Your 2020-21 Alberta Pandas

The reigning Canada West champions get centerstage today as the 2020-21 Alberta Pandas will look significantly different than the 2019-20 Pandas did. There is a large chunk of veteran leadership gone from the Pandas that did a large part of their scoring, so a rebuild starts again in Edmonton as head coach Howie Draper restocks the roster with more scoring talent. The new kids will be good if their previous resumés continue to be solid and there are some transfer-in players who look like they'll make an impact, but will any of them replace the scoring talents of MacDougall, Poznikoff, and Dillon? I was excited to find out, but we'll have to wait until September to see!

I'll remind everyone once more that the lineup you see above is in no way accurate or correct. Head coach Howie Draper has more coaching experience in his pinky finger than I have in my whole body, meaning my qualifications in building a lineup are nil and unneeded. However, this video-game version of the Pandas could be an example of what the Pandas could have looked like this season!

With Alex Poznikoff and Autumn MacDougall fulfilling their eligibilities, the gaps are there for players to step up. We saw Madison Willan set the tone last year with her incredible season, and Kennedy Ganser can take over in the middle and be just as effective in scoring. Cayle Dillon is gone from the blue line, and they'll need someone to step up and quarterback the player-advantage. Kiara Machry could be that player, but Bethan Wilson came over from the Carleton Ravens in the OUA and she could be a player to step in. I'm curious to see if Howie Draper puts the Lloydminster trio together with Jadynn Morden, Hayleigh Craig, and Payton Laumbach as those three had chemistry before arriving on the university scene.

Here are the players who would be suiting up for the Alberta Pandas this season in hockey card form. Again, there seems to be a void when it comes to finding images of Stephanie Fischer playing hockey, and you might be looking at this team and thinking that the roster looks small with just 23 players. I'd agree with that, but I assume that the Pandas have open roster spots for players who will arrive for the 2021-22 season.

2020-21 Alberta Pandas Women's Hockey Team

Will Alberta repeat this season? It's hard to say they won't with Howie Draper guiding the ship and the stellar goaltending tandem of Kirsten Chamberlin and Halle Oswald. Will they score as many goals as they did this past season? That seems to be a bigger question as there are a number of question marks regarding who will step up. If there's one thing I do know, though, it's that Howie Draper will get the most out his players so don't count the Pandas out in 2021-22!

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!