Ottawa Charge protects Gwyneth Philips, Emily Clark and Ronja Savolainen ahead of PWHL expansion

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In the first official phase of the PWHL’s process to facilitate expansion to Seattle and Vancouver, the Ottawa Charge made its three-player protection list public at noon on Tuesday.

The club has protected goaltender Gwyneth Philips, forward Emily Clark and defender Ronja Savolainen. 

Ottawa’s list excludes many fan favourites, including captain Brianne Jenner and Emerance Maschmeyer, two of the team’s foundational signings in 2023. 

“We wouldn’t have made it to the finals without them and their leadership. They really drove the culture of this organization,” Hirshfeld said. “We keep our fingers crossed that they’ll both be back, but if they’re not, obviously we wish them all the best.”

They, alongside teammates including Gabbie Hughes, Aneta Tejralova and Ashton Bell, could be eligible for selection by Seattle and Vancouver in the expansion draft.

However, who becomes available will depend on how many players Ottawa loses during the exclusive free-agent signing window beginning Wednesday at 9 a.m., as well as who the team decides to protect with its fourth protection slot, which is at their disposal once the team has lost two players.

Here’s a closer look at the three players Ottawa has made exempt from the expansion draft on June 9:

Gwyneth Philips

Between rookie and goalie of the year nominations, a playoff MVP performance and setting numerous PWHL benchmarks, Gwyneth Philips went from backup goalie at the beginning of the 2024-25 season to must-keep franchise pillar by the summer.

Hirshfeld said he and his advisors always saw Philips’ elite potential long before making her the first goalie to be picked at last summer’s draft in Minnesota. In that sense, she always has been part of the long-term plan in Ottawa.

“We kept her secret,” Hirshfeld said. “We didn’t want anyone to know we were wanting to pick her … We’ve always believed she has incredible upside.”

The most shocking part is how quickly she is delivering on Ottawa’s bet. Her playoff stat line of a 1.23 goals-against average and .952 save percentage in eight games was otherworldly. In the regular season, she compiled eight wins in 15 games with a 2.11 goals-against average and .919 save percentage.

Simply put, the Ottawa Charge doesn’t even sniff the PWHL Finals without Philips. She nearly single-handedly thrust the club into a playoff position down the stretch and outdueled the best goalie in the world, Ann-Renee Desbiens, in a four-game series. Overmatched against the Minnesota Frost in the finals, Philips ensured her team remained one shot away from victory at all times.

With Maschmeyer a likely candidate to be selected in the expansion draft, Philips will face a heavier workload next season, before becoming a free agent next summer.

Goaltending has been the great equalizer in the PWHL, and Ottawa’s strategy of building from the net out is sound with a netminder such as 25-year-old Philips between the pipes.

“It’s hard to believe after what she did in the playoffs, but her best days are ahead of her,” Hirshfeld said.

Emily Clark

After leading the team in playoff scoring and becoming the team’s engine through low-scoring overtime marathons, Clark proved herself as Ottawa’s most indispensable forward. She is the Charge’s sole foundational signing to be protected from the expansion draft, but what she brings on the ice is all that mattered, Hirshfeld said.

“We just felt like these were the three best players, and if Clark wasn’t one of them, it wouldn’t have impacted the decision at all,” Hirshfeld said about her foundational player status.

From both a production and team identity standpoint, the 29-year-old checks the boxes. In 30 regular-season games, Clark recorded nine goals and 19 points in 30 games, tied with Minnesota’s Michela Cava for seventh-most in the PWHL. Only free agent Tereza Vanisova produced more for the Charge.

But it was how Clark raised her game in the post-season that showed her true value. She became the first player in league history to score back-to-back playoff game-winning goals after netting the series-clincher against the Montreal Victoire and a sneaky overtime decider in Game 1 of the finals.

Hirshfeld said Clark’s playoff performance factored only minimally into the decision to protect her.

“She elevated her game to a whole new level in the playoffs, and obviously that’s exciting to see,” he said. “I think a little bit had to do with the playoffs, but honestly, we felt like she had a great two years.”

While Clark is the oldest player Ottawa protected, the speed and physicality she displayed in the playoffs should dispel any concerns about her staying at an elite level for years to come.

Clark is in the books for one more season before becoming a free agent.

Ronja Savolainen

Savolainen’s inclusion may be the most controversial given the fan favourites left unprotected, but anyone familiar with the 5-foot-10 blueliner knows there are few pure athletes better than her.

Whether crunching opposing forwards in open ice or running sprints in the hallways after a quadruple-overtime marathon, Savolainen’s motor and compete level is second to none. She’s also a smooth skater with a willingness to jump up into the play offensively.

With 11 points in 28 regular-season games, the 27-year-old Finn ranked eighth among PWHL defenders in scoring, behind teammate Jincy Roese’s 14 points.

While Ashton Bell and Jocelyne Larocque handled the most minutes for the Charge through their playoff run, Savolainen was consistently relied upon on the second pair, and, if her conditioning shows anything, she could certainly handle more ice time.

“She’s gonna play 20 minutes a game next year, I don’t have any doubt about that,” Hirshfeld said. “She has the ability, and she’s athletically able to do that.”

It helps that Savolainen is also Ottawa’s only defender signed beyond the 2025-26 season. Bell, Larocque and Tejralova are the only other defenders under contract, with one year remaining for each.

“It’s definitely a factor, there’s no doubt about it” Hirshfeld said. “She’s on a two-year term, which is a positive for our club.

“But it’s more than that … She’s a dynamic, athletic, skilled player who’s got size and physicality. We thought she was one of the best players, one of the best defenders in the PWHL this year, and we think there’s still tremendous room for growth moving forward.”

Teams often look to the defending champions to replicate their formula of success, and one of the key takeaways from the Minnesota Frost back-to-back was their reliance on mobile, play-driving defenders. In Ottawa, Savolainen most closely follows the profile and skillset that Minnesota’s trio of Lee Stecklein, Sophie Jacques and Claire Thompson brought to the table every night.