Latest news with #CaraGardnerMorey
National Post
11 hours ago
- Sport
- National Post
Ottawa Charge leading scorer Tereza Vanišová expected to sign with PWHL Vancouver
Considered by GM Mike Hirshfeld as a 'top priority' to re-sign back in May, Ottawa Charge leading goal scorer Tereza Vanišová is expected to join PWHL Vancouver after the first day of the league's free agency window, according to Ian Kennedy of The Hockey News. Article content The 29 year old's talents have been in great demand after tying with the Boston Fleet's Hilary Knight for second in league scoring this season with 15 markers. Only the Montreal Victoire's Marie-Philip Poulin scored more (19). Article content Article content PWHL Vancouver, which already has assembled a top contender through the expansion process, appears to have emerged as the winner of the sweepstakes after GM Cara Gardner Morey said following the expansion draft that the team would still be looking for top-six forwards in free agency. Article content 'We're going to look for a couple more … top-six forwards in free-agency period and see who we might lure to Vancouver and who wants to be a part of this amazing team because I think we have the building blocks in place,' she said. Article content Vanišová was a masterclass acquisition by Hirshfeld last season, brought in from Montreal in a deal that saw bottom-pairing defender Amanda Boulier go the other way — an upgrade from blueline depth to a top-line, two-way winger. Article content In addition to leading the offensive charge, Vanišová brought a physical edge to Ottawa, racking up a league-leading 38 penalty minutes this season. That included the PWHL's first-ever fight with Boston's Jill Saulnier in February. Article content Article content The subtraction would leave a gaping hole in Ottawa's forward group, as she was the only Charge player to hit double-digits in goals (Emily Clark scored nine). Vanišová also became the first PWHL player to record multiple hat tricks in a season. Article content In the team's recent playoff run, she put up four points in eight games, scoring in Game 4 of the final against the Minnesota Frost. Article content As a pending free agent, Vanišová was exempt from the expansion draft process, making her the top available free agent by most accounts. Article content 'I'm kind of happy that I don't have to go to the expansion draft, to be honest, because I can decide on my own future,' she told Postmedia in May. 'So that's kind of nice.' Article content Coincidentally, this would be the second straight off-season in which the Charge has lost its leading goal scorer. Last year, Daryl Watts netted 10 goals before joining the Toronto Sceptres in free agency. Article content Ottawa has faced many criticisms that it isn't a destination city for players compared to other Canadian markets including Toronto, Montreal and now Vancouver. Those same concerns have long been echoed by the NHL's Ottawa Senators — GM Steve Staios and owner Michael Andlauer themselves recently acknowledged the hurdles of luring talent as a small-market team.
CBC
5 days ago
- 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
7 days ago
- 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.
New York Times
7 days ago
- Sport
- New York Times
PWHL expansion winners and losers: Vancouver and Seattle reshape the league
By the end of the Professional Women's Hockey League Expansion Draft it was clear that any list of winners and losers would be topped by the two new teams themselves. Based on the star power added during the five-day signing period and the additional elite talent drafted on Monday night, Seattle and Vancouver are – before even playing a single game – legitimate contenders. Advertisement The PWHL was determined to help its newest franchises stock themselves as well as they could with rules that heavily favored the expansion teams over its original six franchises. And both general managers — Cara Gardner Morey in Vancouver and Meghan Turner in Seattle — did just that. Nine Olympians, five first-round picks and five major award finalists over the league's first two seasons were either drafted or signed by Seattle and Vancouver. They're the obvious winners here, as well as women's hockey fans on the West Coast who will get to watch these teams hit the ice in 2025-26. The PWHL's original six teams, meanwhile, have lost … a lot. But that would make for a pretty boring list. So with the expansion draft complete, here are some of the biggest winners and losers (beyond the obvious) of the last week of roster building. With just two goals and eight points, Serdachny, it's fair to say, had a rookie season in Ottawa that fell short of the lofty expectations put on the No. 2 pick in the 2024 PWHL Draft, who some even thought could have been drafted No. 1 over Sarah Fillier. Initially playing in Ottawa's top-six, Serdachny moved down the lineup until she stuck on the fourth-line, playing as little as seven minutes in a playoff game against Minnesota. When the Charge — which protected forward Emily Clark, defender Ronja Savolainen and goalie Gwyneth Philips — left Serdachny unprotected, she signed one of the five cornerstone contracts with Seattle. In a press release, Turner said Serdachny is 'only beginning to tap into her full potential,' and is a 'tremendous addition to our group.' In a news conference last week, Serdachny made it clear she was looking forward to the change. 