Latest news with #AshtonBell
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Vancouver Extends Ashton Bell For Two More Seasons
PWHL Vancouver has signed Ashton Bell to a two-year contract extension through the 2027-28 season.
Reuters
4 days ago
- Sport
- Reuters
Vancouver signs D Ashton Bell to 2-year extension
August 14 - PWHL Vancouver announced a two-year contract extension for defender Ashton Bell on Thursday. Selected first overall in June's expansion draft, Bell is now under contract through the 2027-28 campaign. The 25-year-old Canadian had three goals and three assists in 27 games last season with the Ottawa Charge. She made the 2024 PWHL All-Rookie Team during the league's inaugural campaign after posting two goals and five assists in 24 games. "We are excited to form a long-term commitment with Ashton and have her help lead our defense core in Vancouver through our first three seasons," Vancouver general manager Cara Gardner Morey said. "Ashton will play a significant part in building the foundation of our defense. She is going to be a leader both on the ice and in the locker room, and we are delighted to have her with us through 2027-28." Bell is a three-time IIHF Women's World Championship gold medalist (2021, 2022 and 2024) and helped Canada win the gold medal at the 2022 Winter Games in Beijing. --Field Level Media
CBC
11-06-2025
- Sport
- CBC
'An honour': Inside the PWHL's expansion draft with the 1st overall pick
Ashton Bell was anxious all day on Monday as she waited to learn her fate. Just two weeks ago, the 25-year-old defender was battling for the Walter Cup with the Ottawa Charge. She'd carved out a role on the team's top defensive pairing alongside veteran Jocelyne Larocque, and blocked more shots than any other player during the playoffs. But on Monday, she didn't know if she'd be returning to Ottawa or heading west to play for Seattle or Vancouver. She had been left unprotected by the Charge ahead of the PWHL's first expansion draft. She knew Vancouver had interest, after speaking with GM Cara Gardner Morey during an exclusive signing window prior to the draft. But exactly how things would play out was remained a mystery. "I didn't really know what to expect," Bell said in an interview with CBC Sports. "I knew that there was the possibility that I could get picked up by either team. When Vancouver got the first pick, I was just kind of like everyone else, sitting at home, just waiting to hear my name called." She didn't have to wait long. After winning a lottery, Gardner Morey had to choose between keeping the first pick or making the second and third picks instead. She opted to make the first pick, and used it to select Bell. "It was definitely very exciting for me and just such an honour," the player from Deloraine, Man. said about being chosen first. The PWHL's expansion process has triggered a reset across the league, with every team's roster shaken up and left with holes. Ottawa lost two key defenders back to back in Bell and Aneta Tejralová, who was selected by Seattle with the second pick. Players who were taken in the expansion draft now need to plan a move to the west coast. Bell has family in Vancouver, which will make her transition easier. Many already want to buy season tickets. She's also joining a team built strong from the net out by Gardner Morey, who coached Bell with the Canadian Under-18 team several years ago. "She is just the exact person you want on your team," Gardner Morey said. "Not only is she extremely talented on the back end — she's played both offence and defence in her career — but she's also one of those great teammates and great human beings that's just always showing gratitude and doing things the right way. Her work ethic is outstanding and, to me, that's the exact type of player we wanted to bring in." A strong defensive core Bell's teammates on the blue line will include Defender of the Year nominees Claire Thompson and Sophie Jaques, who both just won the Walter Cup with the Minnesota Frost. Both signed with Vancouver before the expansion draft. Thompson and Bell won an Olympic gold medal together in 2022. Did the PWHL expansion draft go too far? 23 hours ago Duration 1:18 "Those two are unbelievable and showed that this season with Minnesota and brought home the Walter Cup," Bell said. "I've played alongside them with the national team and know them as people as well. They're just incredible players, and I'm so excited to get to share the blue line with them." Vancouver also drafted promising rookie defender Sydney Bard from the Boston Fleet, a player who Boston GM Danielle Marmer described as only showing a glimpse of what she can do in her one and only season in Boston. "I think you're going to see a lot of interchangeable positions where you might not know who's forward and who's the [defence] on the ice at certain times," Gardner Morey said. Change afoot When the expansion rules were announced during