Ann-Renée Desbiens, Aerin Frankel and Gwyneth Philips have been named finalists for the 2026 PWHL Goaltender of the Year Award. Last year’s winner Desbiens helped Montreal win their first Walter Cup with a 4-0 shutout over Ottawa, while Frankel and Philips arr
By the time Montreal saw the final buzzer land on a 4-0 shutout against the Ottawa Charge on Wednesday. Ann-Renée Desbiens had already turned another season into a résumé you can’t look away from. The result carried the Montreal Victoire to their first Walter Cup title. the first time a Canadian franchise has topped the league.
On Thursday, the PWHL made it official in a different spotlight. Desbiens, Aerin Frankel and Gwyneth Philips were named the finalists for the 2026 PWHL Goaltender of the Year Award.
Desbiens. the winner of last year’s award. entered this moment with numbers that set the tone early and never let up. The Clermont. Que. native posted a 1.11 goals-against average and a .955 save percentage. while also co-leading the league with a record 19 wins in 25 games. Those saves weren’t just steady—they were commanding, the kind that turns close games into inevitability.
Her season’s latest push was backed by the kind of production awards voters can feel in the standings. Desbiens led Montreal to the league’s biggest finish, capped by that scoreless statement against Ottawa. It’s the same player who returns to the award conversation again this time with the weight of being the reigning winner.
Frankel’s case is built on consistency—so much of it. and for so long. that it reshaped what the league had come to expect. Named a finalist with the Boston Fleet in each of the PWHL’s three seasons. the 26-year-old from Chappaqua. N.Y. recorded a 1.17 goals-against average and a .953 save percentage. She also shattered the single-season shutout record with eight, doubling the previous mark.
Her workload didn’t come with holes. Frankel finished the season with a career-high 631 saves on 662 shots, allowed one or fewer goals in 18 of her 26 starts, and logged another single-season record with those starts. She also logged the second-most minutes in league history with 1,583.
Philips arrives with momentum of her own, and with a different kind of milestone attached. In her second season with the Ottawa Charge. the 25-year-old from Athens. Ohio. took her team to the finals for the first time. The jump in opportunity matched the size of her output: Philips set a single-season record with 28 starts. including 18 straight to close the season.
The benchmarks kept coming. Philips also set PWHL single-season records with 844 shots faced and 786 saves. She finished third in the league with 16 wins, producing a 2.12 goals-against average and a .931 save percentage. Among her standout feats. she was the first goaltender to record multiple starts with 40-plus saves in a single season. and she delivered a 42-save shutout on April 11.
Last season, the same three players—Desbiens, Frankel and Philips—were named finalists, and Desbiens won the award again. This time, the league is tightening the spotlight once more ahead of the ceremony.
A selection committee cast its votes for six regular-season PWHL awards, with the winners of all six awards set to be named on June 16 in Detroit.
PWHL 2026 Goaltender of the Year Award Ann-Renée Desbiens Aerin Frankel Gwyneth Philips Montreal Victoire Boston Fleet Ottawa Charge Walter Cup goaltending