The Sirens knew what they were doing when they picked Kristýna Kaltounková first overall in the 2025 PWHL draft.
Coach Greg Fargo owned the best scouting report out there on Kaltounková, whom he coached at Colgate for four years before taking the Sirens job ahead of the 2024-25 season.
She plays fast and isn’t scared of physicality.
Her sturdy 5-foot-9 frame allows her to play through contact and be a bully on the ice. “A true weapon” is what general manager Pascal Daoust called Kaltounková after she signed a three-year contract before the season.
The Sirens saw Kaltounková as a pillar for the franchise’s future alongside 2024 No. 1 overall pick Sarah Fillier. And halfway through her rookie campaign, the Sirens have to be feeling pretty good about their bet on the Czech forward.
Kaltounková entered the PWHL’s Olympic break this week on a career-best four-game point streak. The rookie’s two goals in Wednesday’s 4-3 shootout loss to the first-place Boston Fleet made her the league-leading scorer with 11.
And there’s still plenty of time for Kaltounková to set the league’s scoring record for a first-year pro (held by Fillier with 13 goals last season) and potentially the overall single-season scoring record, which stands at 20 goals (Natalie Spooner in 2024).
That will have to wait, though, until the PWHL season resumes Feb. 26.
In the meantime, Kaltounková, a front-runner to follow in Fillier’s footsteps and win Rookie of the Year, is one of six Sirens who are heading to the 2026 Milano Cortina Games to represent their countries. She’ll be making her Olympic debut for Czechia.
Fillier will be playing in her second Olympics with Team Canada, and forward Kristin O’Neill and goalie Kayle Osborne will join her in their first Winter Games. Maja Nylen Persson (Sweden) and Nicole Vallario (Switzerland) also received nods to play for their home countries.
With the team dispersing for the next month, here’s a look at some of the Sirens’ midseason superlatives:
MVP and top rookie: Kaltounková captures both honors for the first half. But Casey O’Brien, the No. 3 overall pick in 2025, deserves an honorable mention for the rookie honor. She’s second on the team with 11 points (four goals and seven assists.)
Notable veteran presence: Micah Zandee-Hart had a chance to go home this offseason and play for expansion Vancouver. But she opted to stay to be the anchor of New York’s defense. She is one of the most respected voices in the dressing room and one of the Sirens’ most reliable blue liners.
Most improved: Taylor Girard, a third-year player, is on pace to have her best season yet. Her five goals — three of which came on a natural hat trick in the season opener — are already a career high. She has been a mainstay in the Sirens’ rotation since joining last season from Boston — well, until her three-game suspension earlier this month for leaving the bench to join a brawl.
Best win: The Sirens’ 2-1 win Jan. 18 against the Montréal Victoire in Washington. Was this the Sirens’ most dominant win? No. That might have been the 5-1 win against Vancouver in the home opener Nov. 29.
But to get a win at a neutral site in front of a record crowd against one of the league’s best teams is worth noting. Kaltounková and Anne Cherkowski scored the goals, and Osborne stopped 31 of the 32 shots she faced.
Worst loss: The Sirens have yet to beat first-place Boston or the second-place Minnesota Frost. The worst loss, though, had to come on Dec. 6, when the Sirens gave up three goals in a lethargic first period against the Vancouver Goldeneyes and never recovered in a 4-0 shutout.
[Notigroup Newsroom in collaboration with other media outlets, with information from the following sources]