the playoffs, eyebrows went up across the league. Teams could only protect three players to start, with a fourth to be added after a team surrendered two players to expansion. It meant every team was going to have to give up good players. In Ottawa, Bell and her teammates had to focus on the playoffs. But in the back of their minds, they knew their team would look different next season. "There were lots of kind of rumbles in the locker room every now and then, just us trying to figure out all the rules and logistics of it all, and just bouncing questions off each other and what it could possibly look like," Bell said. After the Charge fell short to the Frost in four games, hard decisions had to be made. Ottawa Charge GM Mike Hirshfeld opted to protect forward Emily Clark, goaltender Gwyneth Philips and defender Ronja Savolainen to start. Hirshfeld said Savolainen's size and speed were factors in choosing to protect her. "It was her first year in this league, and we felt like she played incredibly well as she was adjusting to the league," he said. "We think at her age, her best days are ahead of her now that she's acclimatized to the PWHL for a year." After losing Maschmeyer to Vancouver and forward Danielle Serdachny to Seattle, Hirshfeld used his final protection slot on forward Gabbie Hughes. The tough-to-play against centre was part of Ottawa's best line in the playoffs between Clark and rookie Mannon McMahon. But it meant going into the expansion draft with three top defenders — Bell, Larocque and Tejralová — all at risk. Only one was left on Ottawa's roster when the dust settled. "I think incredibly highly of Ashton," Hirshfeld said. "I think Bellsy's been great for us for two years. I can't say enough about how she performed in the playoffs this year. She was on the top line with Jocelyne Larocque and I think they did an incredible job. But again, we made a decision. It's a very difficult decision." A new beginning Bell sympathized with the challenge GMs faced in the expansion process. With a pre-signing window and the draft, there were so many variables that were hard to predict. "Gabbie Hughes [is] an amazing hockey player, one of our best centres, so that was kind of a no-brainer for them," she said. "I respect their decisions, and obviously Clarky, Gwyn and Ronja, too. Just amazing people and incredible players as well, so I'm super happy for them that they get to stay in Ottawa and continue to build that franchise." WATCH | Vancouver Griffins were the city's 1st women's pro hockey team: Long before PWHL expansion, the Vancouver Griffins were the city's 1st women's pro hockey team 2 days ago Duration 2:12 Vancouver Griffins owner Diane Nelson reflects on starting Vancouver's first pro women's hockey team and the challenges that came with it. A day after the draft, Bell was still processing the reality that she will be leaving her teammates and the fans in Ottawa. But she also looks forward to being a part of what Gardner Morey is building in Vancouver. "Leaving them behind is obviously sad," she said. "I'm still kind of processing all of that. But just the excitement of starting and being a part of a new franchise out west and being able to grow women's hockey out there is really exciting for me."
CTV News
10-06-2025
- Sport
- CTV News
Ottawa Charge lose 2 key defenders during PWHL expansion draft
Ottawa Charge's Ashton Bell (left) goes airborne after colliding with Montreal Victoire's Marie-Philip Poulin (29) during first period PWHL playoff hockey action in Ottawa, on Friday, May 16, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Spencer Colby The Ottawa Charge lost two key players from the blue line during the Professional Women's Hockey League (PWHL) expansion draft Monday night. Vancouver and Seattle each selected seven players from the original six clubs to fill out a 12-player roster during the expansion draft. The draft was the second part of the expansion process after the two teams were allowed to sign up to five players each last week. PWHL Vancouver selected blueliner Ashton Bell from the Ottawa Charge with the first pick in the expansion draft. Bell played two seasons with the Charge, and had three goals and three assists last season. With their first pick in the PWHL expansion draft, Seattle selected Aneta Tejralová from Ottawa. The blueliner had one goal and nine assists for the Charge last season. Ottawa lost goalie Emerance Maschmeyer and forward Danielle Serdachny during the exclusive signing window last week. Each PWHL original six team lost four players during the expansion process. The Charge protected forwards Emily Clark and Gabbie Hughes, goalie Gwyneth Philips, and defender Ronja Savolainen during the expansion window. Several Charge players went undrafted during the expansion process, including captain Brianne Jenner, forwards Mannon McMahon, Anna Meixner and Kateřina Mrázová, and defenders Jocelyne Larocque and Stephanie Markowski.
