The Professional Women’s Hockey League completed its awards distribution for the 2025-26 season at an awards ceremony in Detroit, Michigan, with six IHLC holders representing Canada and the United States taking home trophies following the league’s third season.

The two big winners of the evening were Boston Fleet goaltender Aerin Frankel, who took home both League MVP and Top Goaltender honours, while Minnesota Frost forward Kelly Pannek won awards as Top Forward, Most Goals and Most Points, with 16 and 33, respectively. The Fleet were well represented on the awards stage, with Megan Keller winning Top Defender, Haley Winn winning Rookie of the Year, and head coach Kris Sparre capturing Coach of the Year honours, capping his Fleet tenure before he joins the PWHL’s expansion franchise in Hamilton next season.

The only winners outside of the Fleet or Frost to take home hardware were Ottawa’s Rebecca Leslie, winning the Community Leadership award, and Montréal captain Marie-Philip Poulin, who won Playoff MVP honours last month when the Victoire captured the Walter Cup, marking her entry into the unofficial Triple Gold Club; the champion Victoire were otherwise shut out on the evening. Poulin was the only award winner with previous hardware, winning League MVP last season, with every other winner bringing home their first PWHL award of any kind.

The PWHL Award winners and nominees for the 2025-26 season (with winners in bold and an asterisk denoting former IHLC holders) are as follows:

Billie Jean King Award (League MVP)
🇨🇦 Ann-Renée Desbiens (Victoire)*
🇺🇸 Aerin Frankel (Fleet)*
🇺🇸 Kelly Pannek (Fleet)*

Forward Of The Year
🇺🇸 Taylor Heise (Frost)*
🇨🇦 Brianne Jenner (Charge)*
🇺🇸 Kelly Pannek (Frost)*

Defender Of The Year
🇨🇦 Sophie Jaques (Goldeneyes)*
🇺🇸 Megan Keller (Fleet)*
🇺🇸 Haley Winn (Fleet)*

Goaltender Of The Year
🇨🇦 Ann-Renée Desbiens (Victoire)*
🇺🇸 Aerin Frankel (Fleet)*
🇺🇸 Gwyneth Philips (Charge)*

Rookie Of The Year
🇨🇦 Nicole Gosling (Victoire)*
🇺🇸 Casey O’Brien (Sirens)*
🇺🇸 Haley Winn (Fleet)*

Coach Of The Year
🇨🇦 Kori Cheverie (Victoire)*
🇨🇦 Carla MacLeod (Charge)*
🇨🇦 Kris Sparre (Fleet)

Community Leadership Award
🇨🇦 Rebecca Leslie (Charge)*

Top Goal Scorer
🇺🇸 Kelly Pannek (Frost)*

Points Leader
🇺🇸 Kelly Pannek (Frost)*

Ilana Kloss Award (Playoff MVP)
🇨🇦 Marie-Philip Poulin (Victoire)*

Photo Credit: PWHL – IIHF – HHOF – IOC