Kennedy Marchment (14) is one of six former Connecticut Whale players who made opening day rosters in the new Professional Women’s Hockey League.
Six former Connecticut Whale players, including four that played in Simsbury with the Whale last winter in the now-defunct Premier Hockey Federation, have made opening day rosters for the Professional Women’s Hockey League (PWHL), the league announced on Tuesday.
Kennedy Marchment, the PHF’s MVP with the Whale in 2022, made the roster in Montreal with defenseman Allie Munoe (Toronto) and Katetrina Mrazova (Ottawa) also made opening day rosters.
Taylor Girard made the team in Boston along with Shiann Darkangelo and Kaleigh Fratkin, who played with the Whale in 2015-16 before moving to other PHF franchises.
Marchment, Girard, Munroe and Mrazova played in Simsbury last winter for Connecticut.
While the PWHL didn’t select Connecticut as one of the six markets for their first season, the league’s New York franchise will spend plenty of time here in the Nutmeg State. The team is training full time at Chelsea Piers in Stamford and five games will be played at the Total Mortgage Center in Bridgeport. Another three home games for New York have yet to be scheduled.
New York’s roster includes U.S. Olympians Alex Carpenter and Abby Roque and Canadian Olympic players Micah Zandee-Hart and Ella Shelton, the team’s top draft pick in the recent PWHL draft.
The team also signed Madison Packer, the long-time leader of the PHF’s Metropolitan Riveters, who scored 129 points in 131 PHF games, the second most points in the league’s eight-year run.
Colton Orr, who was the head coach for the Whale the past two seasons, is an assistant coach in New York.
The regular season, which consists of 24 games this season, begins on January 1 when New York visits Toronto for a 12:30 p.m. start at the Mattamy Athletic Center on the grounds of historic Maple Leaf Gardens.
The first PWHL game in Connecticut is set for Friday, Jan. 5 when Toronto visits New York in Bridgeport beginning at 7 p.m.
Rosters for the six teams – Boston, New York, Minnesota, Toronto, Montreal, Ottawa – include players from Canada (90) and United States (53) with 14 international players from Austria (1), Czechia (5), Sweden (2), Switzerland (1), Finland (1), France (1), Germany (1), Hungary (1) and Japan (1).
Games in Bridgeport
Friday, Jan.5: Toronto at New York (Bridgeport), 7 p.m.
Sunday, Jan. 28: Minnesota at New York (Bridgeport), 1 p.m.
Wednesday, Match 6: Montreal at New York (Bridgeport), 7 p.m.
Wednesday, March 20: Ottawa at New York (Bridgeport), 7 p.m.
Wednesday, April 24: Toronto at New York (Bridgeport), 7 p.m.
Undetermined location
Sunday, April 21: Boston at New York (venue TBA)
Tuesday, April 30: Ottawa at New York (venue TBA)
Saturday, May 4: Minnesota at New York (venue TBA)