CTV News
10-06-2025
- Sport
- CTV News
Vancouver takes defender Ashton Bell first overall in PWHL expansion draft
Ottawa Charge's Ashton Bell (left) goes airborne after colliding with Montreal Victoire's Marie-Philip Poulin (29) during first period PWHL playoff hockey action in Ottawa, on Friday, May 16, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Spencer Colby A long, anxious day of waiting paid off in a big way for Ashton Bell on Monday. The 25-year-old defender became part of hockey history when she was selected No. 1 by Vancouver in the Professional Women's Hockey League's first-ever expansion draft. 'It's just a huge honour,' she said. 'And I'm just super excited to be one of those first players in Vancouver. Could not be more thrilled to be part of that organization.' Hailing from Deloraine, Man., Bell heads to Vancouver following two seasons playing in Ottawa. She contributed three goals and three assists over 27 regular-season games with the Charge during the 2024-25 campaign, and added one more of each over eight playoff appearances. 'Not only is she extremely talented on the back end, she's played both offence and defence in her career,' Vancouver general manager Cara Gardner Morey said of the young defender who she briefly coach with Canada's U-18 development program. 'But she's also one of those great teammates and great human beings that's always showing gratitude and doing things the right way. Her work ethic is outstanding and, to me, that's the exact type of player we wanted to bring in.' Vancouver picked seven players on Monday, including forwards Brooke McQuigge (Minnesota Frost), Abby Boreen (Montreal Victoire), Izzy Daniel (Toronto Sceptres), Gabby Rosenthal (New York Sirens) and Denisa Krizova (Minnesota) and defender Sydney Bard (Boston Fleet). Heading into the draft, Gardner Morey was looking for undervalued players. 'I think we really went with a lot of grit, a lot of two-way forwards that can also score goals. Obviously we solidified the back end tonight,' the GM said. 'I just think we got a lot of players that were overachieving last year and those are the type of players we want to bring in.' Bell believes she has more to show, too. The five-foot-nine University of Minnesota-Duluth product believes she grew into her role as a shutdown defender at the end of the regular-season campaign. She embraced it further during a playoff run where Ottawa ousted Montreal from the semifinals before falling to Minnesota in the Walter Cup final. 'I've grown a lot just in the last couple of months of playing in this league,' Bell said. 'And I'm just excited to kind of continue that.' Bell and the six other draftees join five players Vancouver snapped up during last week's exclusive signing window for the PWHL's two expansion teams. Defenders Claire Thompson and Sophie Jaques (both Minnesota), forwards Sarah Nurse (Toronto) and Jenn Gardiner (Montreal), and goalie Emerance Maschmeyer (Ottawa) will also be part of the club's inaugural roster. Gardner Morey, a former defender herself, said she's been building the team from the back end and stocking it with 'great skating, puck carrying defenders.' 'I was a defender, and I just really think it's such a valuable position. And finding the right D and having a great core, one through eight even, is what makes championship teams,' she said. Seattle, the PWHL's other expansion franchise, took former Ottawa defender Aneta Tejralova with the second pick Monday. General manager Meghan Turner then added forwards Hannah Bilka (Boston), Jessie Eldridge (New York) and Julia Gosling (Toronto) before claiming defenders Anna Wilgren (Montreal), Megan Carter (Toronto) and Emily Brown (Boston). They join forwards Hilary Knight (Boston), Alex Carpenter (New York), Danielle Serdachny (Ottawa), defender Cayla Barnes (Montreal) and goalie Corinne Schroeder (New York), who all inked deals with Seattle during the exclusive signing period. 'I think it's a great roster that we've built so far with the early signings and then just filling in tonight,' Turner said after Monday's draft. 'We've got the first two lines, I feel like, pretty solid. And then, obviously, defence is so important and wins championships, so not overlooking that at all. We got some good young talent. And then, two solid kind of league veterans for the past couple of seasons to round out the D core there.' Each of the PWHL's six founding teams picked three players to protect during the expansion process. A fourth was added to each list before or during Monday's draft, depending on how many players the club lost in the signing window. Only players under contract for the 2025-26 season — or those whose playing rights are held through that season — were eligible for the draft. Players on expiring contracts, including Toronto Sceptres forward Natalie Spooner, could not be selected, but teams can ink those athletes to new contracts when the free agency period opens Monday. A leaguewide entry draft will be held in Ottawa on June 24. Gardner Morey knows what she'll be looking for as she continues to build out Vancouver's roster. 'I think that we're going to look for a couple more top-six forwards in the free agency period and see who we might, I guess, lure to Vancouver and who wants to be a part of this amazing team,' she said. 'Because I think we have the building blocks in place.' This report by Gemma Karstens-Smith, The Canadian Press was first published June 9, 2025.
