Now that we have looked at the Montreal Canadiens Top 25 Under 25, it is a good time to take a look at the women’s side of things. Obviously there are not 25 players under the age of 25 on any PWHL team or in any organization. The league is entering its second season, and some players drafted are already over the age of 25.
There are nine players who were born in 1999 or later in Montreal’s organization. While the NHL list had a cut off date of September 15, 1999, this would have made Cayla Barnes ineligible (born January 7, 1999). Because she is the team’s recent first-round pick and a key part of the team’s future, I felt it made more sense to include her than to not include her. If you have a problem with it, just pretend she’s not there and move everyone up a spot.
On this list, you will see six players currently under contract for the 2024-25 season, plus three undrafted players who are expected to fight for a spot in training camp. Not included on this list are potential camp invites that have yet to be confirmed by the team and are free agents or undrafted.
9. Dara Greig, F, 2000 (Unsigned draft pick, 2024)
Greig was drafted by Montreal in the fourth round (23rd overall) in the most recent PWHL Draft. She had a great senior season at Colgate, with 17 goals and 25 assists (42 points) in 40 games. She played a lot on their top line alongside second overall pick Danielle Serdachny. Greig wouldn’t be expected to step into a top-six role in Montreal but is firmly in consideration for a bottom-six slot on the roster. The fact that she has shown the ability to play with top skilled players makes her a potential versatile weapon and it will be interesting to see how she stacks up at camp. Her brother plays for the Ottawa Senators.
8. Anna Wilgren, LD, 1999 (Unsigned draft pick, 2024)
Wilgren was drafted in the fifth round (29th overall) out of the University of Wisconsin. Wilgren transferred there after being the captain at Minnesota State. She played in 40 games, with two goals and 22 assists with the Badgers. She was coming off a season where she only played in three games because of a season-ending injury early in the year. She has been invited to several Team USA national team camps, and is firmly in the mix for a spot on Montreal’s crowded blue line.
7. Abby Boreen, F, 2000 (Unsigned draft pick, 2024)
I really struggled with this middle group of players. I like all three of them, and switched them around several times before eventually settling on an order. The reason I go with Boreen here, the team’s third round pick in 2024, is simply because of her status and likelihood to be with the team. Boreen was with Minnesota’s team a year ago as a reserve player while in school. She is still not completed, but entered the draft to be able to sign a full-time contract. She played nine games last year with four goals and one assist. She also played in the first round series, but was ineligible for the final due to her contract status.
There are reports that Boreen cannot come to Montreal and continue her schooling, which means the team would have to trade her to Minnesota or she would not play this season. Minnesota just hired their GM last week, so maybe there will be movement on that front.
There’s no doubt Boreen can play, the question is whether she ever wears a Montreal jersey.
6. Claire Dalton, F, 2000 (Signed through 2024-25)
Dalton is the first returning player on this list, having played 20 regular season games and all three playoff games last season. Dalton had five goals and four assists, and had the team’s first ever goal. She also had a hat trick in a big win against Ottawa later in the year, including a short-handed Bobby Orr-esque marker.
Before getting injured, she found herself on the team’s top line with Laura Stacey and Marie-Philip Poulin and was the team’s most dangerous player at times. You wonder if the injury she suffered affected her, because she was never at that level upon her return.
She’s a solid middle-six forward with the ability to play with top players. She earned herself a contract for this season, and it will be interesting to see how she does in her second season.
5. Mariah Keopple, LD, 2000 (Signed through 2024-25)
You could put the two forwards ahead of Keopple, but I think there’s still so much untapped potential in the undrafted free agent’s game. Keopple started last season as a try out at camp, played the first game on the third pairing, and by the middle of the season was on the top pairing. Eventually she settled on the second pairing alongside Amanda Boulier in head coach Kori Cheverie’s “big four”. She had three assists in 24 games, but her game is all about making the next best play and that’s what she did so well last season.
Keopple earned herself another one-year contract and has more competition in camp. Dominika Lásková will be back from her season-ending injury. Cayla Barnes will be getting a ton of ice time as will Erin Ambrose. That leaves Keopple, Kati Tabin, Lásková, and Boulier all battling for spots and ice time with Wilgren and Swedish national team captain Anna Kjellbin. The one thing Montreal found out last year is that depth, especially on defence, is very important so they will all have important roles to play.
