This week on The IX Sports Podcast Hockey Edition, host Maya Smith is joined by Montréal Victoire beat reporter Dylan Nazareth to discuss the state of the team following their Walter Cup victory.
The pair started by breaking down the top Professional Women’s Hockey League (PWHL) story of the week — which is also a Victoire story: Danièle Sauvageau will leave her role with the Victoire after the 2026-27 series and work full-time as Team Canada’s general manager.
“I think that no one really thought she would be leaving Victoire so soon. I wonder if kind of winning the championship last season set her up to be able to be like, okay, succeeded there, but she has kind of eyes on a bigger thing now,” Nazareth said.
Another big topic of discussion on the pod this week was that Michelle Karvinen is leaving the Vancouver Goldeneyes to go to the Montréal Victoire. Karvinen had told Smith during a media availability earlier this year that she was considering retiring, and Smith said she was surprised by the move.
Nazareth said that the team’s defense will be the real test next season..
“The defense group is still just quite a little bit more untested. It lacks a bit of experience, but then the offensive group is just so much deeper. And I think that it could lead to — I think it’ll just be a really fun team to watch this year,” Nazareth said.
Nazareth went on to say that the team has lost depth at center, citing Shiann Darkangelo signing with PWHL Detroit and Hayley Scamurra signing with PWHL Las Vegas. But Petra Niemenen, a first round pick for the Victoire in the 2026 Entry Draft, could help build back depth there.
“I love Petra Niemenen as the kind of third C[enter] start. She could evolve into top six role. I think that she’ll be kind of great in that position,” Nazareth said.
One other unresolved issue for the Victoire? Marie-Philip Poulin will be out for an undetermined period of time as she recovers from knee surgery to repair her right ACL and meniscus.
Tune in to this week’s episode to hear more about what chances the defending Walter Cup Champions have to go back-to-back.
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