Latest news with #ProfessionalWomen'sHockeyLeague
Toronto Star
4 hours ago
- Sport
- Toronto Star
Women's hockey is on the rise in Pacific Northwest, with young girls excited about PWHL's arrival
SEATTLE (AP) — Elly Garcia-Dudek can't help but gaze out toward the ice during hockey practices at the Kraken Community Iceplex. The 12-year-old Garcia-Dudek is a big fan of women's national team stars like Hilary Knight, who starred for the Boston Fleet of the Professional Women's Hockey League last season. Pretty soon, Garcia-Dudek – who started playing through the Seattle Kraken's Learn to Play program — won't have to look across the country for role models like Knight.
Hamilton Spectator
16 hours ago
- Sport
- Hamilton Spectator
Vancouver takes defender Ashton Bell first overall in PWHL expansion draft
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 The Canadian Press was first published June 9, 2025.
Hamilton Spectator
5 days ago
- Sport
- Hamilton Spectator
PWHL Vancouver adds goaltender Maschmeyer, forward Nurse
VANCOUVER - Vancouver's Professional Women's Hockey League team continued to add to its initial roster Thursday by signing goaltender Emerance Maschmeyer to a two-year contract and forward Sarah Nurse to a one-year deal. Maschmeyer spent the last two seasons with the Ottawa Charge. She was one of the franchise's three foundational signings in the PWHL's inaugural season, but she sustained a season-ending lower-body injury in March. Gwyneth Philips was excellent in relief as the Charge advanced to the Walter Cup final, and the 30-year-old Maschmeyer was left unprotected by Ottawa heading into the exclusive signing period and expansion draft to stock the rosters of the teams in Vancouver and Seattle that start play in 2026. Maschmeyer from Bruderheim, Alta., had 15 wins with two shutouts, a goals-against-average of 2.42 and save percentage of .914 over two seasons in Ottawa. Nurse was one of the Toronto Sceptres first three signings. She had six goals and eight assists in 21 games last season, despite missing nearly two months with injury. The 30-year-old from Hamilton added one assist in four playoff contests before the Sceptres were ousted from the semifinals by the Minnesota Frost, who went on to win the Walter Cup for the second year in a row. Nurse — cousin of WNBA star Kia Nurse and Edmonton Oilers defender Darnell Nurse — is a two-time Olympian, winning gold for Canada at the 2022 Games in Beijing and bringing home silver from Pyeongchang in 2018. The moves were another splash by Vancouver general manager Cara Gardner Morey, who opened the signing period Wednesday by luring defenders Claire Thompson and Sophie Jaques away from the Frost. Both players are finalists for the league's defender of the year award. 'Joining Vancouver is an incredible opportunity, and I'm thrilled to be a part of such an exciting chapter of the league's expansion,' Maschmeyer said in a release. 'Vancouver has proven to be a vibrant hockey city and I'm thrilled to play in front of such passionate fans. I'm aligned with Cara's vision and values and honoured to have the opportunity to help build this organization's culture from the ground up.' Both players were on Canada's Olympic championship team at the 2022 Beijing Games. Nurse has also represented Canada at six women's world championships, winning three gold medals, while Maschmeyer has played at three worlds. 'I am so honoured to be joining PWHL Vancouver, finally bringing professional women's hockey to the West Coast,' Nurse said in a release. 'I already got a taste of the passion last year during the Takeover Tour and can't wait to experience that daily.' The Charge also lost forward Danielle Serdachny to Seattle. As a result, they were able to add American forward Gabbie Hughes as a fourth protected player. The Montreal Victoire also lost their first player to the expansion process, with Seattle signing defender Cayla Barnes to a three-year deal. Barnes, from Eastvale, Calif., tied for the Victoire lead in scoring among defenders and ranked fifth among all PWHL rookies with 13 points (two goals, 11 assists) in 30 games. Expansion teams have an exclusive window to sign a maximum of five players up until 5 p.m. ET Sunday. The expansion draft is Monday. Seattle and Vancouver will select a minimum of seven players until each has reached a 12-player roster. This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 5, 2025.
