'Focusing on us': PWHL Ottawa aims to build on team culture heading into inaugural season

PWHL Ottawa left Upstate New York as the only team without a win after three pre-season games.

But head coach Carla MacLeod headed back to Canada proud of her team, more focused on the improvements they made than the story the scoreboard told.

"It's been a great week for us," she said after the team's final pre-season game, a 3-1 loss to Boston.

"Our whole intention was always focusing on us and what we're doing and trying to get better every day."

Since MacLeod and GM Mike Hirshfeld started building the Ottawa team in September, they've been focused on creating culture first. They've looked for people who are good teammates, with grit and hard work key parts of the team's identity. 

It's one of the reasons why the team went into training camp with the majority of its roster signed to contracts, and why Ottawa didn't pick anyone up off waivers.

"To bring someone in from the outside that we're not as clear on and we don't have as much of an understanding of, I think just wasn't a risk that we were willing to take at this point," Hirshfeld said.

At the team's first on-ice session at TD Place last month, MacLeod wanted to focus more on having fun and getting the team comfortable with one another. She felt on-ice chemistry will build naturally from that comfort.

"It's a different approach but I think it's an amazing one," said forward Emily Clark.

"You build the foundation off the ice and I think there's no cap to what we can do on the ice if you have a good foundation. It just comes down to being great teammates and what we want that to look like every day, what we want the energy to be like at the rink every day."

Ottawa may not have a household name like Marie-Philip Poulin or Hilary Knight on the roster, but it's filled with players poised for breakout seasons, who may find themselves playing bigger roles than they've gotten the opportunity to play before. 

That roster begins with forward Brianne Jenner, who was one of Ottawa's marquee free agent signings, along with Clark and goalie Emerance Maschmeyer.

It's not clear whether Ottawa will name a captain in its first season, but it would be a surprise if it wasn't 32-year-old Jenner, who's got one of the most impressive resumes in women's hockey.

Ottawa defender Jincy Roese has played against Jenner for years, but after a few weeks of watching her at practice, Roese has a whole new appreciation for her game.