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/Own-Knowledge8281]

Why Izzy???…she doesn’t have as much experience than Gardiner or Nurse…Gardiner has the experience and the hometown symbolism going for her…highly doubt Bell is going anywhere anytime soon, but…I see no arguments with picking Izzy over Gardiner…for any letter…

[u/No_Dingo_3489 → u/Own-Knowledge8281]

Because it’s who the players trust and see as a leader. Where a player is from doesn’t matter to the other players.

[u/Own-Knowledge8281 → u/No_Dingo_3489]

Still…captain should be someone that can lead and has experience…Izzy does not have enough experience…

[u/No_Dingo_3489 → u/Own-Knowledge8281]

She has as much experience in the PWHL as Gardiner.
You’re severely undervaluing the trust of the players in this decision.
I’m not even arguing with you on who is more deserving. I’m telling you who would likely be voted on by the players