Allie Munroe may not be the first name to come to mind when it comes to the PWHL Toronto roster, but she is the first player the team deemed necessary to re-sign.
Of all the players on one-year deals with Toronto, Munroe, 27, stood out primarily because of the consistent physical edge she brought to the rink every day.
Paired for most of the year with Kali Flanagan, Munroe and Flanagan were Troy Ryan’s second pairing behind his national team duo of Renata Fast and Jocelyne Larocque.
Munroe averaged just more than 19 minutes a night and amassed only 12 minutes in penalties despite being a tone-setter in physicality.
Her 31 hits registered in 24 regular-season games ranked her sixth overall in the league. Among the five in front of her were teammates Renata Fast, who led the league, Blayre Turnbull, and Emma Maltais.
The Yarmouth, N.S., native re-signed for two years with the team on Thursday.
“Allie plays a reliable physical game that deepens our backend,” team general manager Gina Kingsbury said in a team statement. “She exemplifies the values of our organization. We are thrilled to have All on our blue line for the next two seasons.”
Munroe spent a year in the Swedish league after graduating from Syracuse, where she was named CHA Best Defender in 2016-17 and 2018-19.
“I am so excited that I’m coming back to Toronto for two more years,” Munroe said via the team statement. “I’m very grateful to continue my career and to be given the chance to play for this incredible organization.”
Toronto and the other five teams that make up the PWHL have an exclusive window until June 21 free agency to offer extensions to players currently under contract.
It will not be a surprise if the next player to earn an extension from Toronto is forward Hannah Miller.
Miller, drafted 74th overall in the 13th round in the inaugural draft, was Toronto’s third-leading goal scorer behind Natalie Spooner and Sarah Nurse with seven.
Bringing her back, with a date for Spooner’s return from knee surgery still uncertain, would seem likely.
Already on multi-year deals on the Toronto roster are Nurse, Turnbull, Maltais, Fast, Larocque, goaltender Kristen Campbell, forwards Spooner, Jesse Compher, Victoria Bach, and Maggie Connors as well as Munroe’s defensive partner Flanagan.
As per Players’ Association rules, salary terms of contracts were not disclosed.