With another summer under her belt it will be very interesting to see how she improved over the summer and the internal competition on the blue line will be fascinating.
4. Jennifer Gardiner, F, 2001 (Signed through 2025-26)
When I watched Canada play Finland in a pre-tournament game for the Women’s Worlds, I didn’t know I would be watching a future member of the Victoire, but I did. Gardiner was invited to camp as an extra body in case of injury to one of the players named to the roster. When Marie-Philip Poulin didn’t play in the pre-tournament game, Gardiner drew in and played well on Canada’s fourth line. Her centre that day just happened to be Montreal centre Kristin O’Neill.
Gardiner is firmly in the next generation of Canadian forwards that is vying for a spot on the team. Over five years at Ohio State, she had 71 goals and 100 assists in 176 games but in her final two seasons, she had 39 goals and 63 assists (112 points) in just 80 games. She has the offensive talent to thrive, which is why Montreal made her their second-round pick in 2024 and signed her to a two-year contract.
She’ll be in Montreal’s top-six next season and may even get some time on Canada’s national team.
3. Maureen Murphy, F, 1999 (Signed through 2025-26)
From a player on the fringes of Canada’s national team to a player on the fringes of Team USA. Maureen Murphy wasn’t the most known commodity when Montreal took her in the third round of a stacked 2023 PWHL Draft. They then signed her to a three-year contract. Her numbers (five goals, 11 assists in 24 games) don’t jump off the page for an offensive threat, but her impact to the team goes beyond the numbers.
Murphy won the PWHL’s “Hockey for All” Award for her contributions to the community while also studying for a law degree at Northeastern. Montreal took some time to find the right fit in their top six, trying to figure out the right combinations. After they put together the line of O’Neill, Laura Stacey, and Marie-Philip Poulin, Murphy was tasked with playing centre on the second line after starting the season on Poulin’s wing.
With the increased offensive skill in Montreal this season, expect Murphy to be more involved. There will be a lot more talent to go around, and that will allow everyone to find the right fit. After a solid rookie season, the expectations will be high for her sophomore season.
2. Cayla Barnes, RD, 1999 (Signed through 2026-27)
Montreal already had one of the best puck movers in the world in Erin Ambrose and after Claire Thompson was taken by Minnesota, and the other three picks were forwards, Montreal added another with the fifth overall pick in the 2024 Drafr. Barnes has been on Team USA since she was just out of high school, being named to the 2018 Olympic team before she turned 20.
The California native is a defender who will instantly improve Montreal’s offence, much like her new teammate Ambrose. For Montreal to have two of the best right-shot defenders in the world is an insane luxury.
Make no mistake, Barnes isn’t all offence. She plays on Team USA’s top pair, and made the play that started Ohio State’s NCAA championship-winning goal.
With 170 career NCAA games and another 47 Olympic or World Championship appearances for Team USA, Barnes brings a ton of experience with her, and has played at the highest level for years. She’s may be making her professional debut this season, but she’s hardly a rookie.
Barnes could be an easy top player on this list, and was considered for the spot, but it’s a testament to who else Montreal added this off-season…
1. Lina Ljungblom, F, 2001 (Signed through 2026-27)
With the final pick in the 2023 PWHL Draft, Montreal took a swing on a Swedish star whose status for the 2023-24 season was in doubt. Ljungblom declared for the draft but had a contract with MoDo without an out clause but Montreal played the long game and it paid off when they came to an agreement with Ljungblom after the season.
She won basically every award there was to win in Sweden, from MVP from the media, to MVP from players and coaches, to Forward of the Year. In 36 SDHL games last year, she had 23 goals and 23 assists (46 points). No one else on the team had more than 13 goals or 29 points. She finished third in league scoring. She added two goals and an assist in five games at the Women’s World Championships.
She will instantly be in Montreal’s top six and she will add an additional scoring touch that Montreal was lacking for most of last season. The team signed her to a three-year contract so she is firmly part of the team’s future core. She would have easily been one of the top picks in the 2024 Draft, so Montreal’s gamble with the last pick in 2023 worked out. It will be interesting to see whether lightning strikes twice with 2024’s gamble of taking Amanda Kessel in the last round, although that seems to be unlikely at this time.
