Buffalo Beauts: A fascinating offseason so far

The off-season choices by Buffalo Beats general manager Nathanial Oliver have been interesting. The first move of the off-season for the Beauts was the monumental signing of the once and future Beaut, Mikyla Grant-Mentis. 

The Beauts have led the PHF in off-season signings, standing at thirteen signed players. The Beauts had to overcome the loss of Beauts captain and defender Marie-Jo Pelletier to retirement and Erin Gehen up front. That said, the general idea from media and fans alike was to run it back, especially keeping Carly Jackson or CJ in net. 

Looking at the lineup, the Beauts have confirmed signings, eight forwards, four defense, and one goalie. Rumors are swirling about the hockey sphere about another goalie, but that is a discussion for later on. 

Forward

Mikyla Grant-Mentis

She was the signing of the off-season for Buffalo. Her scoring touch is magical. Coming from the Toronto Six, Grant-Mentis will surely add some highfalutin offense to the Beauts. 

Courtney Maud-Maud

Signed straight out of college, Maud-Maud was the captain for Merrimack College. She is a left-shot forward out of Georgetown, Ontario. 

Jenna Soukko

Coming into her second season with the Beauts, Finnish forward Soukko brings an impressive international career and experience to the Beauts forward core. 

Emma Nuutinen

Another Finnish player joining the Beauts is Nuutinen. Her international accolades are nothing short of miraculous. She won bronze at the Olympics with Finland in 2018, two world championship bronze medals, and one World Championship silver. 

Cassidy MacPherson

MacPherson is returning to the Beauts for her fourth season with the squad. Last season for the beauts, She set a career-high in penalty minutes with 26 in 20 games played. 

Claudia Kepler

Inking a two-year contract, Kepler will be a beauty for at least the next two seasons. Before the Beauts, Wisconsin native Kepler played for the Minnesota hub of the PWHPA. 

Autumn MacDougall

MacDougall, or Auttie Mac as the fans know her is a scoring threat for the Beauts and is a fan favorite. After five years with the University of Alberta, Auttie Mac joined the beauts and is now signed for her third season with the team. 

Anjelica Diffendal

In the newest signing for the Beauts, announced just as this article was at the point of publication, The Beauts announced that they had signed winger Diffendal for a second season. In her first season for the Beauts, Diffendal scored high in both goal scoring and assists. As a rookie, Diffendal made the All-Star team.

Defense

Dominique Kremer

Beauts’ alternate captain and first signing of the off-season for the Buffalo team. Kremer re-ups with the Beauts for two years. She impacted the backend with eleven total points in 20 games played. 

Jess Healey

Another blue liner signed for two more years, Healey, a first-time Beaut, comes back to North America after playing three seasons overseas with HV71 of the SDHL. While not a goal scorer, Healey can put up points, finishing over 20 points in all of her SDHL seasons.

Allison Attea

Buffalo native and one of the youngest players signed to the 22-23 Beauts is 23-year-old Attea. Last season for Buffalo, Attea had only two points but made up for it with 14 penalty minutes. 

Antonia Matzka

Hailing from Mödling, Austria is Antonia Matzka. According to my spreadsheet of PHF signings and Elite Prospects, she plays defense, but according to the Beauts, Matzka is a forward. Could she be one of Women’s hockey’s favorite positions, a rover? Either way, the international talent on the Beauts is quite impressive. 

Goaltending

The most exciting part of the Beauts’ off-season is why this article exists. The Buffalo Beauts goaltending situation. The expectation going into the off-season was that the Beauts would bring back fan-favorite goaltender CJ. According to a tweet from Sportsnet’s Jeff Marek, Jackson has signed with the Toronto Six. The Beauts reportedly have signed Kassidy Sauve of the PWHPA, but there has been no official confirmation yet.

Lovisa “Lollo” Berndtsson

The Beauts’ only confirmed goaltending signing, Berndtsson, is returning to the beauts for her second season on the team. Last season in 3 games, she had a .886 save percentage behind an admittedly spotty Beauts’ defense. Berdtsson has had a consistently high save percentage throughout her pro career, so we can only hope that this season was an outlier. 

The Beauts have an exciting remainder of the off-season ahead of them; part of that is replacing the team’s culture now that CJ is gone. The Beauts have big things ahead of them as a team, and I can’t wait for the season to start.