On Monday, Canadian Olympic gold medalist Ann-Renee Desbiens of La Malbaie, Quebec was named the Professional Women’s Hockey League First Star of the Week for the period from April 6-12, 2026. Desbiens won two games for the Victoire and only gave up one goal in the process. The one goal against came in a 4-1 Victoire win over the Seattle Torrent on April 7. Desbiens then made 20 saves for the shutout in a 1-0 Victoire win over the Boston Fleet on Saturday. Desbiens’s goals against average for the week was 0.50, and her save percentage was .978 as she made 44 saves on 45 shots.
There is a very strong possibility that Desbiens will win the 2025-26 Billie Jean King Most Valuable Player award, and be the third Canadian in a row to receive the honour. Canadian Olympic gold medalist Natalie Spooner of Mississauga, Ontario won the award with Toronto in 2024, and Canadian Olympic gold medalist Marie-Philip Poulin of Beauceville, Quebec won the award with Montreal in 2025. This season Desbiens has a record of 17 wins, four regulation losses, and two losses in extra time, with seven shutouts, a goals against average of 1.08 and a save percentage of .956.
Desbiens, Poulin and Spooner won a gold medal for Canada at the 2022 Olympic Winter Games in Beijing. Poulin also won gold at the 2010 Olympic Winter Games in Vancouver and teamed up with Spooner to win gold at the 2014 Olympic Winter Games in Sochi.
