Latest news with #HannahBilka
Reuters
19 hours ago
- Sport
- Reuters
Vancouver picks D Ashton Bell to open PWHL expansion draft
June 10 - Ottawa Charge defender Ashton Bell was selected by Vancouver with the first overall pick in the Professional Women's Hockey League expansion draft on Monday. Seattle then had the next two choices and selected Ottawa defender Aneta Tejralova and Boston Fleet forward Hannah Bilka. Bell, 25, had three goals and three assists in 27 games for Ottawa last season, giving her five goals and eight assists through two seasons (51 games) with the Charge. The University of Minnesota-Duluth product was part of Canada's gold-medal-winning 2022 Olympic team and its 2021, 2022 and 2024 championship squads in the IIHF Women's World Championships. Tejralova, 29, produced one goal and nine assists in 30 games last season after posting two goals and six assists in 23 games the prior campaign. She won bronze medals with the Czech Republic team at the 2022 and 2023 World Championships. Bilka, 24, is coming off a five-goal, six-assist rookie campaign in 16 games for the Fleet. The Ohio State alumna was on the United States' winning 2023 World Championships squad. A lottery win allowed Vancouver to either have the first pick or the second and third pick, and Vancouver general manager Cara Gardner Morey went for the former option. Following Seattle's picks at Nos. 2 and 3, the teams alternated making two selections apiece. Vancouver wound up choosing five forwards and two defenders, while Seattle picked four defenders and three forwards. The expansion draft came after both teams had an opportunity to sign up to five players left unprotected by the existing six clubs, and each team reached the limit. Seattle made a big splash by signing former Boston forward Hilary Knight, a four-time U.S. Olympian. Neither the Vancouver team nor the Seattle team has announced a nickname ahead joining the PWSL for the 2025-26 season. Vancouver's PWSL expansion draft picks D Ashton Bell, from Ottawa Charge F Brooke McQuigge, from Minnesota Frost F Abby Boreen, from Montreal Victoire F Izzy Daniel, from Toronto Sceptres F Gabby Rosenthal, New York Sirens F Denisa Krizova, from Minnesota Frost D Sydney Bard, from Boston Fleet Seattle's PWSL expansion draft picks D Aneta Tejralova, from Ottawa Charge F Hannah Bilka, from Boston Fleet F Jessie Eldridge, from New York Sirens F Julia Gosling, from Toronto Sceptres D Anna Wilgren, from Montreal Victoire D Megan Carter, from Toronto Sceptres D Emily Brown, from Boston Fleet Players signed by Vancouver D Claire Thompson, formerly with Minnesota Frost D Sophie Jaques, formerly with Minnesota Frost F Sarah Nurse, formerly with Toronto Sceptres G Emerance Maschmeyer, formerly with Ottawa Charge F Jennifer Gardiner, formerly with Montreal Victoire Players signed by Seattle F Hilary Knight, formerly with Boston Fleet F Danielle Serdachny, formerly with Ottawa Charge D Cayla Barnes, formerly with Montreal Victoire F Alex Carpenter, formerly with New York Sirens G Corinne Schroeder, formerly with New York Sirens --Field Level Media
Associated Press
a day ago
- Sport
- Associated Press
Seattle reunites Bilka with Knight in PWHL expansion draft; Vancouver opens by adding Ottawa D Bell
Forward Hannah Bilka was reunited in Seattle with former Boston Fleet captain Hilary Knight in the PWHL's expansion draft Monday night. Seattle and fellow league newcomer Vancouver took distinct approaches in continuing to build their respective identities during the seven-round draft. Seattle general manager Meghan Turner split her picks in selecting three forwards and four defensemen. Meanwhile, Vancouver GM Cara Gardner Morey chose five forwards and two defensemen, starting with the opening selection of Ottawa blueliner Ashton Bell. The expansion draft followed the PWHL's five-day exclusive signing period in which both teams signed their allowed maximum of five players. The order of selection was determined by a ball drawing, with Vancouver winning and Gardner Morey choosing to