Lou Orlando
WEST ORANGE, N.J. — Kristyna Kaltounkova has a tough act to follow.
Drafted No. 1 overall by the New York Sirens in the 2025 PWHL Entry Draft, Kaltounkova follows in the footsteps of last season’s No. 1 overall pick — and now teammate — Sarah Fillier.
All Fillier did in a record-setting rookie campaign was pace the Sirens with 13 goals and claim a stake in the League’s scoring title with 29 points, tying Boston Fleet star Hilary Knight. She was subsequently named Rookie of the Year and earned PWHL First Team All-Star honors.
Making the transition from NCAA hockey to the pros isn’t as easy as Fillier made it look. On top of the dramatic increase in speed and skill, the PWHL presents a marked physical challenge for players fresh out of college.
Whereas deliberate body checking is prohibited under the NCAA women’s hockey rulebook, the PWHL affords players more leeway with contact, resulting in a decidedly more physical game.
“It’s fast and it’s physical, and I really enjoy that,” Kaltounkova remarked after making her PWHL preseason debut Thursday in a 5-2 loss to the Minnesota Frost. “Sometimes you got to be aware of your surroundings, because you might be shooting a puck or making a pass and there’s a hit coming your way. But I think I have kind of been preparing for that on and off the ice.”
Kaltounkova revealed that she focused on improving her skating this offseason, prioritizing crossovers instead of straight-line skating in an effort to preserve energy while still maintaining speed. As for the physicality, she was quick to embrace that too, pacing all skaters with three hits Thursday.
“It’s way different in college. But I love this.”
Perhaps she was a little too eager, as she took an illegal body checking penalty in the third period.
“I was testing the waters a little bit,” the 23-year-old explained with a sly smile. “I think sometimes we need that physicality. I want to get the team going. I was just trying to play my game, and sometimes that happens.”
The Colgate University alum is well-regarded for her offensive talents after tallying a program-record 111 career goals and notching 233 points in 171 games across five seasons. Yet it was her physical ability that helped the Czech native skyrocket up the draft boards, ahead of even Clarkson University defender Haley Winn and the leading NCAA point producer Casey O’Brien, whom the Sirens also landed with the No. 3 overall pick.
“I think I’m pretty blessed to be physical and have the body type I have for that physicality kind of play,” Kaltounkova acknowledged. “I’m sure for some rookies, it can be pretty difficult in that sense, because sometimes in college, I don’t think it was this fast and physical.”
Standing at 5-foot-9 with a solid and athletic frame, Kaltounkova is strong on the puck and capable of both dishing out and receiving contact.
She’s not lacking in the other skill departments either. Kaltounkova is an above-average skater with smooth puck handling and a rocket shot.
That latter of which was on display Thursday, when Kaltounkova blasted a slap shot past Frost goalie Marie Boissonnault in the third period. She struck again in a five-round scrimmage shootout after regulation, beating Boissonnault with a wrister above the blocker.
She added an assist Friday in a 6-2 win over the Frost, setting up Fillier for a power-play score in the third period. And while it didn’t count on the official preseason stat sheet, Kaltounkova scored in the voluntary overtime period, firing a shot from the left circle during a 4-on-3 power-play advantage.
Kristyna Kaltounkova ‘ready to hit ground running’ for Sirens
There may not be a one-size-fits-all approach to a successful transition from NCAA hockey to the PWHL. At least, Fillier doesn’t think so.
“I don’t know if there’s a key,” explained Fillier, a scoring sensation during her collegiate career at Princeton. “I think everyone’s different. I think you just have to be okay that it’s going to be chaotic.”
For Kaltounkova, the approach is heavily mental.
“I think just not being so stressed and nervous,” she specified. “Sometimes the offseason is really hard for rookies, because we don’t know what to expect. Like, am I doing enough? Am I not doing enough in the offseason? And so when you arrive to training camp, I think that’s when you feel the most nerves.
“The mental part of it, it’s so important to come in here feeling good. Mental game is like 90 percent of hockey.”
Fortunately, she’s got some friendly faces to help guide her through her rookie season. Those include Fillier, captain Micah Zandee-Hart, former college teammate Allyson Simpson, and even one of the Sirens’ newer additions.
“I sit next to Kristin O’Neill,” the rookie shared. A former standout at Cornell University and a member of the Canadian National Hockey Team since 2018, O’Neill was part of the return for 28-year-old forward Abby Roque in a draft-day trade with the Montreal Victoire.
“Obviously, she’s been in the league for some time. But when it comes to hockey, I lean on her too, I try to pick her brain,” explained Kaltounkova. “Everyone here is just so helpful. I could name the whole team.”
It also doesn’t hurt to reunite with bench boss Greg Fargo, who coached Kaltounkova for four seasons at Colgate before taking the Sirens job ahead of the 2024-25 season.
“I see a lot of similar things within our system that were at Colgate, which is pretty nice,” Kaltounkova revealed. “That way, I don’t have to study it that much because I’ve had it under my belt.”
“As a coach, you get to know people, what they need, and what pushes them, and I think that’s the benefit of that experience — the experience of coaching ‘Kalty’,” Fargo said this week. “I have an understanding of what she needs to play her best, and hopefully I can help her get there. I think there’ll be a learning curve, but no doubt that someone like her is ready to hit the ground running.”
“He’s a big, big support for me, so it feels really nice to be reunited with him on the same team,” continued Kaltounkova. “I think it’s just going to be electric this year.”
Kaltounkova is set to make her PWHL regular-season debut on Nov. 22 when the Sirens visit the Ottawa Charge.
