Latest news with #EllenBond
Yahoo
06-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Where Do The New York Sirens Go From Here?
The New York Sirens celebrate a goal - Photo @ Ellen Bond Statistically speaking, the New York Sirens showed a marginal improvement from year one to year two, but it wasn't enough to get them out of the PWHL basement, nor into the playoffs. Where the Sirens improved was in their winning percentage. In year one they finished with a 0.361 winning percentage, which they improved to 0.411 in year two. They also improved on their goals for / goals against differential finishing year one -14 and year two at only -9. Special teams remained a strong point for the Sirens finishing second in the league in power play percentage, and sitting tops in the PWHL on the penalty kill. Individually, the chemistry between Sarah Fillier and Alex Carpenter was unmistakable, and it also resulted in a significant boost in output for Jessie Eldridge. While this connection serve the Sirens well moving into 2025-26, the offensive punch Fillier added was slightly mitigated by reductions in output from Carpenter and Ella Shelton, and the fact no other rookie made a noticeable offensive impact. The return of Micah Zandee-Hart to full form was a welcomed boost to New York's blueline, and Corinne Schroeder remained one of the league's best in net. That's the good news. Time For The Bad News The New York Sirens looked like they had a draft to remember. They loaded up on talent beginning with Fillier, picking Maja Nylen Persson, and Noora Tulus. Nylen Persson had a good season and will take another step next year. She ended her year on long term injured reserve missing the World Championships as well. Tulus was underutilized and was never able to fully adapt to North American ice in her first season outside Europe. She's a likely candidate for a break out season next year whether it's with New York, or an expansion team. New York signed most of their draft picks from last year to multi-year contracts, but not all. The team may choose to move on from Gabby Rosenthal who despite being picked high, going 19th overall to New York, only managed four points and was unable to elevate her role beyond a bottom six role. Elle Hartje played well for New York, but didn't score a goal. New York will have a chance to sprinkle in new talent, but they also have the most players under multi-year contract in the league with 14. It will minimize their ability to make a significant impact on their roster especially considering Fillier and defender Ally Simpson are among their unsigned players, who New York still has their rights. That means there are only five spots, four for skaters open on the Sirens' roster. New York should be able to get 2-3 forwards who can step into their roster in the opening rounds of the draft, and add another defender somewhere else. If there's one blessing to these roster spots being locked up, it's that New York will lose a group of them in the expansion draft, and they have fewer cornerstone players worth protecting. The biggest area of loss New York can expect is on their blueline where they look destined to lose a quality blueliner. Is there hope in New York? Despite the poor finish, New York was a tougher team to play this season. They showed moments of brilliance, and looked like they were on the verge of finding their way. In the end, their forward depth just couldn't keep up with the rest of the league. Greg Fargo now has a year under his belt with the Sirens, which should help, and it's likely New York will be able to add either Kristyna Kaltounkova or Casey O'Brien through the draft, which will make an immense difference up front. New York also showed positive signs
Yahoo
08-04-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Ottawa's Stars Set to Charge Into Women's Worlds in Czechia
Tereza Vanisova carries the puck for Czechia at the World Championships - Photo @ Ellen Bond The 2025 IIHF Women's World Championship, taking place in Czechia for the first time, will once again feature a strong Ottawa Charge presence, with current and former players competing across six national teams. Advertisement Canada's roster includes four Charge standouts: veteran defender Jocelyne Larocque, along with forwards Brianne Jenner, Emily Clark and Danielle Serdachny. Goaltender Emerance Maschmeyer, a regular for Team Canada and Ottawa's starter, was sidelined due to injury and placed on LTIR and was replaced by Ève Gascon. Team USA will see rookie goaltender Gwyneth Philips join the team for the first time. Philips was outstanding during the most recent Rivalry Series and has looked stellar with Ottawa, especially in Maschmeyer's absence. She'll be joined by former Charge players Savannah Harmon and Hayley Scamurra. Finland's blueline will once again be anchored by Ronja Savolainen, a steady presence for both her national team and the Charge. Czechia, the host nation, will feature defender Aneta Tejralová and forward Tereza Vanišová, along with Charge head coach Carla MacLeod, who returns behind the Czech bench. Katerina Mrázová has also been named to the roster, but has been battling injuries for much of the year. Advertisement Former Ottawa players Akane Shiga (Japan) and Fanni Garát-Gasparics (Hungary) will also represent their respective countries. Anna Meixner will also compete with Austria this week at the Division 1A World Championships. Notably absent this year are Ashton Bell (Canada) and Gabbie Hughes (USA), both left off their national rosters despite their national team experience. With one of the most internationally experienced lineups, Ottawa, who currently sit in the fourth and final playoff spot, will look to leverage the valuable lessons learned from the World Championship and bring that momentum back to the Nation's Capital for a crucial final stretch of the PWHL season, with a playoff spot on the line.