select Bell first. Seattle then had the next two picks in choosing Ottawa defenseman Aneta Tejralova and then Bilka. Each team then followed with two selections apiece, with Seattle getting the 14th and final pick. Seattle focused on adding offensive forwards to join the already signed trio of Knight, Alex Carpenter and Danielle Serdachny. Aside from Bilka, Boston's first pick in the 2024 draft, Seattle drafted New York forward Jessie Eldridge, who finished tied for fifth in the league with 24 points (nine goals, 15 assists) last season, and Toronto forward Julia Gosling, the Sceptres first-round pick in last year's draft. On defense, Seattle also chose Toronto's Megan Carter, Boston's Emily Brown and Montreal's Anna Wilgren, who is reunited with Victoire blueliner Cayla Barnes, who was signed last week. Brown's selection was notable from a Seattle perspective. Brown captured the attention of former WNBA Seattle Storm star Sue Bird, who was in attendance during Boston's neutral-site game against Montreal at Seattle in January. Bird took a picture of Brown in the penalty box with the caption, 'Bad Girl.' Fleet players eventually had the picture printed on T-shirts. In Vancouver, Bell and Boston's Sydney Bard join a blueline group that already includes the Minnesota offensive-minded tandem of Claire Thompson and Sophie Jaques. After selecting Bell, Vancouver went on a run of selecting five forwards, including Toronto's Izzy Daniel, who closed her senior season at Cornell in being selected the 2024 Patty Kazmaier award winner as women's hockey MVP. Daniel joins former Toronto teammate Sarah Nurse, who signed with Vancouver last week. Vancouver also selected the Minnesota forward tandem of Brooke McQuigge and Denisa Krizova, Montreal forward Abby Boreen and New York forward Gabby Rosenthal. Both expansion franchises are working under the same salary-cap restrictions as the league's other six teams, though the PWHL does not reveal player salaries. And both enjoy an advantageous head start with the league limiting existing teams to initially protecting only three players, before allowed to add a fourth player to the list after a team loses two from its roster. Each of the existing teams lost four players apiece, with the rules favoring the expansion teams by allowing them to be competitive from the start of the PWHL's third season, expected to open in November. With each having 12-player rosters, the expansion teams now join the rest of the league in taking part in the PWHL draft on June 24 in Ottawa. ___ AP women's hockey:
New York Times
a day ago
- Sport
- New York Times
Ashton Bell goes No. 1 in PWHL expansion draft as Vancouver, Seattle make picks
The Professional Women's Hockey League's newest teams in Seattle and Vancouver filled out their rosters in the league's first-ever expansion draft on Monday. Vancouver took defender Ashton Bell from the Ottawa Charge with the No. 1 pick after winning the lottery and getting to choose between drafting No. 1 or second and third in the snake draft format. Advertisement The seven-round draft saw 14 players taken from the PWHL's six existing franchises, including two first-round picks from the 2024 entry draft (Hannah Bilka and Julia Gosling). The full list of players selected is as follows: Ashton Bell, 25, Defender (Ottawa Charge) Brooke McQuigge, 25, Forward (Minnesota Frost) Abby Boreen, 25, Forward (Montreal Victoire) Izzy Daniel, 24, Forward (Toronto Sceptres) Gabby Rosenthal, 25, Forward (New York Sirens) Denisa Křížová, 30, Forward (Minnesota Frost) Sydney Bard, 24, Defender (Boston Fleet) Aneta Tejralová, 29, Defender (Ottawa Charge) Hannah Bilka, 24, Forward (Boston Fleet) Jessie Eldridge, 27, Forward (New York Sirens) Julia Gosling, 25, Forward (Toronto Sceptres) Anna Wilgren, 25, Defender (Montreal Victoire) Megan Carter, 24, Defender (Toronto Sceptres) Emily Brown, 26, Defender (Boston Fleet)
Yahoo
14-02-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
With a packed PWHL schedule, is there still room for a Canada-U.S. Rivalry Series?
