid to use it. She's put in the work, and it's paid off for her."

Keller led Team USA in minutes in the gold-medal game at the Worlds in April. She hasn't put up gaudy point totals in the PWHL, but Keller's all-around impact and elite two-way game shouldn't go underrated.

"She's just so confident and so, so good," Boston Fleet rookie defender Haley Winn said. "I got to play with her at my first Worlds, and you're just so confident when you're on the ice with her. Obviously, you don't wanna make a mistake, but I'm like, 'No matter what happens, Keller's behind me, she's got it.' You play so confident when you're on the ice with her because she kinda slows the play down in her own way and is able to always make the right play. Defensively, her sticks are so good, her gaps are so good, so she can end a play early. Such a confident player."

Watts has seized the opportunity in the PWHL to establish herself as one of the most impactful players in the game. She ranked third in league scoring last year and is second only to Marie-Philip Poulin in total points over the two seasons.

"I think Daryl has always been one of the most lethal offensive players in the world," said New York Sirens rookie Casey O'Brien, who played two seasons with Watts at Wisconsin. "Now she's just getting more recognition for it. Her vision impresses me the most - it's like she's seeing plays unfold at a different speed than everyone else. She's just as much a threat to score as she is to set someone up. She's such a special player."

Stacey's blend of power and pace has seen her evolve into one of the game's premier wingers. The 31-year-old led the PWHL in shots on goal (112) despite missing three contests, and averaged over four per game.

"She knows that her speed is her strength and she's very fearless in pursuit of the puck, with the puck, and driving the net," Ottawa Charge forward Emily Clark said. "You have to know that she's going to do all of that without any fear."

Frankel continues to be Boston's workhorse and is coming off a perfect 5-0-0 run at the Worlds, where she was named Top Goaltender. She's twice been named to the PWHL's Second All-Star Team but still awaits her first Goaltender of the Year honor.

"She's a very competitive goalie," Montreal Victoire netminder and Team Canada rival Ann-Renee Desbiens said. "Very aggressive. Obviously, smaller stature, but you can't tell when you play against her. She plays really big. She's very untraditional, which I think makes her very difficult to play against."

Desbiens had an exquisite 15-2-2 record and posted a .932 save percentage last season despite not registering a single shutout. She made 63 saves in Montreal's Game 2 quadruple overtime win, a feather in her cap despite the Victoire's second straight early playoff exit.

"Just how calm she is, composed," Sceptres goaltender Elaine Chuli said, who was previously Desbiens' backup in Montreal. "Nothing really fazes her. It's pretty cool when you get to watch her every day the last two seasons, practice, games. Take from her game what I like. Definitely really cool to learn from her."

Carpenter missed four games last season, and the Sirens lost all of them. A clinical finisher, Carpenter is a weapon on the power play and is primed for a huge season moving to Seattle, centering superstar Hilary Knight and young gun Hannah Bilka.

"She's an elite two-way player who has proven to be one of the best in the world for years, and she has the ability to take over a game at both ends of the ice," Torrent general manager Meghan Turner said after signing Carpenter. "She's hungry to win and brings the kind of drive that sets the tone for a team."

Heise assisted on Team USA's golden goal at the Worlds, and weeks later ended the Sceptres' season in double overtime. The 25-year-old dazzles with her speed, skill, and playmaking, and is set to star at her first Olympics in February.

"Biggest thing is just her shot," Frost forward Kelly Pannek said. "I tell her all the time, 'Keep shooting the puck,' because I know she's always looking for the passing option. She wants to set someone up for the tap-in every single time, and I just tell her, 'You just have to keep shooting,' because her shot can be very deceptive, a quick release, she can place it really well. She can get different angles across her body. That's the biggest thing, when she's shooting the puck - one, she scores - and then she also gets all these assists because she figures out, 'Okay, these people have to come to me, now I'll go find who's open.'"

Fast became the first defender to finish as a finalist for PWHL MVP last season. She quarterbacked the league's top power play, paced the PWHL in hits (63), and was a one-woman breakout and zone entry. The 31-year-old has established herself as the top defender in the game.

"She did a lot of things really well, but I think she totally led our team, led our D," Sceptres captain Blayre Turnbull said. "She is someone that, every single game, we relied on her, and she showed up. She's, in my opinion, at the point now, similar to (Poulin) on the forward side, where she's at the peak of what a great D-man is in this league. And I think she's still trying to find ways to get better, and that's what makes her so good."

Fillier exceeded high expectations as a rookie by co-leading the PWHL in scoring with 29 points. The new-look Sirens are firmly Fillier's team going forward. New York is in for a show if Fillier reaches even greater heights as a sophomore.

"It's so cool to see, honestly," Victoire forward Marie-Philip Poulin said of Fillier's rise since her Team Canada debut in 2018. "I remember the first couple of camps where she came in; she was shy, and I knew she was talented. But now, the way she's evolved as a hockey player, as a person, she's become one of the leaders on the (Canadian national) team. Even a willingness to get better, on and off the ice, working her hardest. To see that and those little details as a young player can determine how far she can go. I think she has that willingness, that hunger to be the best, and that's something for me, it's amazing to see."

Knight tallied more goals last season (15) than she did points in her first PWHL campaign (11). She was healthy and it showed on the scoresheet, as she co-led the league in scoring and was a finalist for MVP. The 36-year-old begins a new journey as the face of the expansion Seattle Torrent.

"Her proven leadership and drive, the way she elevates everyone around her, those are qualities you can't teach," Torrent GM Turner said after Knight became the first player to sign in franchise history. "Hilary's not just a game-changer on the ice; she's the kind of person who defines a culture."

Poulin led the PWHL with 19 goals and claimed league MVP honors last season. She paced the Worlds in scoring and won MVP there, as well. At 34 years old, Poulin remains the best in the game and is showing no signs of slowing down.

"When we played Montreal, I think she scored on her first shift in like three of the games we played out of the six," Sirens forward Sarah Fillier said of her Team Canada teammate. "I think it was so hard playing center against her because you don't realize just how strong she is. There are so many clips of her chasing down the ice with her head down. When you're on the back end of that, and you're supposed to be marking her, it's terrifying. She just turns nothing plays into something special. You really can't give her any time."