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CTV News
4 hours 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
03-06-2025
- Business
- New York Times
PWHL releases expansion draft protected list: Hilary Knight, Sarah Nurse go unprotected
The list of players protected in the PWHL's expansion draft for Seattle and Vancouver was released on Tuesday. Each of the league's six existing teams were permitted to protect three players from being selected in the expansion draft, or signing during the pre-draft signing window. Only players signed through 2025-26, or whose rights remain with a team, could be protected. Pending free agents are exempt from selection. Seattle and Vancouver will have a five-day window, beginning on Wednesday, to sign a maximum of five players. An unprotected player or someone on an expiring deal is eligible to sign during this window. During the expansion draft (June 9) both new franchises must select at least seven players to reach a 12-player roster. If a team enters the draft with fewer signed players from the signing window, it will be granted additional selections to reach 12. Regardless, each of the PWHL's six existing teams will lose four players from their 2024-25 rosters in the process. Protected Marie-Philip Poulin (F) Laura Stacey (F) Ann-Renée Desbiens (G) Available Protected Renata Fast (D) Blayre Turnbull (F) Daryl Watts (F) Protected Emily Clark (F) Ronja Savolainen (D) Gwyneth Philips (G) Available Protected Taylor Heise (F) Kendall Coyne Schofield (F) Lee Stecklein (D) Available Protected Aerin Frankel (G) Megan Keller (D) Alina Müller (F) Available Protected Sarah Fillier (F) Ella Shelton (D) Micah Zandee-Hart (D) Available (Photo of Sarah Nurse: Maddie Meyer / Getty Images)
Yahoo
26-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Toronto Sceptres defender Renata Fast — up for PWHL top defender and MVP — didn't think she'd reach this level
For hockey player Renata Fast, the last two years of the Professional Women's Hockey League (PWHL) have been "more than we ever imagined," and an opportunity to grow as a player in ways she never thought possible. Fast, who's from Burlington, Ont., and lives there today, plays defence for the Toronto Sceptres. Though her team was eliminated from the playoffs on May 14, Fast distinguished herself in the league's second year, becoming a finalist for two awards. Alongside Minnesota Frost teammates Sophie Jaques and Claire Thompson, Fast is up for the PWHL's top defender distinction. And alongside Montreal Victoire captain Marie-Philip Poulin and Boston Fleet forward Hilary Knight, she's also in the running for league MVP. Speaking before the league announced her MVP candidacy, the 30-year-old told CBC Hamilton it was a "huge honour" to be named one of the defenders of the year. "It's always nice to have a little bit of individual acknowledgement," she said. "I have to give a lot of credit to my teammates for the compete that they've shown every day in practice to push me to be better, as well as my coaches. I think they've put a big investment in me as a person and a player to see how far my game can go." Fast had six goals and 16 assists in 30 games this season, tying Jaques for the scoring lead among defenders. She led the league in hits (63). With a total of 739 minutes and 45 seconds of play, she was on the ice more than any player in the league, averaging 24:39 per game. According to a PWHL news release, award winners will be announced June 25 at an event in Ottawa. The league's finals are still underway, with the defending champions Minnesota Frost playing the Ottawa Charge in a best-of-five series. "Obviously, we wanted to win that Walter Cup so it was a disappointing finish [for the Sceptres]," Fast said, but it was a "great" regular season with her team coming in second. "Every night's a battle," Fast said. "I think we learned a lot and we'll be ready to go for year three as well." Next year is set to be another big one for the league, which is rapidly growing in popularity, averaging 7,500 fans per game last season compared to last season's 5,500, according to the PWHL. This past season, teams had names and unique brands for the first time, games became viewable on more platforms with Prime Video streaming some, and PWHL teams became a big part of the latest instalment of the popular NHL video game franchise, with playable rosters that include Fast. The league is now expanding to add two teams in Vancouver and Seattle for next season. The six existing teams will each lose four players as part of a June expansion draft, meaning rosters will look quite different next season. The coming change has been the source of some consternation for players left wondering where they'll be next year. Fast said knowing her team is going to change made the end of this season harder. "It's great for the league. Obviously, it is a little bit disappointing to know that our core won't be together in the future." WATCH | The PWHL expansion draft explained: Fast is an Olympian and represented Canada nationally before the league's start in 2023. Still, Fast said, she didn't think she'd reach the skill level she has since. "I'm very thankful that it's a time in my career that I've been able to actually play in [the PWHL]," Fast said. Players in the league have said being able to compete professionally has opened up the opportunity for advancement in a way not possible before. In 2024, Hamilton's Kayla Vespa, who plays with the New York Sirens, told CBC Hamilton that before joining the PWHL, she was playing hockey in the evenings then working as an overnight snowplow driver — a demanding schedule. "I want to play hockey and I also wanted to obviously have a realistic living, paying job and whatnot. So I did both. Now with this league and the salaries, it's just been incredible," Vespa said at the time. Fast said having consistent training, high-end coaching and regular competition has allowed her to excel. She describes her style as "aggressive, in your face, shut-down defence." Fast is also fast, as evidenced by a breakaway goal she scored in overtime against the Frost back in February. Picking up a blocked shot in the Sceptre's zone, she raced