'This fresh start will be really, really good for me and a new opportunity to play under a new staff and with new teammates,' she said. Advertisement Turner has already referred to Serdachny as a top-six forward for the new club, where she could pencil in with other young, skilled forwards in Julia Gosling and Jessie Eldridge. Serdachny had a standout career at Colgate University – where she's the all-time leading scorer in program history – and has found a consistent role on Team Canada. She struggled in Ottawa, but there's definitely more to give. Even Ottawa GM Mike Hirshfeld knows that. 'I'm sure she'll be incredible and dynamic in Seattle,' he said in an interview with the Ottawa Citizen. 'I'm sure we'll be really upset that we lost her.' Ambrose was very open about her desire to stay in Montreal, and her anxiety that she might be on the move through the expansion draft process. 'I'd love to stay here,' she said during Montreal's final media availability last month. 'But it's out of my control.' If Ambrose was available in the draft, she'd have been a no-brainer selection. She was the 2024 Defender of the Year and actually improved on the defensive side of the puck this season. But with Cayla Barnes signing in Seattle and Jennifer Gardiner signing in Vancouver, Montreal was able to protect Ambrose with its fourth (and final) protection slot. The Victoire will be better for it next season, especially with the additional loss of defender Anna Wilgren, Barnes' most frequent defense partner, who was taken in the draft by Seattle. But the big winner is Ambrose, who gets to stay in Montreal, where she's played since 2018 in the now-defunct Canadian Women's Hockey League. Like Ambrose, Zumwinkle is among the winners of the night because she gets to stay put. Unlike Ambrose, however, Zumwinkle was not protected at all throughout the expansion process. After Minnesota lost Claire Thompson and Sophie Jaques in the signing window, the team protected rookie forward Britta Curl-Salemme with its fourth slot, leaving Zumwinkle available in the draft. Advertisement Perhaps her injury history, down season, or a potentially lofty contract was a deterrent for Seattle and Vancouver. Still, at her best, Zumwinkle is a strong power forward who can thrive in the PWHL's physical game and score goals in the dirty areas of the ice. She was seventh in league scoring last season, third in goals, and won Rookie of the Year over 2023 first-overall pick Taylor Heise. Protecting Curl-Salemme over Zumwinkle was a gamble that Minnesota ultimately won. While the back-to-back champions lost two Defender of the Year finalists, the Frost can at least run back a pretty similar forward group next season — with Kendall Coyne Schofield, Heise, Curl-Salemme, Zumwinkle and Kelly Pannek. Brooke McQuigge — who finished fifth on the team with eight goals — is a loss, but if Zumwinkle can get healthy and find her game again that should lessen the blow at the top of the forward lineup. Zumwinkle, meanwhile, will get to remain in her home state, where she's played hockey her entire career. Relatively speaking, the Toronto Sceptres look OK. Yes, the team lost a star in Sarah Nurse and its top-three draft picks from last year's draft. But every single team lost elite players over the last week and, for Toronto, it could have been worse. The Sceptres still have their MVP candidate and No. 1 defender Renata Fast, captain Blayre Turnbull and star forward Daryl Watts, who led the team in scoring last season. Only Marie-Philip Poulin — the best player in the world — has more career points in the PWHL than Watts, who also ranks third in all time goals behind Poulin and Natalie Spooner. Emma Maltais — a fan favorite — was protected on Monday night after Gosling was selected, which feels like a win for Toronto, despite the loss of a potential top-six power forward. Advertisement Beyond losing Megan Carter — a local, shutdown defender — Toronto's blue line was untouched, leaving the Sceptres with its top pair (Fast and Savannah Harmon) intact, Allie Munroe under contract and a spot open for Kali Flanagan to re-sign. Their goalie depth chart — Kristen Campbell and Raygan Kirk — is unchanged as well, though I wonder if the team will look for more consistency than Campbell has provided. Losing Nurse hurts, but GM Gina Kingsbury should have some cap space available to re-sign Spooner and Hannah Miller, should they choose to stay, and try to grab a top defender when free agency opens on June 16. Don't get me wrong, the Sceptres lost a lot — including skilled winger Izzy Daniel — but they might be the most well-equipped of the original six teams to perform well next season. It's hard to imagine a worse start to the expansion draft for the Ottawa Charge with the first two selections coming from the team's top-four. Ashton Bell, maybe Ottawa's best defender in the PWHL Finals, was taken first by Vancouver. When Seattle was on the clock, it took Aneta Tejralová, a solid, two-way second pair defender. The bright side was that teams weren't able to take any more players from the Charge after the first two selections. The damage was already done with two immediate hard hits to a