MONTREAL — Finnish star Ronja Savolainen wants her opponents to fear driving the net when she’s on the ice.
As she enters her first PWHL season, the Ottawa Charge defender plans to introduce herself with an unapologetic, hard-nosed style.
“I just want to be myself out there, not holding back, be a tough player, a pain-in-the-ass player in front of the net,” the upbeat Savolainen said after practice Wednesday at Verdun Auditorium. “That's what I want to show."
It also fits exactly what Charge general manager Michael Hirshfeld was looking for this off-season.
Hirshfeld identified physicality as a key area of need after hard hits and gritty play surpassed his expectations in the PWHL’s inaugural season.
That’s why he jumped at the opportunity when the 5-foot-10, 168-pound Savolainen was still on the board at eighth overall in last June’s draft.
“There's a real shortage of quality defenders in this league, in our opinion,” Hirshfield said. “So when you can get a defender like Ronja who has size, grit, compete, can play at the highest level … that was really important for us.
“She brings that winning edge as well. All those factors made her a no-brainer."
Beyond being physical, Savolainen wants to show she can create offence, too. In 258 SDHL games, she totalled 81 goals and 146 assists.
And although it’s her first foray into the PWHL, Savolainen enters with a wealth of experience.
The 26-year-old helped lead Lulea HF to six consecutive championships in Sweden’s top league. Internationally, she’s a two-time Olympic bronze medallist and five-time world medallist, including a silver in 2019 when Finland upset Canada in the semifinals.
Ottawa captain Brianne Jenner, also a forward for Canada, is happy she can now call Savolainen a teammate.
“I was just happy to be in the same colour as her in practice today,” Jenner said. “She's so experienced, so smart, plays the game the right way, and I think just being out there with her, she just gives confidence to her teammates.
“To get a veteran D like that in a draft, we're pretty lucky."
The Charge are in Montreal for a pre-season PWHL mini-camp this week. They’ll play the Boston Fleet in an exhibition game Thursday followed by the Montreal Victoire on Friday. Boston beat Montreal 3-1 on Wednesday.
Ottawa fell short of the playoffs last season despite needing only one win in its final three games to qualify. The team ranked second in goals-for, but second-last in goals-against.
“We weren't gritty enough, weren't hard enough to play against,” head coach Carla MacLeod said.
MacLeod believes Savolainen and fellow draftees Stephanie Markowski (5-foot-8) and Madeline Wethington (5-foot-10) can help solve that.
“These women they got some size. As a five-foot-four defender in my day, I was like I could only dream,” said MacLeod, a two-time Olympic gold medallist with Canada. “We're always working internally to shape our own organization or our vision for our group, but the league informs you, and that's what we felt really confident: the league has informed us that the physicality, it's here to stay.
“You have to be able to one, provide it, initiate it, but you have to be able to defend it and then absorb it as well."
MacLeod, who coaches Czechia’s national team, has already watched Savolainen up close on the international stage.
The Charge also sought help from scout Jordan Colliton, a Swedish league coach who’s the sister of former Chicago Blackhawks bench boss Jeremy Colliton, and ex-Finland coach Pasi Mustonen.
Savolainen, meanwhile, was awestruck by the PWHL’s level of play while watching from overseas.
“It was really fast and physical, and I was like, 'Oh I want to be there someday,'” she said. “I was like I'm going to be there next season if some team wanted to take me. I already made it clear to Lulea that I'm not going to sign a new contract.”
Savolainen said the PWHL also provides a significant salary bump, but she’s mostly motivated to raise her level as a hockey player.
“It's more money, but it's also the games and everything is what I'm looking forward to,” she said. “Even if I played professionally in Sweden, this is pretty different.”
The biggest adjustment, she said, will be adapting to the game’s speed on a smaller North American ice surface.
“You need to know what to do before you go to the puck,” she said. “It's not like in Europe: you have the puck, you can think five seconds and do whatever you want. Now, it's like when you go to a situation, you have three players on your ass. You really need to be prepared."
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 20, 2024.
Daniel Rainbird, The Canadian Press