It’s been a special season for the Boston Pride, and Kaleigh Fratkin hopes it isn’t over.
The 2019-20 National Women’s Hockey League Defender of the Year, who has been with the Pride since 2017 and in the pro women’s hockey league since 2015, is in a holding pattern. Boston finished the regular season with a remarkable 23-1 record, and earned a 5-1 playoff semifinal victory against the Connecticut Whale on March 8.
But then their championship game tilt against the Minnesota Whitecaps was postponed two days before the puck was set to be dropped due to the COVID-19 pandemic and hasn't been rescheduled.
As Fratkin awaits a decision on the future of the league’s championship game, she can look back at a Pride season that will go down in NWHL history as one of the best ever.
“Hopefully it’s not the end of our season,” said Fratkin. “Our team this year has been a really great group, both on the ice and off the ice. I’d say on the ice, we’ve had some individually talented players. But I think what really made us successful is that we really fit the right pieces of the puzzle together to make ourselves more of a team. I’d say in previous years or the past couple seasons we had a ton of talent, but we didn’t have the really key components of what it meant to be a team or those players willing to play inside their role to make the team successful. This year we’ve had a ton of success because of that.”
The Boston University product made headlines not just with her play on the ice, but her moves in the offseason. Fratkin was the first player to sign with the NWHL for the 2019-20 season, in the midst of the Professional Women’s Hockey Association’s #ForTheGame boycott of existing women’s pro hockey options.
Fratkin took her own stand and re-signed with the Pride, becoming the first player to counter the 200 PWHA players.
Fratkin stays with the NWHL because of the growth she has seen in her five seasons with the league. The growth of their fan base this season especially has been inspiring to her and her teammates.
“Our viewership has grown, especially with the Twitch deal that’s been signed,” said Fratkin. “Getting that this year has been monumental in terms of online viewership. Being able to see 8,000 to 10,000 people tuning into games is really special and a testament to the growth of the fan base of the league. And that’s not only online through streaming. Our last four or five games of the season were all sold out. That second half of the season was sold out.”
She also credits the league’s revenue-sharing agreement as being key to why she keeps playing.
“I think the second biggest point of growth in the league is the 50/50 revenue split,” said Fratkin. “Being able to solidify that amongst the league and the players' association really helped to put more money into pocket for players. While the salary cap remains at $150k, with buy-in from sponsors and partners on a monetary level, now players can be making this year, with the deals that were introduced, a 26 percent increase in salary. That was huge.”
This season, Fratkin had 20 blocked shots and 18 takeaways and led league defenders with a plus-33. Offensively, she had the second-highest scoring season for a defender in NWHL history, with three goals and 20 assists. She became the first defender to reach 60 career points.
Fratkin had strong competition for the Defender of the Year title from Minnesota’s Amanda Boulier, but her playmaking ability on either side of the ice gave her the edge.
“Being named Defender of the Year is definitely an honor,” said Fratkin. “It’s an honor to be put into that category. I’ve been in the league since day one, and I’ve seen and have played with some amazing defensemen. So to be classified into that group is certainly a humbling honor. I think a lot of this year’s individual success has come from the group of defensemen we have. Our core of defense, whether it’s in practices or in games, they have definitely been a huge part of all of (the success).”
Fratkin is quick and consistent in crediting her teammates and the entire Pride organization for her success this season. This year’s Pride team was a cohesive unit from the start, something that stood out to Fratkin from previous years.
“Our team is one of the most special teams that I’ve been on in my playing career,” said Fratkin. “I’ve played on a lot of different hockey teams, and it’s very rare that you come across a really good group of people and players. A lot of this stems from the top down. Our coaching staff, our GM and president, and our ownership, with Miles Arnone stepping forth and taking ownership in the beginning of the year — all of that is so important to making the entire organization function.”
Fratkin hopes that the chance comes for this special team to play in a championship game. She is staying in shape through off-ice workouts with the hope that soon ice rinks will reopen and the NWHL season can come to a proper conclusion. If that doesn’t happen, Fratkin and the Pride will stay motivated for next season.
“The players are young, hungry and really care about the team in the program and what we’ve been trying to establish from day one,” said Fratkin. “There’s been a lot of buy-in, in addition to the talent that we’ve had. It has made for a really fun season.”
