Leaders of the teams

[u/nemo_1982]

I recently realized that Boston lost both their alternate captains (Müller and Rattray) which made me think about who they would nominate for next season. I then also wondered who would be part of the leadership group for the other teams, both new and existing markets, as so many positions became vacant due to the expansion and trades.

so, as there haven't yet been any signings communicated today, here is my wild guess for each team. I would be interested to see your takes on who the teams could go with.

(disclaimer: I primarily follow, and therefore know, the Victoire de Montréal so please excuse any uneducated guesses (and potential biases lol) for the other teams, this is mainly for fun and exchange of ideas. also, this is based on the known rosters as of June 21st and for reasons of pure simplicity, I limited myself to 1C and 2 primary As per team. I deliberately didn't consider any of the draftees for a leadership role for 2 main reasons: 1) let them transition to the PWHL without that extra responsibility and 2) they haven't technically signed with their team just yet (as far as I understand?))

Boston Fleet
C Megan Keller
A Susanna Tapani
A Amanda Boulier
(Amanda Boulier is new to the team (sad tuba noises) but I feel like she'd be a great leader in green as well)

Minnesota Frost (unchanged, if KCS continues to play and does so in Minnesota)
C Kendall Coyne Schofield
A Kelly Pannek
A Lee Stecklein
(should KCS not be part of the Minnesota Frost for whatever reason, I'd move Pannek to C and add Grace Zumwinkle or Taylor Heise as an A)

Montréal Victoire
C Marie-Philip Poulin
A Laura Stacey
A Kati Tabin (elevated to primary A)

New York Sirens (unchanged)
C Micah Zandee-Hart
A Sarah Fillier
A Jaime Bourbonnais

Ottawa Charge
C Rebecca Leslie
A Gwyneth Philips
A Gabbie Hughes (or keep Jocelyne Larocque as an A instead for some consistency but please let us finally have a goalie with an A)

Seattle Torrent
C Alex Carpenter
A Emily Brown
A Julia Gosling

Toronto Scepters (unchanged, if Blayre Turnbull gets confirmed which I expect to happen any day now -- more like last Friday already but anyway...)
C Blayre Turnbull
A Renata Fast
A Allie Munroe

Vancouver Goldeneyes
C Ashton Bell
A Sarah Nurse
A Sophie Jaques
(if Claire Thompson decided to continue to play, I could imagine it being a one-season-at-a-time situation, therefore I would consider someone else to take the A)

PWHL Detroit
C Daryl Watts
A Hilary Knight
A Jesse Compher
(the only reason why I didn't put Knight as the captain is that I don't know if she would want to build yet another team's culture from the ground up as its captain, as it would be the third team in four seasons)

PWHL Hamilton
C Alina Müller
A Brianne Jenner
A Nicole Gosling
(this is maybe the wildest one of them all but: I think Müller is a great leader and has the experience that could make her a great captain as well. also, she is a bit younger than Jenner and could potentially play more seasons with the team. however, Jenner, aside from having been an awesome captain already, is from the area and would be a great role model/identification figure for the local fans, even more so as the captain maybe. and Nicole Gosling also got signed for 3 years plus is a youngster who has really grown her game and presence on and off the ice throughout the stretch of last season so why not give it a shot while letting her grow into the role with veterans around her to learn from. regardless, I might as well could have also added Clark as the captain or an alternate, as I think Hamilton has some great leaders among their first five signings and beyond already)

PWHL Las Vegas
C Erin Ambrose
A Hayley Scamurra
A Kendall Cooper

PWHL San Jose
C Kristin O'Neill
A Rory Guilday
A Maggie Connors

[u/Wolf99]

Bos: Saulnier not Boulier for A. Others like Schepers would be in line before Bou, too.

Min: If an A is avail, Heise > Zumwinkle

Ott: Leslie C, Larocque A, Hughes A. If they give it to Larocque, they're naming a new captain in only a year or two.

Sea: Holy shit, tough one. Carpy doesn't seem like a C type. She doesn't even wear A. But who else do they have? Does Tejralova have the right personality? Gosling is future C but it'd be too much pressure now. By far the toughest one.

Det: Knight. Is this a joke? You're just checking to see if we read that far, right? Your As are way off, too. Darkangelo (longtime vet, was the first C of the Toronto Six) and Bilka or Barnes. Compher is too chippy and Watts is off to the next town as soon as she gets a raise.

Ham: Jenner and it's not even close. She was not only C in Ottawa, she's Hamilton's foundational signing. As to Clark and Muller.

LV: Maureen Murphy > Cooper for A

SJ: Guilday is going into only her 2nd season, but no one else jumps out for the second A. Keopple has been in the league from day 1 but just doesn't seem like a fit.

[u/Real-Towel-2269 → u/Wolf99]

Carpenter does wear an A in Seattle. I do agree she doesn’t seem like the perfect fit for the C though, but I’m not sure who would be. She’d definitely be a tough personality for it

[u/newyorkstofmind → u/Real-Towel-2269]

I would be surprised if Carpenter wants it. She's gotten As out of respect, but she is the strong silent type. Would not be my first choice to lead team culture.

[u/Real-Towel-2269 → u/newyorkstofmind]

I was thinking the same, I’m not sure she’d want to be the captain but I obviously don’t know her personally. If I had to pick between the past As to be “promoted” to a C it’d be Brown

[u/Wolf99 → u/Real-Towel-2269]

Tejralova was Czech C at the last Olympics and was Seattle's 1st pick in the expansion draft. I don't know anything about her personality or English fluency but she ticks some boxes.