Global News
5 days ago
- Sport
- Global News
PWHL Vancouver signs Sarah Nurse as roster begins to take shape
Vancouver's Professional Women's Hockey League team continued to add to its initial roster Thursday by signing goaltender Emerance Maschmeyer to a two-year contract and forward Sarah Nurse to a one-year deal. Maschmeyer spent the last two seasons with the Ottawa Charge. She was one of the franchise's three foundational signings in the PWHL's inaugural season, but she sustained a season-ending lower-body injury in March. Gwyneth Philips was excellent in relief as the Charge advanced to the Walter Cup final, and the 30-year-old Maschmeyer was left unprotected by Ottawa heading into the exclusive signing period and expansion draft to stock the rosters of the teams in Vancouver and Seattle that start play in 2026. Maschmeyer from Bruderheim, Alta., had 15 wins with two shutouts, a goals-against-average of 2.42 and save percentage of .914 over two seasons in Ottawa. 0:55 PWHL announce Vancouver expansion team for 2025-2026 season Nurse was one of the Toronto Sceptres first three signings. She had six goals and eight assists in 21 games last season, despite missing nearly two months with injury. Story continues below advertisement The 30-year-old from Hamilton added one assist in four playoff contests before the Sceptres were ousted from the semifinals by the Minnesota Frost, who went on to win the Walter Cup for the second year in a row. Get daily National news Get the day's top news, political, economic, and current affairs headlines, delivered to your inbox once a day. Sign up for daily National newsletter Sign Up By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy Nurse — cousin of WNBA star Kia Nurse and Edmonton Oilers defender Darnell Nurse — is a two-time Olympian, winning gold for Canada at the 2022 Games in Beijing and bringing home silver from Pyeongchang in 2018. The moves were another splash by Vancouver general manager Cara Gardner Morey, who opened the signing period Wednesday by luring defenders Claire Thompson and Sophie Jaques away from the Frost. Both players are finalists for the league's defender of the year award. 'Joining Vancouver is an incredible opportunity, and I'm thrilled to be a part of such an exciting chapter of the league's expansion,' Maschmeyer said in a release. 'Vancouver has proven to be a vibrant hockey city and I'm thrilled to play in front of such passionate fans. I'm aligned with Cara's vision and values and honoured to have the opportunity to help build this organization's culture from the ground up.' 2:35 PWHL vice-president on why Vancouver was picked as expansion team Both players were on Canada's Olympic championship team at the 2022 Beijing Games. Nurse has also represented Canada at six women's world championships, winning three gold medals, while Maschmeyer has played at three worlds. Story continues below advertisement 'I am so honoured to be joining PWHL Vancouver, finally bringing professional women's hockey to the West Coast,' Nurse said in a release. 'I already got a taste of the passion last year during the Takeover Tour and can't wait to experience that daily.' The Charge also lost forward Danielle Serdachny to Seattle. As a result, they were able to add American forward Gabbie Hughes as a fourth protected player. The Montreal Victoire also lost their first player to the expansion process, with Seattle signing defender Cayla Barnes to a three-year deal. Barnes, from Eastvale, Calif., tied for the Victoire lead in scoring among defenders and ranked fifth among all PWHL rookies with 13 points (two goals, 11 assists) in 30 games. Expansion teams have an exclusive window to sign a maximum of five players up until 5 p.m. ET Sunday. The expansion draft is Monday. Seattle and Vancouver will select a minimum of seven players until each has reached a 12-player roster.
Toronto Star
5 days ago
- Business
- Toronto Star
PWHL Vancouver signs former Charge goaltender Maschmeyer to two-year contract.
VANCOUVER - Vancouver's Professional Women's Hockey League team continued to add to its initial roster Thursday by signing goaltender Emerance Maschmeyer to a two-year contract. Maschmeyer spent the last two seasons with the Ottawa Charge. She was one of the franchise's three foundational signings in the PWHL's inaugural season, but she sustained a season-ending lower-body injury in March. Gwyneth Philips was excellent in relief as the Charge advanced to the Walter Cup final, and the 30-year-old Maschmeyer was left unprotected by Ottawa heading into the exclusive signing period and expansion draft to stock the rosters of the teams in Vancouver and Seattle that start play in 2026. ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW Maschmeyer from Bruderheim, Alta., had 15 wins with two shutouts, a goals-against-average of 2.42 and save percentage of .914 over two seasons in Ottawa. It's another splash by Vancouver general manager Cara Gardner Morey, who opened the signing period by luring defenders Claire Thompson and Sophie Jaques away from the two-time defending champion Minnesota Frost. Both players are finalists for the league's defender of the year award. 'Joining Vancouver is an incredible opportunity, and I'm thrilled to be a part of such an exciting chapter of the league's expansion,' Maschmeyer said in a release. 'Vancouver has proven to be a vibrant hockey city and I'm thrilled to play in front of such passionate fans. I'm aligned with Cara's vision and values and honoured to have the opportunity to help build this organization's culture from the ground up.' Maschmeyer represented Canada at three world championships and was on the roster of the Olympic championship team at the 2022 Beijing Games. The Charge also lost forward Danielle Serdachny to Seattle. Expansion teams have an exclusive window to sign a maximum of five players up until 5 p.m. ET Sunday. The expansion draft is Monday. Seattle and Vancouver will select a minimum of seven players until each has reached a 12-player roster. This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 5, 2025.
