In just over a month, players will report to their respective PWHL training camps. Camps open on November 18, days after the culmination of Women’s Worlds. At The IX Sports, we’ve been taking a closer look at each team’s camp roster. Each roster includes a handful of invited players.
Starting with the Eastern Conference PWHL teams, here’s one invited player to watch at each camp:
Boston Fleet: Natalie Stott
With five goaltenders at Fleet camp, it’ll be a three-way battle for the team’s final roster spot. Aerin Frankel is obviously locked in, as well as Amanda Thiele. Stott will compete with Harvard’s Lindsay Reed and Holy Cross’ Abby Hornung for the third spot.
Stott is one of a rare few Division III players invited to a PWHL training camp. It’s easy to discount D-III players, but Stott’s numbers are too good to be ignored. She put up consistent, impressive numbers over four years at Amherst. As a senior, she went 20-3-6 with 12 shutouts and a 0.71 GAA.
Over four years, Stott played in 112 games for the Mammoths, putting up an impressive 0.88 GAA. Her .960 save percentage is the highest in college hockey history across all divisions — men’s and women’s. She went 86-17-9 and was twice named to the All-American First Team East. As The Amherst Student puts it, Stott is one of, if not the, greatest D-III goaltender of all time.
Stott serves as a faculty fellow at the Williston Northampton School.
PWHL Hamilton: Joelle Fiala
Joelle Fiala has had an interesting trajectory over the last few years. After growing up in the Saskatoon Stars organization, she joined Robert Morris in 2019 and had a respectable NCAA debut. After two years with the Colonials, she had put up 23 points, including 18 assists, in 61 games.
When Robert Morris shuttered its women’s hockey program, Fiala headed to British Columbia to play USports. She put up pretty consistent numbers over the years, finishing with 49 points in 76 games, including 34 assists.
Following her collegiate career, she took her talents overseas to Switzerland. Fiala played two seasons with HC Davos Ladies and was second on the team in scoring both seasons. In 2024-25, she was top-10 leaguewide in scoring with 41 points in 28 games.
This season, Fiala has skated in six games with Neuchâtel Hockey Academy Dames and is an alternate captain. She’ll now have the chance to fight for a roster spot on a stacked PWHL Hamilton team.
Montréal Victoire: Maria Batalova
Russian players are a rarity in the PWHL, but Maria Batalova is well-positioned to make the jump to North America. The 30-year-old defender has spent her entire career to date in Russia and has excelled in the ZhHL. An eight-time Russian champion, she also has history representing her country internationally at the Olympics and Women’s Worlds.
Her accolades in the ZhHL are many. She was the league’s best defender in consecutive seasons and was also named the best player in the 2025-26 season. She was also a four-time all-star and led the league in defensive scoring for several seasons. Over 13 years, she registered 334 points in 389 games, including 237 assists, according to EliteProspects. She also had 236 penalty minutes.
Earlier this year, Daria Mironova spoke with Batalova about her decision to enter the PWHL Draft for the Hockey on the Beach podcast, acknowledging the difficulties that transitioning to life and hockey in North America will bring. Regardless of the challenges, if her on-ice performance is any indicator, Batalova has a real shot to make a talented Victoire squad.
New York Sirens: Quinn Kuntz
There are a handful of reasons why it’s a good idea for the Sirens to invite goaltender Quinn Kuntz to training camp. But there are also a few reasons the invite makes you scratch your head.
On one side, Kuntz has experience playing as part of two high-level collegiate programs. She spent four seasons at Ohio State, then did a redshirt fifth year at Wisconsin. You can’t ask for much more than spending time with two of the top programs in the country. She’s also a three-time NCAA champion and two-time WCHA champion.
On the other hand, Kuntz’s playing time was limited in college. Her busiest season was at Wisconsin, when she appeared in nine games with the Badgers. But over the years of her collegiate career, she was only ever credited with seven wins in 19 games played. She’s now a content producer with the Big Ten Network.
The other part of what makes this particularly interesting is that the Sirens already have three goaltenders signed for the upcoming PWHL season. Elaine Chuli, Callie Shanahan, and Kaley Doyle. Doyle is signed to a one-year contract, which is not guaranteed. Essentially, that’s the training camp battle at play here. Will Doyle retain her contract, or could Kuntz push her out for that third spot?
Ottawa Charge: Kaitlyn Ross
Like the aforementioned Quinn Kuntz, Kaitlyn Ross is another goaltender invited to training camp for a team with three signed netminders. The Charge already have Gwyneth Philips, Sanni Ahola, and Kendra Woodland under contract. Ross may be the odd one out heading into camp, but will that still be the case after camp ends?
Ross initially declared for the 2025 PWHL Draft. After going undrafted, she was invited to Boston’s camp in 2025 but was released. In March 2026, she signed a 10-day contract with the Charge to fill in while Ahola was out for rest and maintenance. She didn’t dress or play but was scratched for three games while on the roster, and that mild familiarity could be useful heading into training camp.
Ross played five seasons at Mount Royal University from 2019-2025. In 108 USports games, she accrued 70 wins, a 1.40 GAA and .937 save percentage. Of her 70 wins, 27 were shutouts. She played a lot of minutes over the years — over 6500 total — and backstopped the team to their first national title in 2023 as tournament MVP.
Toronto Sceptres: Gabrielle De Serres
Gabrielle De Serres, a Québec native playing internationally for France, will be one of several invited defenders at Sceptres training camp. The Sceptres currently have five defenders under contract for the upcoming season, so there’s at least one or two spots to fill.
De Serres has represented France since 2023, sporting the blue, white, and red at D1A Worlds as well as the Olympics. She was the first player in the history of the French women’s national team to score a goal in an Olympic tournament. She finished the 2026 Olympics with two goals in four games.
The 28-year-old previously played four seasons at the University of Toronto from 2017-2022. In 87 USports games, she put up 59 points, including 46 assists, and had 28 penalty minutes. Fresh out of university, she joined the Montréal Force of the Premier Hockey Federation. She recorded three points in 23 games.
The PHF folded that summer, and De Serres took her talents to France. Will she secure a spot to play in North America this season?
Stay tuned for invitees to watch from the PWHL’s Western Conference team training camps!