past the opposing team's defenders, winning the game with three seconds to spare. WATCH | Renata Fast's late overtime winner lifts Sceptres over Frost on Feb. 11: "I think I can use my foot speed and and my edge work to my advantage, taking away time and space from opponents. … I know that's what's gotten me this far in my career," Fast said. Whereas her role on Team Canada was to shut down opposing teams' top players, Fast said there's an onus on her to play more offensively with the Sceptres. "It's been two years of learning the offensive side of my game, the risks that I can take knowing that I still need to be pretty stingy defensively. I felt that this year I managed that pretty well and had success on both ends of the ice." Cale Makar of the Colorado Avalanche and Quinn Hughes of the Vancouver Canucks are two defenders Fast enjoys watching to learn from, she said, and two of her long-time inspirations are Olympians Cheryl Pounder and Becky Kellar. The pair used to run hockey camps that Fast attended and now, she sees them regularly as they commentate on PWHL games. "I wouldn't have even known the opportunities that are out there in sport if it wasn't for that camp I went to," Fast said. In a "full circle moment," Fast now runs her own hockey camps for up-and-comers, teaching alongside teammate Emma Maltais, who's also from Burlington. As of publication, Fast's website says her 2025 camps sold out "in minutes" with limited spots remaining for goalies. "It's been incredible to be able to give back in the community that we're from and engage with a lot of the young girls that are playing," Fast said. "I think we've had some incredible bonds with some of those young girls and then to watch them develop over the last kind of couple years has been really neat."
CBC
22-05-2025
- Sport
- CBC
PWHL expansion draft explainer: How it works and what's at stake
Social Sharing As the Montreal Victoire players gathered with reporters on Tuesday, everyone seemed to acknowledge the same reality: change was coming, and the same group wouldn't be back next year. It's not unique to the Victoire, which lost to the Ottawa Charge in four games in the semifinals last week. The league will hold an expansion draft to help build new teams in Seattle and Vancouver, which begin play next season. It means every team will lose stars, putting rosters across the league into a blender. "Every time you lose in those big moments, it's emotional," Victoire captain Marie-Philip Poulin told CBC's Jay Turnbull and other reporters gathered at locker clean out day on Tuesday. "You go through so much with your team as individuals. You want to do well for your team. It is very sad." WATCH | Montreal Victoire reflect on playoff loss, expansion: Montreal Victoire reflect on semifinal loss to Ottawa Charge, upcoming PWHL expansion 2 days ago Duration 1:48 As players cleaned out their lockers, they looked back on the 2024-25 PWHL season and what's to come with the league's expansion. The expansion draft is set for at June 9 at 8:30 p.m. ET. Here's how the process will work, how we got here and how it could affect teams and players. The protection list Each team will only be able to protect three players from expansion, to start. Those lists are due on June 3 at 12 p.m. ET. It's a tiny number, and one that seemed to send shock waves through team fan bases over the weekend. The idea is to make sure Seattle and Vancouver can be competitive from the beginning. Parity has been a key pillar of the league since it launched, and that's come with success. More than half of the league's games have been decided by one goal or a shootout, and three teams finished tied in the points standings this season. The league spent months working on these rules, executive vice president of hockey operations, Jayna Hefford, said ahead of Game 1 of the Walter Cup finals. "It was really critical that we got it right because decisions like this do shape the future of the league," she said. "For us, the priority is always about competitive balance." The league also negotiated with the players' association throughout the process, as well as general managers, coaches, the league's advisory board and others. Hefford acknowledged on Tuesday that the rules may not be popular among fans of existing teams. "We understand a lot of people will have questions about the process and of course an affinity towards their teams and their favourite players," Hefford said. "But we also know this is such an exciting time of growth for women's hockey and for the PWHL. It's important to remember that all teams here will be growing under the same salary cap and the same rules." Only players who are under contract or team control next season have to be protected. That means pending free agents, like Toronto's Natalie Spooner or Hannah Miller, for example, can't be taken in the expansion draft. The signing window After the protection lists are submitted, the Seattle and Vancouver teams have a five-day window to speak with and potentially sign up to five unprotected players each. The expansion teams can also sign players who are on expiring contracts. The idea, Hefford said, is to give players a bit more power over where they're going to sign, especially if they think they could be selected in the expansion draft. "It's their decision at the end of the day, but we definitely had a little bit of an impact on what we thought was best for the players, especially in terms of free agents," said Laura Stacey, who is the Victoire's player representative on the players' association. Once a team has given up two players, either through the signing window or the draft itself, the team can protect a fourth player. The negotiation window closes on June 8 at 5 p.m. ET. Draft day - June 9 It's not yet clear whether Seattle or Vancouver will select first, but both teams will alternate picks until they each reach 12 players. If a team comes into the draft with more signed players than the other, then they may have extra picks to get to the magic 12 number. The league has yet to name a general manager for Vancouver. Seattle will be built from scratch by Meghan Turner, who's been the assistant general manager with the Boston Fleet