Maya's 2025 PWHL Awards Ballot, Explained

I had the privilege of voting in the PWHL Awards this season, which was such a dream come true!

I wasn't sure if I was going to share my ballot, but the people have spoken, so here is a breakdown of my ballot and then who took home the win.

All-Star Teams

First All-Star Team
Maya's Ballot: Hilary Knight (F), Marie-Philip Poulin (F), Sarah Fillier (F), Claire Thompson (D), Renata Fast (D), Ann-Renée Desbiens (G)
Winners: Hilary Knight (F), Marie-Philip Poulin (F), Sarah Fillier (F), Sophie Jaques (D), Renata Fast (D), Ann-Renée Desbiens (G)

The only outlier between my ballot and the final winners is Claire Thompson. I was very impressed by the season that she had. Even though she isn't technically a rookie, this was her first season in the PWHL, and she was third in points and assists by defenders. Even though Fast and Jaques were ahead of her in points, to me, it was extremely impressive to even be in that conversation in her first season. That said, Jaques had a fantastic season, so I can understand how she made the first all-star team, especially after playing five fewer games than Fast and Thompson.

Second All-Star Team
Maya's Ballot: Daryl Watts (F), Tereza Vanišová (F), Laura Stacey (F), Sophie Jaques (D), Ella Shelton (D), Aerin Frankel (G)
Winners: Daryl Watts (F), Tereza Vanišová (F), Kendall Coyne-Schofield (F), Claire Thompson (D), Ella Shelton (D), Aerin Frankel (G)

It seems wild to be saying that Laura Stacey had an underrated season, but clearly that was the case. She plays on what could be considered one of the strongest lines in the league, with Marie-Philip Poulin and Jenn Gardiner, but I don't think her position on that line was appreciated. While Poulin and Gardiner both got their flowers in the all-star teams (Gardiner was named to the rookie team), Stacey seems to be left out of the conversation.

She finished the season with 22 points, the same as Vanišová, who made the second team. Stacey was second in points, goals, and assists on the Victoire. She also played three fewer games than both Vanišová and Coyne-Schofield. Yes, she played on a strong team, but it's clear that Stacey was as valuable to the Victoire as Vanišova and Coyne-Schofield were to their teams.

All-Rookie Team
Maya's Ballot: Sarah Fillier (F), Jennifer Gardiner (F), Hannah Bilka (F), Cayla Barnes (D), Anna Wilgren (D), Gwyneth Philips (G)
Winners: Brita Curl-Salemme (F), Jennifer Gardiner (F), Sarah Fillier (F), Cayla Barnes (D), Anna Wilgren (D), Gwyneth Philips (G)

Bilka missed a large chunk of the season, so I'm less surprised she didn't make the ballot. But I think the impact she had on her team was arguably larger than that of Curl-Salemme, at least from a positive standpoint. With only 16 games played in the season, Bilka put up five goals and six assists, which still ranked her in the top five in points for the Fleet. Bilka playing on the line with Knight and Muller helped activate those two players and get them going.

I didn't feel that Curl-Salemme really showed her strengths until the end of the season and into the playoffs. She also missed two games for suspensions.

Coach of the Year

Maya's ballot: Cheverie (MTL), Ryan (TOR), MacLeod (OTT)
Winner: Cheverie
Finalists: Ryan, MacLeod

To me, these finalists were no brainers. Boston and New York didn't have very strong seasons. Ken Klee could have been on here, but I do feel that MacLeod has a better relationship with her team. Plus, the way she turned around that sub-par Ottawa team at the mid-season mark and got them into the playoffs was more than enough to put her on the ballot.

But, Cheverie is the one that stands above the rest for me. She took a strong team from last season and made them even better, locking into the top spot in the league. Yes, she was coaching some of the best players in the world, but she found the right ways to make them click together and hold onto their momentum. And well, the playoffs don't count in voting.

Rookie of the Year

Maya's ballot: Sarah Fillier (NY), Jennifer Gardiner (MTL), Hannah Bilka (BOS)
Winner: Sarah Fillier
Finalists: Gardiner, Philips (OTT)

We don't know exactly how the votes were tallied, but I wouldn't be surprised if this was the most unanimous choice on the entire ballot. Not only was Fillier the best rookie, but she was also one of the best players in the league all season. Her 29 points tied her for first in the league with Hilary Knight, a player 10 years her senior. Fillier was just shy of a point per game in her first season. It's kind of scary to think about what she'll do next season.

As for Philips vs Bilka, I think Philips was easily the strongest rookie in the last bit of the season and into the playoffs, but I was weighing my ballot over the entire season, and I think there was a bit of recency bias with Philips.

