PWHL Players of the Week: Kirk, Flaherty, Kadirova help victorious Canadian teams
We saw big-time performances across the PWHL last week, as teams are both trying to solidify playoff spots, while others are fighting to get into the top four.
Over the past few days, a number of players have been major contributors to their teams’ success as they look to heat up for the second half of the season.
Let’s look at three players who stepped up in a big way last week.
Fanuza Kadirova, F (Ottawa Charge)
A lot of people wondered if Kadirova was going to be comfortable being the lone Russian on the Charge roster after her Dynamo-Neva St. Petersburg teammate, Anna Shokhina, was dealt to the Vancouver Goldeneyes. Yet, the 27-year-old has caught fire. After scoring a couple of goals in the team’s final two goals before the Olympic break, Kadirova played a crucial role in Ottawa’s hard-fought 4-3 win over the Seattle Torrent.
Kadirova scored late in the first to put the Charge up by two, but after Seattle came to tie the game in the third, Ottawa needed a hero. Enter Kadirova. On a power play late in regulation, she hammered a one-timer by Torrent netminder Hannah Murphy, pushing the Charge to victory.
FANUZA KADIROVA WINS IT FOR THE CHARGE
With the goal, Kadirova has four goals in the past four games, totaling six tallies thus far. She’s adding another layer of offense for the reigning semifinalists. If Ottawa wants to make the playoffs once again, they’ll need Kadirova to keep providing offense.
Maggie Flaherty, D (Montreal Victoire)
The Victoire are in the midst of a battle with the Boston Fleet for first place, and if they want to finish atop the PWHL standings once again, they’ll need more than just Marie-Philip Poulin, Laura Stacey and Abby Roque to contribute.
Well, they’ve been getting some secondary scoring from an unlikely source. Maggie Flaherty, who posted just two points in 2024-25, had a solid week. In Montreal’s 4-0 win over the two-time defending Walter Cup champion Minnesota Frost, the 25-year-old got the scoring started in the first period with her third goal of the campaign.
QUEL TIR DE MAGGIE! WHAT A SHOT!
MAAAAGIE! MIN 0, MTL 1
Flaherty ended the game with a +2 rating as well in the statement victory. She went on to add an assist in the team’s shootout win over the Toronto Sceptres last Tuesday, giving her three points in her past four games, and a career-high seven points in 18 games. She and rookie Nicole Gosling are tied for the team lead in defensive scoring, and tied for eighth among all PWHL blueliners.
Raygan Kirk, G (Toronto Sceptres)
I think we’re finally starting to see who’s taking the reins as the starter in the Six.
After a bumpy first half of the season, Toronto is closing in on the top four, with Raygan Kirk having a lot to do with it. Last Sunday against the Goldeneyes, the second-year netminder was clutch in a 2-1 victory, turning away 25 shots in her fourth win of the season. The Manitoba native ended up making her third start in a row on Tuesday against Montreal. While the team ended up losing 4-3 in a skills competition (fine, shootout), she’s a key reason why the team has picked up points in each of her starts.
Along with a 29-save performance in a win over Seattle in the first half of Toronto’s west-coast road trip, Kirk has been tasked with facing over 30 shots in four of her past five starts. In 14 games, the Ohio State product has a record of 4-5-1, with a 2.29 goals-against average and a .920 save percentage, which ranks sixth in the PWHL.