for the last two seasons. By the end of the expansion draft process, existing teams will each have lost four players. Charge, Frost keep focus on Walter Cup final after expansion draft announcement Terms of players' salaries aren't made public in the PWHL, but it's safe to say the new teams can't draft a team full of superstars and stay under the salary cap. Still, there's no doubt the process will end with existing teams having big holes in their lineups to fill. For Montreal, it could undo what was a strong entry draft in 2024. The Victoire added defenders Cayla Barnes and Anna Wilgren, as well as rookie of the year nominee Jennifer Gardiner, who is from British Columbia. "We are most probably going to lose some of those players that we drafted, we picked, we evaluated, we developed this year," said Montreal GM Danièle Sauvageau, who added that her team hasn't decided which three players to protect yet. "But they're going to be playing in this league and this is what we have to be proud of because at the end of the day, we are here to grow the league and we are here to build the market that is growing the league as well." The PWHL is a single-entity league, which means every team has the same owner. In other words, what helps make the expansion teams in Seattle and Vancouver successful will help lift the other six teams, too. "It's never fun to hear but again, it's part of professional sport," Poulin said about the prospect of losing teammates. "There's two teams coming in. It's exciting. There are going to be more women playing hockey." Anxiety and excitement For players, especially those whose seasons have ended, the next two to three weeks are full of unknowns. Will they return to the same team next season? Or will they be moving across the country? Until those questions are answered, players can't make big life decisions, nor can general managers fully plan for the upcoming PWHL entry draft, which is set for June 24 in Ottawa. For defender Erin Ambrose, who has a year remaining in her contract with the Victoire, it could mean leaving a city and team she has come to love and regard as family. Like others around the league, she said she's trying to focus on the bigger picture — the same way players did when they vowed not to play professionally until they could create a sustainable league, or when the PWHL launched in the summer of 2023 and players waited to see what the future would hold. "There's a lot of anxiety around it," Ambrose said. "But I also am really excited because it means that our league is doing something good. It means that we are growing as a professional league. It's an unfortunate situation because I would love to stay here, but it is out of my control."
National Post
17-05-2025
- Sport
- National Post
'Funny' hometown heroine Rebecca Leslie leads Ottawa Charge to new PWHL heights
At what point over the winter did anyone imagine the Ottawa Charge would kick off the May 24 weekend by reducing the best women's hockey player on the planet to tears? Article content 'This one hurts right now,' an emotional Marie-Philip Poulin said after her Montreal Victoire's season was ended by the Charge at TD Place on Friday night. 'And it will.' Article content Ottawa advanced to the Walter Cup final against the defending-champion Minnesota Frost because it held Poulin — the greatest goal scorer in the PWHL's brief history and captain of both the Victoire and Canada's national team — to one goal on 27 shots over the four-game opening-round series. Article content Article content 'We came (up) short … I came (up) short,' Poulin said. 'And the power play … A lot of things didn't come up. It's pretty fresh right now, and it's a lot.' Article content As stunning as Poulin's lack of production was, who had the only locally grown product ever to wear the Charge jersey scoring what, at this point, has to be the biggest goal in franchise history? Article content Rebecca Leslie, who had just one goal over 27 games this season, gave Ottawa a lead it would never relinquish at the two-minute mark of the series clincher. Article content 'Becca's goal, getting us up early, just gave us a lot of confidence,' said Emily Clark, who skated around Poulin on her way to netting the winner in the first minute of the third period. 'It kind of allowed us to take a deep breath early on and play our game the whole way through.' Article content Leslie had three goals in 29 games last season for Toronto, including one in the deciding game of a first-round playoff loss to Minnesota. Article content But nothing compared to her first shift on Friday, when she broke up a play in the defensive zone and then finished off a 2-on-1 break with Anna Meixner (who, with two points this season, had just one less than Leslie) to get the ball rolling towards an outcome that prevented the series from going back to Montreal for a fifth and deciding game. Article content Article content 'We work hard all year to be in these moments,' Leslie said. 'And I think Meixie and I and (third-line centre Katerina Mrazova) have been playing really well this series. We've just tried to find a way to produce and be that depth scoring for our team. So, obviously, it felt really special to do that.' Article content Being a hometown heroine with so many friends and family members among the 8,012 in attendance was pure gravy. Article content 'It's a dream come true,' Leslie said of playing for the Charge. 'I have to pinch myself every day. I grew up a 67's season-seat member, so I've been to a lot of games in this arena, but I don't think I've ever seen so many fans or it being so loud. I think we all love to represent the city, and we take great pride in it, and to continue playing here in the playoffs is really special.' Article content Leslie's point totals in her first season after signing as a free agent with the Charge didn't properly portray her worth to the team. Article content 'She's just a composed player,' head coach Carla MacLeod said. 'She's obviously got speed and skill, we knew that coming in, and a veteran experience level. She's built for this kind of moment. This one tonight, that's Becca Leslie for me. She just drives the back post and she's rewarded.
