PWHL Players of the Week: Serdachny, Jaques and Philips keep teams in the fight
This past week in the PWHL saw performances where players dragged their teams into the fight. We saw two heavily relied-on stars do what they can to keep their groups in the playoff race, while one talented forward is breaking out in the second half of 2025-26.
Here are this week’s Daily Faceoff players of the week.
Danielle Serdachny, F (Seattle Torrent)
It hasn’t been a productive first half of the 2025-26 season for Danielle Serdachny. The 2024 No. 2 overall pick struggled in her rookie season with the Ottawa Charge, then joined the Seattle Torrent in hopes of a fresh start, attempting to find the production she had with Colgate University. But she only had two goals through her first 16 games and her ice time fluctuated between just under 20 minutes to as little as 13 or so.
DACHS CALLED GAME! 😤
But since the Olympic break, the 5-foot-9 forward has found another gear, getting more shot attempts and setting up teammates for high-quality scoring chances. Last week, Serdachny had a goal and five shots against the Boston Fleet in a 3-2 win, scoring that goal with less than five minutes left in the game. She followed that with an assist and four shots against the Minnesota Frost, a game that saw her get 22:05 of ice time, the second most she’s played this season.
The Torrent are all but assured to miss the playoffs, but Serdachny and co. can finish the season strong and give themselves momentum as they head into 2026-27. Also, don’t sleep on the fact that the 24-year-old will be a free agent after next season, and she’ll want to remind teams she negotiates with that there’s a reason she was a top draft pick just years prior.
Sophie Jaques, D (Vancouver Goldeneyes)
The Vancouver Goldeneyes came into the 2025-26 season with high expectations, but injuries and a lack of production from their top players have put a dent in those pre-season predictions. Still, the defensive pair of Claire Thompson and Sophie Jaques have held up their end of the bargain, averaging between 22-23 minutes a game and sitting at the top of the point standings for the Goldeneyes.
SOPHIE WITH THE SHOT 🚀
With Sarah Nurse missing 11 games after playing in the season opener, Thompson and Jaques have had to leave the offensive charge for Vancouver in her absence. That was on display last week with Jaques recording a goal and generating 10 shots across two games for the Goldeneyes. Despite the team losing both games to the Fleet and Charge, respectively, Jaques and her teammates were highly engaged and took both teams to overtime.
Vancouver goes into Sunday’s game against the Toronto Sceptres seven points back of the fourth and final playoff spot, and while it’s difficult seeing them make it — just like their expansion cousin in the Torrent — they can use the remainder of 2025-26 to take steps in their program and set themselves up for next season. As for Jaques, her and Thompson continue to shine and will likely finish at or near the top in points for the Goldeneyes.
Gwyneth Philips, G (Ottawa Charge)
Where would the Charge be without Gwyneth Philips? Well, I can tell you: They would be competing for the No. 1 overall pick. If you look at the gamesheets for the vast majority of their games this season, they have been heavily outshot by their opponents, and their 5-on-5 expected goals for (xGF) of 41.8% — which ranks last in the PWHL — indicates they’re not generating anywhere the amount of quality scoring chances a team needs if they want to compete.
it is truly Gwyn's world and we're just living in it 🤯 #PoweredUp | #OTTvVAN
I say all this to highlight just how good Philips has been. On Saturday, she stopped 34 of 36 shots in a 3-2 OT win over the Goldeneyes, a game that saw Ottawa get outshot 36-17. Her record now stands at 10-7-0-1 and her save percentage sits at .924, fourth among netminders with at least 10 starts in 2025-26.
While Ann-Renee Desbiens and Aerin Frankel are getting all the goalie love this season — and rightfully so, considering they’re both hovering around a .950 SV% — it’s Philips’ nightly performance that may be most valuable.