JAQUES, KELLER, WINN VOTED PWHL DEFENDER OF THE YEAR FINALISTS

NEW YORK AND TORONTO (May 20, 2026) – The Professional Women’s Hockey League (PWHL) today announced that Sophie Jaques of the Vancouver Goldeneyes, Megan Keller of the Boston Fleet, and Haley Winn of the Boston Fleet have been voted as the three finalists for the 2026 PWHL Defender of the Year award.

The PWHL Defender of the Year award is presented to the defender who showcases the most outstanding ability at the position throughout the regular season.

SOPHIE JAQUES, VANCOUVER GOLDENEYES

Jaques is the first player to be a finalist for the award in consecutive seasons after also placing in the top three in votes in 2024-25 as a member of the Minnesota Frost. The Toronto, ON native recorded 20 points in 30 games for the expansion Goldeneyes to rank second among PWHL defenders, reaching the mark for a second straight season and becoming the first rearguard in league history with multiple 20-point campaigns. Jaques set a pair of new single-season records for blue liners by scoring nine goals on 110 shots on goal, with the latter standing as the second-highest shot total among all skaters in 2025-26. The 25-year-old became the first defender to reach the half-century mark for career points, is the only defender to ever lead a team in scoring during the regular season and finished with four multi-point performances to co-lead her position. Two of those outings were three-point games, making Jaques the only defender with multiple such performances this season and the first to record at least one three-point game in each of the league’s three seasons.

MEGAN KELLER, BOSTON FLEET

Keller was previously a finalist in 2024 and delivered a career-best season in 2025-26, posting record offensive production that included 22 points to tie the position’s all-time single-season high, previously set by Jaques and Renata Fast in 2024-25. Among league rearguards, the Boston captain finished with the second-most goals (seven), third-most assists (15), and led all defenders with three game-winning tallies. Keller was also a key contributor on the Fleet’s power play, leading defenders with four goals on the player advantage and tying for second at the position with seven power-play points overall. The 30-year-old from Farmington, MI reached the 50-point milestone for her regular-season career in the final game on April 25, adding a pair of assists in her career-high third multi-point performance of the season. She was one of four defenders to record a shorthanded ‘jailbreak’ goal, tallying one of Boston’s three this season that matched New York and Ottawa for the most of any team, and tied for fifth with 50 hits. Keller’s leadership helped the Fleet to its best regular season in team history, logging 799:32 time on ice for an average of 26:40 per game, the second-highest mark among all league skaters.

HALEY WINN, BOSTON FLEET

Winn made an immediate impact at both ends of the ice after being selected second overall by Boston in the 2025 PWHL Draft. The former Clarkson Golden Knight recorded 19 points to share the third-highest total among league defenders and tied for the rookie scoring lead at her position, setting a new PWHL record in the latter category. Winn was a prominent fixture alongside Keller on Boston’s blue line, which led the league with 16 goals and accounted for 31.2 percent of the team’s total scoring. Individually, Winn’s five goals were the most by a rookie defender in league history and ranked third at the position, while her 14 assists placed fourth. The 22-year old from Rochester, NY led all skaters with 802:42 of ice time (26:45 per game), becoming the first rookie to top the league’s time-on-ice leaderboard and the second player to lead the category, following Fast in both 2024 and 2024-25. Highlighting her two-way contributions, Winn was one of three defenders to score a shootout goal, ranked second among blue liners with 92 shots on goal, and finished fourth at the position with 45 blocked shots.

A selection committee cast their votes for six regular-season PWHL awards, including Defender of the Year, along with the league’s First and Second All-Star Teams and an All-Rookie Team, between the conclusion of regular season and the commencement of playoffs. The three players that received the most voting points for Defender of the Year have been named finalists. Winners of all PWHL Awards will be announced on June 16 in Detroit.

Last season, Toronto’s Renata Fast was the recipient of the Defender of the Year award, voted over finalists Jaques and Minnesota’s Claire Thompson.

ABOUT THE PROFESSIONAL WOMEN’S HOCKEY LEAGUE (PWHL)

The Professional Women’s Hockey League (PWHL) is a professional ice hockey league in North America that features the best women’s players in the world. As of the 2025-26 season, it is comprised of eight teams — Boston, Minnesota, Montréal, New York, Ottawa, Seattle, Toronto, and Vancouver — with Detroit, Hamilton, Las Vegas, and San Jose added as the 9th, 10th, 11th, and 12th teams ahead of the 2026-27 season. Launched on January 1, 2024, the PWHL has broken multiple attendance records and holds the worldwide all-time record for a women’s hockey game. The league was recognized by Sports Business Journal as the Sports Breakthrough of the Year, and ranked No. 1 in Canada for corporate reputation in both 2024 and 2025, according to the Harris Poll. Visit thepwhl.com to purchase tickets and merchandise, and subscribe to the PWHL e-newsletter for the latest updates. Follow the league on social media @thepwhlofficial.