Goaltender of the Year

Maya's Ballot: Ann-Reneé Desbiens (MTL), Aerin Frankel (BOS), Corinne Schroeder (NY)
Winner: Ann-Renée Desbiens
Finalists: Frankel, Philips (OTT)

Both Frankel and Desbiens had strong seasons, and I think either of them could have taken the win here. But the stats do prove that Desbiens's season was stronger. Among goaltenders who played the majority of the season, Desbiens had the best goals-against-average (1.86), won the most games (15), had the best save percentage (0.93), and had the fewest losses. There were numerous games where having Desbiens in the net made a big difference for the Victoire.

The biggest issue I have with these finalists is that Schroeder didn't get recognized for what she did this season. Again, I think recency bias comes into play here. Yes, Philips dragged her team kicking and screaming into the playoffs, but Schroeder was among the few bright spots in the Sirens' season. On top of that, Schroeder had four shutouts and was in the net for all but one of the Sirens's wins this season. I hope that now that she goes to a stronger team, she'll get some of the recognition she deserves.

Forward of the Year

Maya's Ballot: Knight (BOS), Marie-Philip Poulin (MTL), Sarah Fillier (NY)
Winner: Marie-Philip Poulin
Finalists: Knight, Fillier

I went back and forth here with giving Knight the first slot on my ballot versus Poulin, and ultimately, I think they both deserved this award. I believe that I put Knight first because I felt that this season was so much more impressive than last season that she deserved to be recognized for that. Last season, Knight had 11 points in 24 games. This season, she had the most points of any player with 29, while Poulin had 26.

But, Poulin did have the most goals with 19, four more than the nearest player (Knight, with 15).

Regardless of who you give it to, it's pretty impressive that two of the best players in the world put on a great show this season.

Defender of the Year

Maya's Ballot: Claire Thompson (MIN), Sophie Jaques (MIN), Renata Fast (TOR)
Winner: Renata Fast
Finalists: Jaques, Thompson

I was hesitant to release my ballot because of this specific category. Especially among TIG writers, Fast being nominated for Defender of the Year and MVP was very contentious. But to me, she really does have the stats to back it up (6 goals, 16 assists, 22 points). She also led all Toronto defenders in goals, assists, and points, with the closest player (Flanagan) putting up just seven points.

I do think it really came down to her or Jaques, with both of them having 22 points on the season. Jaques played five fewer games, which makes her numbers slightly more impactful. Fast was also extremely impressive on the power play, putting up 13 of her 22 points on the advantage.

Still, I think that without Fast, Toronto would have been absolutely screwed this year, especially since they didn't always get the best goaltending. Whether that means she should be MVP rather than Defender of the Year, I'm not sure.

Ilana Kloss MVP (Playoff MVP)

Maya's Ballot: Gwyneth Philips (G, OTT), Lee Stecklein (D, MIN), Michaela Cava (F, MIN)
Winner: Gwyneth Philips

Note: We did have to vote twice because the game went into overtime, but I had identical ballots.

It's quite rare to give the MVP trophy to the losing team, but to me, there was no other player who single-handedly contributed to her team the way that Philips did during the playoffs. While Stecklein had an amazing playoffs, leading all players with eight points, I don't feel like she changed the outcome for her team every night in the same way that Philips did.

Add in the fact that Philips wasn't just playing in her first playoffs but in her first season and that she stepped up when no one thought that Ottawa would make it past the first round, that was what solidified it for me.

Billie Jean King Award (MVP)

Maya's Ballot: Emerance Maschmeyer (G, OTT), Ann-Reneé Desbiens (G, MTL), Aerin Frankel (G, BOS)
Winner: Marie-Philip Poulin
Finalists: Knight (F, BOS), Fast (D, TOR)

Well, clearly I was off the mark here. I had goalies on my mind. Until she got injured, I really did think that Maschmeyer could win the MVP Award this season (in fact, I predicted it in our mid-year roundtable). At the mid-season mark, she had faced the most shots against, made the most saves, and had played the most minutes and games of any starting goaltender. Getting injured really put a halt to her MVP season charge, and Philips's strong support when she did get called in to play also negated a lot of the uniqueness of Maschmeyer's season this year. I still do believe she makes any team better, and maybe she'll bring home the MVP next season with Vancouver.

As for Desbiens and Frankel, I explained earlier why I think they were strong Goaltender of the Year candidates, and I do believe that their teams would have had worse seasons without them between the pipes.

But, it's easy to see why Poulin would take this prize home. She had a fantastic season, leading her team to a first-place finish with 19 wins, the most goals for and the fewest goals against. Poulin led the team in goals (19) and points (26), plus faceoff wins, points per game percentage, and ice time among all forwards.

When the Victoire struggled with depth scoring, she stepped up and provided primary scoring and helped her team continue to rack up wins. And let's be real, have you watched her play? She stands out on the ice like no one else.

Thank you to the PWHPA for the opportunity to vote in the awards!