The Fleet have released their 29 player roster for training camp and we can start speculating for the final roster.
Last week Boston released their preliminary 19 skater roster heading into Training camp. The Fleet will be participating in the Montreal Camp in November before final rosters of 23 players and 3 reserve players are due. Of the 19 players listed 19 played for Boston last year and a total of 20 are currently signed to deals.
Forwards (16)
Lexie Adzija*
Kelly Babstock
Hannah Bilka*
Hannah Brandt*
Jill Dempsey
Loren Gabel*
Taylor Girard*
Hilary Knight*
Shay Maloney
Ilona Markova
Alina Müller*
Amanda Pelkey
Jamie Lee Rattray*
Theresa Schafzahl*
Sophie Shirley*
Susanna Tapani*
*=Signed to a contract
There are 16 forwards invited to camp this year. You will have 12 skating in the four lines and likely one extra forward signed to the active roster. My instinct, based on the players invited, that they will also carry 2 forwards in the three reserves, leaving one likely cut.
Locks (7)
Hannah Bilka, Hannah Brandt, Loren Gabel, Hilary Knight, Alina Müller, Jamie Lee Rattray, Susanna Tapani
These players are all either signed past this season or are key contributors.
Safe (6)
Lexie Adzija, Taylor Girard, Shay Maloney, Ilona Markova, Theresa Schafzahl, Sophie Shirley
These are your depth forwards that should be safely on the roster. The two draft picks are the biggest question marks as both were selected late in the draft.
Bubble (3)
Kelly Babstock, Jill Dempsey, Amanda Pelkey
At least one of these players will be cut. The other two are fighting to get an active roster spot but are looking at reserve roles. Pelkey seems the safest of the grouping with her postseason performance last year. Babstock seems at risk with her playing time win the playoffs being a red flag, but she is a player you want to keep around the team. Every person that knows her talks about how she around the team, but the question is does she still have enough to compete at the level the league has risen to. Dempsey is one many people are excited to see back in Boston, or Lowell, after a year in Montreal she comes to Boston as she is coming towards the close of her career. After being a major factor in Boston hockey, men’s naming Blades the Bruins mascot, and both the NWHL/PHF and CWHL iterations of pro womens hockey in the past, she returns to write the final chapters. She was good in limited opportunities in Montreal so we will see if she can carve a role out for the Fleet.
Defenders (9)
Sydney Bard*
Emily Brown*
Jessica DiGirolamo*
Emma Greco*
Hadley Hartmetz
Megan Keller*
Sidney Morin*
Daniela Pejšová*
Maude Poulin-Labelle
*=Signed to a contract
Like the Forward group we are looking at three players more than the three starting pairings. The Fleet will likely have an extra defender on the roster and one as a reserve.
Locks (3)
Megan Keller, Sidney Morin, Daniela Pejšová
These three are not going anywhere. All of them have been significantly invested in and proven themselves as key performers.
Safe (4)
Sydney Bard, Emily Brown, Jessica DiGirolamo, Emma Greco
These payers will slot into the active roster. Two played for Boston last year and were contributors, one was a free agent pick up and the other a higher draft pick, all are signed too contracts this season.
Bubble (2)
Hadley Hartmetz, Maude Poulin-Labelle
These two will likely be competing for the reserve spot. Hartmetz was an extremely late draft pick due to health concerns and it does not seem like she is back fully yet. The likely scenario is she will remain unsigned and the Fleet will retain her rights until she is healthy and spots can be resisted. Poulin-Labelle played for both Montreal, where she was drafted but did not stick, and Toronto, where she had a limited role, last season. She seems to be the favorite to land the final reserve spot.
Goalies (4)
Aerin Frankel*
Cami Kronish
Klára Peslarová
Emma Söderberg*
*=Signed to a contract
There are three goalie spots we have a clear starter and a player that was the clear second goalie. This position is the most clear cut, one of the others will get a roster spot the other gets cut.
Locks (2)
Aerin Frankel, Emma Söderberg
These two are two of the best in the world and will not be going anywhere. The question this season is can Frankel take a higher percentage of the starts or not.
Bubble (2)
Cami Kronish, Klára Peslarová
The question comes down to what are you looking for in your third string goalie. Goalie play was not an issue last year for a team that had major issues. Do you go with the player that already has chemistry with the team or the newcomer that is the better goalie and can push your backup more to keep her growing. The former would be Kronish, while a great goalie Peslarová has a much higher ceiling. If you go with the latter Peslarová has already proven herself against the top national teams with a defense that is not as concentrated as teams in this league have. My gut says it is Peslarová that gets the nod, too much upside and it would be a mistake to leave her available to another team again.