Beginning June 1, NWHL teams can re-sign players from their 2017-18 roster and
their draft picks. Additionally, for those players who have completed their
college eligibility and want to continue their hockey careers, NWHL Free Agency
 provides the best opportunity to continue playing at the highest level of
professional women's hockey. The fourth season of the NWHL will begin in
October as the Metropolitan Riveters defend their Isobel Cup championship, and
with the addition of a fifth team - the Minnesota Whitecaps - this will be the
most competitive season yet.

My colleague Dan Rice will keep THW readers up-to-date on Metropolitan and
Connecticut's signings throughout the summer, while I post updates on Buffalo
and Boston. Together we will be keeping readers informed of all of Minnesota';s
 signings. 

Pelkey Returns to Pride With Olympic Gold

Pride Sign 2017 11th Overall Selection McKenna Brand

Hometown Hero Pfalzer Makes a Return to Beauts

The Boston Pride have kept a sizable portion of this past season';s defense
corps intact as they ready themselves for the 2018-19 NWHL season. Word was
released in the late afternoon of Aug. 20, 2018 that defender Kaliya Johnson
had re-signed with "The Pack". This will be Johnson';s second year with the
Pride, and her third year in the league. Her first NWHL season was with the
Connecticut Whale for the 2016-17 campaign.

HOT OFF THE PRESSES: Kaliya Johnson (@kleaa42) re-signs with @TheBostonPride 

🔗:https://t.co/C95hygLdgR pic.twitter.com/KZSxV32Gp7

- NWHL (@NWHL) August 20, 2018

"It's going to be a great year and we are ready to compete!" Johnson said in
the press release about her signing. "I love playing with these girls and
competing every day - not only the games but against each other in practice.
I'm very excited to be back in Boston this season."

Johnson is the seventh defender to be named under contract for Boston with the
start of the season just around the corner. She has demonstrated through her
first two years that she is a steady blueliner who can be utilized in any
situation and can be robust. THW takes a closer look  at Johnson';s signing
and what sort of an impact it will have for Boston in the year ahead.Johnson';s
 First Two Seasons in the League

Johnson spent her formative years playing at the North American Hockey Academy
(NAHA). She is one of the many players to have graced the NWHL as products of
NAHA. The elite girls hockey school has given us the likes of Taylor Holze,
Kelsey Neumann, Colleen Murphy, Katherine Donohue, and Johnson';s Boston
teammate Amanda Pelkey.

After her four years of college hockey at Boston College, Johnson made the jump
 to the NWHL for the 2016-17 season. That was after a senior year at BC in
which set career highs in games played (41), goals (four), assists (13), points
 (17) and plus/minus (plus-44). Playing her first season as a member of the
Whale, she appeared in 14 of the team';s 18 games. She did everything
Connecticut needed her to do as a defender, as she was second overall on the
team in blocked shots (16), trailing only Cydney Roesler';s 18. Johnson
rounded out her first year with three assists.Kaliya Johnson will be defending
the Boston Pride';s blue line for a second straight season (Photo Credit:
Michelle Jay).

This most recent season she elected to sign with the Pride instead. It was a
tougher season for Boston in general, and maybe particularly for Johnson. The
team finished with a losing record of 4-8-4 for their 2017-18 campaign, and
scored 33 goals in their 16 games while allowing 48. Johnson had not only a
team-worst, but a league-worst minus-10 on the season.

Contribute it to a sophomore slump, if you will. Plus/minus is oftentimes a
deceiving statistic, and both Johnson and Boston are far more capable than the
numbers they put forth. Look for her to rebound and have a decisively better
season for 2018-19.Boston';s Defense Has Been Tweaked for the Better

It would appear that the Pride are making just the right amount of adjustments
to their back end. With the seven defenders that are signed so far there is
likely going to be one more that will be joining them. Of the batch who are
currently under contract, five are returnees. The two rookies - Toni Ann Miano
and Lauren Kelly - can each bring a bit more offense to the mix.

With the 2018 PyeongChang Olympics eliminating major scorers such as Hilary
Knight, Alex Carpenter, Brianna Decker, and Meghan Duggan from potentially
being on Boston';s 2017-18 NWHL roster, major blows were dealt to the team';s
overall offense - a high-scoring offense that they were accustomed to having.
This was further compounded by the fact that only two defenders from the
';17-';18 roster scored goals for Boston, and each only scored a pair. Offense
needed to be added to rearguard while not losing the team';s toughness. Boston
has done a nice job of accomplishing that for the upcoming season.

My name is Kaliya Johnson. 
California-born, Arizona-raised. 
Played at Boston College, and now for the Boston Pride of the NWHL. 
I used to be a minority in my sport, but no longer. #HockeyIsForEveryone
pic.twitter.com/UjngZpmbSC

- NWHL (@NWHL) February 2, 2018

You might not want to go as far as saying that the Pride';s defense can be
punishing, but they';re not far from it. Having physical defenders in the likes
 of Johnson, Miano, and Kaleigh Fratkin, Boston is the furthest thing from a
walk in the park for opposing forwards trying to penetrate their zone. Each has
 sound positioning, and they do not hesitate to put a player in a different
colored jersey onto her backside. In fact, in the case of Johnson and Fratkin,
they truly excel at it.

Johnson still has yet to score her first NWHL goal - it could likely happen
this season - but that is not really what the Pride need from her. They want
her to play shutdown hockey and to prevent scoring chances. She has the skating
 ability too in order to keep pace with speedier forwards.

With Johnson re-signing with the team for a second year, here is how the Pride
look as of Aug. 20:

Goalie: Katie Burt.

Defense: Alyssa Gagliardi, Toni Ann Miano, Lauren Kelly, Lexi Bender, Kaleigh
Fratkin, Mallory Souliotis, Kaliya Johnson.

Forward: Emily Field, Dana Trivigno, Denisa Křížová, Haley Skarupa, Jillian
 Dempsey, McKenna Brand, Amanda Pelkey. 

The post Pride Defense Get Johnson Back for Another Season appeared first on
The Hockey Writers.

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