Three Storylines to Watch at Ottawa Charge Training Camp

The Ottawa Charge returned most of their Walter Cup finalist core for the 2025–26 season, but their training camp still feels fresh. With expansion rippling across the league and six players attending camp on tryouts, competition is heating up fast in the capital.

Before we get into it, here’s the full Ottawa Charge training camp roster for 2025:

Forwards:
Anna Meixner, Kateřina Mrázová, Gabbie Hughes, Mannon McMahon, Brianne Jenner, Taylor House, Emily Clark, and Rebecca Leslie all return from last season’s roster.

New additions include 2025 draft picks Anna Shokhina, Sarah Wozniewicz, and Fanuza Kadirova (6th round, 34th overall). Also free agent Élizabeth Giguère.

Camp invites: Alexandra Huszák (Hungary) and Alexa Vasko.

Defenders:
Returning defenders are Jocelyne Larocque, Ronja Savolainen, Stephanie Markowski, Jessica Adolfsson, Samantha Isbell.

2025 first-round pick Rory Guilday is also in camp after wrapping up her collegiate career at Cornell.

Brooke Hobson, and Emma Bergesen were signed this offseason through free agency.

Right-shot camp invites Kathryn Reilly and Vita Ponyatovskaya round out the blue line, each aiming to earn a contract and add balance to a left-shot-heavy group.

Goaltenders:
Gwyneth Philips returns after a standout rookie season. She’s joined by returnee Logan Angers and 2025 fifth-round pick Sanni Ahola (St. Cloud State/Finland), both in competition for the backup role. Camp invite Kendra Woodland (UNB) adds further depth in goal.

Here are three storylines to watch as the Charge sharpen their lineup for another playoff push:

1. The Russian Duo Hits the Ice

Ottawa’s splashiest additions this offseason are also its most intriguing: Anna Shokhina and Fanuza Kadirova, two longtime teammates from Russia’s national team and Dynamo St. Petersburg.

Shokhina arrives as a three-time Olympian and former ZhHL MVP, a pure playmaker with elite vision and creativity. Kadirova, her left-wing partner, adds scoring touch. Together, they’ve dominated in Russia, now they’re aiming to do it on PWHL ice.

They’re the PWHL’s first Russian-born skaters, and they’re not easing in. Ottawa drafted them to make an impact. If their chemistry translates on North American ice, they could form the league’s most unpredictable second line.

2. Can a Righty Crack the Lefty Blue Line?

All six defenders signed to Ottawa’s roster — Jocelyne Larocque, Ronja Savolainen, Stephanie Markowski, Samantha Isbell, Jessica Adolfsson, and Emma Bergesen — are left-handed shots.

That opens the door for two right-shot camp invites: Vita Ponyatovskaya (Yale/Russia) and Kathryn Reilly (Quinnipiac). Ponyatovskaya is poised, smart, and international-seasoned. Reilly, a top NCAA scorer in 2024, brings offensive upside from the back end.

If Ottawa wants balance, and avoid pairing two lefties on every shift, a righty making the roster might be less a luxury and more a necessity.

3. Who Wins the Backup Goalie Spot?

With Emerance Maschmeyer gone to Vancouver, the Charge’s crease is officially up for grabs — at least behind Gwyneth Philips, last year’s breakout rookie.

That leaves a camp battle between Logan Angers and Sanni Ahola.

Angers never had any game time last season, but knows the system. Ahola, drafted this summer, comes in with international pedigree: two World Championship bronze medals for Finland and back-to-back All-WCHA honors at St. Cloud State.

Ahola’s ceiling might be higher. Angers has the edge in familiarity. Only one will start the season as Philips’ No. 2, and camp may decide it.

The Charge aren’t searching for an identity, they’re tightening the loose screws. If Shokhina adjusts, a righty defender steps up, and Ahola or Angers claims the crease with confidence, Ottawa could enter the season stronger than predicted.

Final roster decisions are due November 19. Until then, every shift counts.