PWHPA - These women can really play
The PWHPA returns to Montreal and Sherbrooke on February 22nd and 23rd for the BFL Canada Pro Challenge. This is your opportunity to catch all the action live as the game’s best go head to head. Sportlogiq pledged its support to women’s hockey by providing the PWHPA with the same level of data as we do our NHL and SHL partners.
Using our industry leading technology, Sportlogiq has been able to track and create insights for 6 Dream Gap Tour games, with more on the way. Here’s a look at how special these players are and which ones to keep an eye on this weekend:
Karell Emard
NHL comparable: Patrice Bergeron
Where better to start than with Sportlogiq’s own Hockey Product Manager? Saying that Karell Emard is tough to play against is an understatement. The product of St-Lawrence University is a faceoff specialist with a D-Zone faceoff win percentage of 76.9%, 5th among all skaters. Emard looks to get pucks in deep and put pressure on defensemen, ranking 5th in the PWHPA in dump-ins behind the last defender.
Emard reads her opponents well too, being amongst the leaders in blocked passes. Throw in her ability to play all five skater positions and fans will quickly realize she’s the Swiss army knife of women’s hockey; bringing a hard-nosed, shutdown game to the rink every night.
Hilary Knight
NHL comparable: Alexander Ovechkin
The last thing you want to see if you’re a goalie or defenseman is Hilary Knight lined up on the other side of the hash marks. The Palo Alto, California native is the picture perfect representation of a power forward. In the O-Zone, Knight will skate into the opposing team’s slot and make herself right at home, ranking 3rd among PWHPA skaters with 20 shot attempts from the slot in just 5 games.
A world-class scoring threat, Knight still finds a way to get open in the most dangerous area of the ice with 12 pass receptions in the slot (3rd among all skaters). These aren’t the type of looks you want to be giving a player that leads all PWHPA skaters in one timers.
Similar to her NHL counterpart, Knight’s net front presence and ability get shots off quickly forces teams to build a game plan around keeping her off the scoresheet.
Marie-Philip Poulin
NHL comparable: Sidney Crosby
The face of women’s hockey right now, Marie-Philip Poulin is in a league of her own. The Boston University alumna can take control of the game at will. Poulin loves to have the puck on her stick; she is an elite puck mover, leading all PWHPA players with 41 controlled entries in just 6 games.
The two-time Olympic gold medalist leads all skaters with a staggering 75 offense generating plays (the next skater has 48 OGPs).
Poulin takes her time when attacking, waiting patiently for the right play to open up before she makes her move which is why she ranks 2nd among PWHPA players in O-Zone puck possession time. A piece of advice to Poulin’s linemates; keep your stick on the ice. Poulin leads the PWHPA with 42 pass attempts to the slot (the next skater has 24) completing 47,6% of those attempts (20 – the next skater has 10).
Whether you’re a General Manager of an NHL team or attending your first ever hockey game this weekend, you’ll truly appreciate the quality of play on the ice. The Dream Gap Tour brings you more than just an average game, it gives us the opportunity to catch best on best hockey at every stop. Something no other professional hockey league offers its fans.
To learn more about the BFL Pro Challenge and to buy tickets click here
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