team that already lost a star goalie (Emerance Maschmeyer) and an elite young talent (Serdachny). Save for Serdachny, Ottawa's forward group looks fine with Clark, captain Brianne Jenner and Gabbie Hughes all under contract. If Ottawa can re-sign top winger Tereza Vanišová and center Shiann Darkangelo, it could largely return the forward group that made the PWHL Finals this season. However, Ottawa currently only has two defenders under contract, Ronja Savolainen and 37-year-old Jocelyne Larocque, who just lost her d-partner in Bell. If the team cannot re-sign free agents Zoe Boyd and Jincy Roese, one of the team's legitimate strengths — depth on defense — is going to turn into an issue very quickly. Advertisement The New York Sirens finished last in the PWHL standings two years in a row, and just lost their No. 1 center, starting goalie, a top line winger and a depth center. Sure, they have the No. 1 pick in the entry draft later this month, and didn't lose a single defender to expansion. But the Sirens roster is looking pretty grim, with star forward Sarah Fillier — who GM Pascal Daoust still needs to convince to stick around long-term — left with a supporting cast of forwards who just haven't been good enough. New York's remaining forwards — Abby Roque, Noora Tulus, Elle Hartje, Emmy Fecteau and Paetyn Levis — combined for 12 goals last season, fewer than Fillier's own goal total and just one more than Carpenter, who was made available to sign in Seattle. Letting Eldridge go unprotected — in favor of defender Maja Nylén Persson with the fourth slot — was almost just as confounding, considering Eldridge is top-10 in all-time PWHL scoring, and has played well on a line with Fillier. Perhaps Daoust was looking to do a major reset of the roster after two disappointing seasons. But it's hard to imagine the Sirens digging out of the basement anytime soon. In an expansion draft with no shortage of tough decisions, perhaps no general manager was put in a worse position than Marmer, who was forced to choose between the future of the Boston organization and one of the best women's hockey players of all time. We know now that Marmer opted for the former, protecting forward Alina Müller over captain Hilary Knight, who signed with Seattle on Wednesday night. As shocking as it was to see Knight unprotected, it was a completely defensible decision, given Knight will turn 36 this summer and likely carries one of the league's larger cap hits. That Marmer had to make that decision at all speaks volumes about how unforgiving the PWHL's expansion rules were. Advertisement And not only did Marmer lose Knight, but also Seattle drafted 2024 fourth-overall pick Hannah Bilka with the third selection in the expansion draft, and fourth-round pick Sydney Bard. Seattle GM Meghan Turner also grabbed Boston's steady veteran defender Emily Brown, who Marmer probably hoped would slip through the cracks. But Turner, who was Marmer's assistant GM in Boston, knew exactly the value Brown could bring to her startup blue line. Marmer protected the future of the team in Müller, but she now also only has eight players under contract for next season, which is among the fewest in the league heading into free agency. Marmer will have a ton of work to do if she doesn't want the decision to lose Knight to be for naught. Gardner Morey prioritized building her team from the back-end and out, with four puck-moving defenders, and several young, gritty, two-way forwards. And outside of big signings such as Nurse, Jaques and Thompson, Vancouver's initial 12-player roster looks pretty affordable. We don't yet know exactly what players are making next season, but it's fair to assume that Rosenthal and McQuigge aren't paid quite as much as Seattle's big name selections like Gosling or Bilka. After the draft, Gardner Morey said the team is going to look for a few more top-six forwards, which tells us she probably has some decent cap room to go to work with during the league's next signing window. And with that in mind, grabbing elite depth players such as Denisa Křìžová and McQuigge makes a ton of sense, especially if Vancouver can go out and sign a skilled forward like Hannah Miller or Michela Cava in free agency. (Top photo of Danielle Serdachny and Sophie Jaques: Adam Bettcher / Getty Images)
CBC
10-06-2025
- Sport
- CBC
Ashton Bell, Julia Gosling among young stars selected in PWHL expansion draft
The original six PWHL teams gathered in Minnesota almost exactly one year ago last June for the league's second entry draft. The players chosen in the first round last year included top-pair defenders, power forwards, playmakers and goal scorers — all poised to be future stars in the PWHL. After the league's expansion process, all but one of those six players will be playing for the PWHL's newest teams in Vancouver and Seattle. Only superstar Sarah Fillier, who was protected by the New York Sirens, won't be on the move to the west coast. It's a snapshot of just how much young talent the league's two newest teams were able to accumulate during a roster-building process that included an expansion draft and exclusive signing window. The original six teams could only protect three players each to start. They were able to protect a fourth once the team gave up two players. The result is two brand new