An eight-day international break gave some PWHL players a chance to rest and recover from lingering injuries. But for two of the league's biggest stars, time away playing for their countries at the Canada-U.S. Rivalry Series led to stints on long-term injured reserve. Both Toronto Sceptres forward Sarah Nurse and Boston Fleet rookie Hannah Bilka were hurt in game 4 of the annual series, which Canada won in a decisive fifth game in Summerside, P.E.I. last week. The series was created in the 2018-19 season, before the PWHL existed and when the top female players had fewer opportunities to play meaningful games. Introduced after the 2018 Olympics, it was aimed at capitalizing on one of the best rivalries in all of sport and doing so in cities across North America that don't always get to see their national team play. Shortened to five games from last season's seven, this iteration included stops in Halifax, San Jose, West Valley City, Utah and Boise, Idaho, in addition to Summerside. But is it worth it for players to add extra games and travel to their schedule on top of a 30-game season in a very physical league? Is it worth the possibility of a player getting injured and missing key games for their PWHL team? Several players say they still see a role for the Canada-U.S. Rivalry Series, even as their PWHL schedules have ramped up. (Darren Calabrese/The Canadian Press) Several players and staff who spoke to CBC Sports before Nurse and Bilka were injured all said they still see a purpose for something similar. It comes as the players gear up for the Olympics in Italy in 2026, which will happen in the middle of the PWHL season. "It's an opportunity for us to represent our country and every national team minute is a great minute," said American Kendall Coyne Schofield, who captains the Minnesota Frost. 'We fought so hard for it' International breaks are written into the collective bargaining agreement between the players and the PWHL. The league must allow any player who qualifies to compete in the Olympics, world championship, which typically takes place in April, or "other international tournaments/competitions." The league also isn't allowed to schedule games during international breaks, the agreement says, and must work with national governing bodies on scheduling when it comes to managing league play and international competition The break earlier this month wasn't just for the Canada-U.S. Rivalry Series. It also allowed some players to help their countries qualify for a spot at the Olympics next year in qualification tournaments, and for the finale of the Euro Women's Hockey Tour. While there's no question Olympic qualification is a worthwhile reason to leave a league mid-season, is the Rivalry Series worth it? The winner gets a trophy and bragging rights — which can't be understated in one of the fiercest rivalries out there — but it isn't a world championship or the interviewed by CBC Sports said they still see a purpose for the series, even with the PWHL in its second season. "One-hundred per cent, I still see a role for it," Montreal Victoire defender Erin Ambrose said during training camp in November. "I will never not feel honoured to be a part of Hockey Canada, to be able to represent this country." American Hilary Knight also said she sees a role for the Rivalry Series. "I would never want to subtract programming because we fought so hard for it," the Boston Fleet captain said. "But intentional programming, I think, is important. I think we're starting to see that evolve as time goes on. But it wasn't too long ago that we didn't have a league and that's why [the Rivalry Series] was so important." Team Canada to have 'training blocks' next season Neither USA Hockey nor Hockey Canada has announced plans for a 2025-26 Rivalry Series leading up to the Olympics next February. Hockey Canada GM Gina Kingsbury said the team will have training blocks as they prepare for the Olympics. There are plans to bring prospective Team Canada players together as much as possible before the season. There will be a few games against the U.S. as the team readies for Italy. But it will be fewer than we saw in the past, when hopefuls would move to Calgary for months for "centralization" ahead of the Olympics. A loud crowd cheered on Team Canada in game 4 of the Rivalry Series in Halifax last week. The Canadians lost the game 2-1 to the U.S. in a shootout. (Darren Calabrese/The Canadian Press) "We won't be as focused on games as we were in other centralizations," Kingsbury said in an interview with CBC Sports. "Those were the only games we would have to prepare for the Games. With the PWHL in place, our players are going to be playing probably 16, 17, 18 games prior to going to the Olympic Games. We feel that's probably substantial enough for them to be game ready for the Olympic Games." What Hockey Canada does want to accomplish during the training blocks is having their team spend time together both on and off the ice. "I think our chemistry and our culture only gets enhanced with us being together," said Kingsbury, who is also GM of the Toronto Sceptres. Rivalry hasn't thawed That's where Kingsbury and several players see value in continuing to have the Rivalry Series or something like it. The first three Rivalry Series games this season were scheduled in November before PWHL training camps opened. Speaking to Team Canada players when they got together again in February, Kingsbury said they felt even that span of time was too long to have the team apart. "Sometimes when it's just one time a year that you get to come together as a group, that gets to be kind of stressful," American Taylor Heise said. "So I love the little touch points we get and I know leading up to the Olympics, we'll get a few more. But I do think that this is a very special thing." The rivalry between Canada and the United States in women's hockey is one of the fiercest in all of sports, and hasn't thawed since the creation of the PWHL. (Kyle Green/The Associated Press) For those who think the rivalry has died down over the years, with Americans and Canadians sharing locker rooms in the PWHL, lots of players will tell you that's not the case. Far from it. "We have friendships off the ice," Canadian forward Blayre Turnbull said. "But when you represent your country and you're competing against your enemy in the United States, you'll lay it all on the line and you'll do whatever it takes, regardless of who you're up against."