teams that could both seriously contend for the Walter Cup next season. The goal was to make sure Seattle and Vancouver would be competitive to maintain the league's parity, but both new teams surpassed the bar of keeping up with the existing teams. They already look to be among the deepest in the league. Meanwhile, the original six teams have gaping holes to fill, having just watched a significant amount of talent walk out the door. From the net out Vancouver general manager Cara Gardner Morey, who was a defender in her own playing career, has built her team's foundation from the net out, starting with long-time Team Canada backup goaltender, Emerance Maschmeyer. She also signed two of Walter Cup-champion Minnesota's best young defenders, Sophie Jaques and Claire Thompson, and used the first pick in the expansion draft on Monday to select Ashton Bell, a smooth-skating defender who blocked more shots than anyone else in the Ottawa Charge's run to the PWHL finals. All three are in contention for the Canadian Olympic team next February. Bell, a former forward, can contribute both offensively and defensively, but what she brings off the ice also appealed to Gardner Morey. "She's also one of those great teammates and great human beings who's just always showing gratitude and doing things the right way," the Vancouver GM said after Monday's expansion draft. "Her work ethic is outstanding." Up front, Vancouver will be led by superstar Sarah Nurse, a do-it-all type of player who has shown, when healthy, that she can score in this league. She tied for second in the league in both goals and points in the 2024 season. She's joined by a group of young, talented forwards, including Rookie of the Year candidate Jennifer Gardiner, Walter Cup champions Abby Boreen and Brooke McQuigge, and Izzy Daniel, who was the Patty Kazmaier Award winner as the best player in college hockey just one season ago. With the priority on building from the back first, Gardner Morey opted for 200-foot, depth players who exceeded expectations last season up front. "We just really went with a lot of grit, a lot of two-way forwards that can also score goals," Gardner Morey said. A stacked forward group Seattle, meanwhile, has a top-six forward group that could be the best in the league. Former New York Sirens sniper Alex Carpenter could centre the top line alongside MVP-nominee Hilary Knight and former Boston Fleet forward Hannah Bilka, a rookie with a high hockey IQ. Between Bilka's playmaking abilities and Carpenter and Knight's knack for shooting the puck, it's a line that promises to be dangerous. But then Seattle can roll out a second line that includes Jessie Eldridge, Danielle Serdachny and Julia Gosling, three players who have offensive ability and size. Seattle GM Meghan Turner, who wanted to build a team to withstand physicality, described that potential second line as a "powerhouse." "They have a lot of power in terms of their skating and their explosiveness," Turner said about those three players. "Each team is so physical and so I think size really can only help. All of these players have proven they can use their size to their advantage." Turner used her first pick in the expansion draft to select Aneta Tejralová, the Czech Republic national team captain who loves blocking shots. Her ability on the penalty kill, including her willingness to put her body in front of pucks, was a factor for Seattle. "Knowing that's something that is a specialty of hers, and just the way that she plays defence but also can transport the puck and be a good puck supporter, she's rock solid," Turner said. The Seattle roster is rounded out by Corinne Schroeder, one of the best goaltenders in the league over the past two seasons for the defensively-shaky New York Sirens. Original 6 teams left with holes As players pack their bags to head west and Seattle and Vancouver continue building, the original six teams will be looking to fill some of the holes left by expansion. The league spent months designing the rules with the goal of maintaining parity in a league where games are often decided by just one goal. "I think it was really critical that we got it right because decisions like this do shape the future of the league," PWHL executive vice president of hockey operations, Jayna Hefford, said last month. "For us, the priority is always about competitive balance." WATCH | PWHL Mic'd Up with Cayla Barnes: PWHL Mic'd Up: Montreal Victoire's Cayla Barnes 3 months ago Duration 5:31 Listen in to the best on-ice moments from American defender Cayla Barnes as the visiting Montreal Victoire lose to the Ottawa Charge 3-1. But the original six teams have work to do to compete with the league's newest franchise, at least on paper. Both teams that faced off for the Walter Cup last month lost two of their top four defenders, as did first-place Montreal. Last-place New York surrendered two of the team's top scoring forwards from last season, along with the starting goaltender. The Boston Fleet have significant holes up front without Knight and Bilka, and will need to name a new captain. Their GMs will have a chance to start rebuilding on June 16, when a window opens to sign free agents. The entry draft is set for June 24 in Ottawa, though the draft order isn't yet clear, aside from New York selecting first.
