Latest news with #expansionDraft
National Post
3 days ago
- Business
- National Post
PWHL expansion teams will have plenty to choose from as they stock their rosters
Have at it, PWHL Vancouver and PWHL Seattle. Article content The two newest clubs to join the PWHL have a veritable smorgasbord of talent ready to be picked over and made their own over the next six days, now that the existing six clubs have declared their three protected picks. Article content Article content GMs Meghan Turner and Cara Gardner Morey of PWHL Seattle and PWHL Vancouver, respectively, both suggested finding leadership in the expansion draft process was going to be high on their list of desirables when it came to making their selections. Article content Well, there's no shortage of that, starting with Boston Fleet captain and U.S. hockey legend Hilary Knight. Or if you want to stay Canadian there's the option of Brianne Jenner, the Ottawa Charge captain and a national team mainstay in her own right. Top-end forwards available include Sarah Nurse, the Toronto Sceptres forward who was one of the team's three foundational signings when the PWHL came into existence. The New York Sirens have left Alex Carpenter, another U.S. hockey legend, unprotected. Like Nurse, she too was one of her team's foundational signings. Article content There's a plethora of top-end defenders, starting in Montreal where another long-time national team member in Erin Ambrose was left unprotected. In fact, all of Montreal's vaunted D corps is there for the taking — at least until they, like all six existing teams, lose two players in the process, at which point each team will be able to protect a fourth player. Article content Other top-notch defenders there for the taking including Minnesota's young duo of Sophie Jaques and Claire Thompson, as well as Ottawa's Ashton Bell, who is coming off a great second season in the league. Article content As far as goaltending talent goes, there's going to be plenty to fill both Vancouver and Seattle's top two spots, should they choose to go that way. Article content Article content That list includes Minnesota's Nicole Hensley and Maddie Rooney (free agent), Toronto Kristen (Soupy) Campbell, Ottawa's Emerance Maschmeyer, New York's Corinne Schroeder, or even Boston's highly coveted backup Klara Peslarova. Article content The league put a premium on parity in this draft process and barring only some rather poor decision-making, both newcomers are being gift-wrapped the opportunity to come in at close to or even to the same level as the six existing teams. Article content Should the new teams decide to start young and build that way, that route is there for them as well. Up for grabs just from last year's draft are the Nos. 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6 picks — Ottawa's Danielle Serdachny, Minnesota's Thompson, Boston's Hannah Bilka, Montreal's Cayla Barnes and Toronto's Julia Gosling. Article content In fact, the only 2024 first-round pick not available in this process is first-overall pick Sarah Fillier and, with her ties to the new GM in Vancouver (Fillier was Gardner Morey's captain at Princeton) coupled with some tough contract negotiations in New York, that means New York will have to negotiate another deal this off-season or risk losing her after the year. There's at least the potential for a deal there between Vancouver and New York.
Associated Press
3 days ago
- Business
- Associated Press
Boston captain Hilary Knight tops list of unprotected players available to PWHL expansion teams
Boston Fleet captain and MVP candidate Hilary Knight heads a star-caliber list of players left unprotected by their respective teams in being made available to the PWHL's expansion franchises in Seattle and Vancouver. Among the other high-profile players left unprotected in a list released by the league on Tuesday were Minnesota's Kelly Pannek and Grace Zumwinkle, New York's Alex Carpenter, Ottawa captain Brianne Jenner and veteran defenseman Jocelyne Larocque and Toronto's Sarah Nurse. The release of the list opens the first part of the PWHL's two-phased roster-building process, which opens with a five-day exclusive signing window Wednesday. It will be followed by an expansion draft on Monday. Seattle and Vancouver can sign up to five players each, and will then fill out their remaining first 12 roster spots in the expansion draft. The wealth of talent being made available is a result of the PWHL placing an emphasis on ensuring its two newest teams can be competitive for the league's third season expected to open in November. The PWHL limited its six existing teams to protecting just three players, with the ability to add a fourth once they lose two players. All eight teams will then take part in the PWHL draft on June 24. Knight is coming off a stellar season in which she had 29 points (15 goals, 14 assists) to finish tied for the league lead with New York rookie Sarah Fillier. And it comes as Knight, who turns 36 in July, is winding down her international career upon announcing the 2026 Winter Games will be her fifth and final representing the United States. Knight intends to continue her PWHL career, and could be open to a move to the Pacific Northwest given she makes her offseason home in Idaho. Otherwise, the list of unprotected players include five of the six players selected in the first round of last year's draft in Ottawa's Danielle Serdachny, Minnesota's Claire Thompson, Boston's Hannah Bilka, Montreal's Cayla Barnes and Toronto's Julia Gosling. Both expansion teams will have numerous goaltending options, with New York's Corinne Schroeder, Minnesota's Nicole Hensley, Ottawa's Emerance Maschmeyer and Toronto's Kristen Campbell available. Boston protected goalie Aerin Frankel, defenseman Megan Keller and forward Alina Muller. The defending champion Frost protected captain Kendall Coyne Schofield, forward Taylor Heise and defenseman Lee Stecklein. New York protected Fillier and defensemen Ella Shelton and Micah Zandee-Hart. Montreal protected goalie Ann-Renée Desbiens and forwards Marie-Philip Poulin and Laura Stacey. Ottawa protected forward Emily Clark, goalie Gwyneth Philips and defenseman Ronja Savolainen. Toronto protected captain Blayre Turnbull, forward Daryl Watts and defenseman Renata Fast. ___ AP Women's Hockey:
National Post
3 days ago
- Business
- National Post
Ottawa Charge protects Gwyneth Philips, Emily Clark and Ronja Savolainen ahead of PWHL expansion
In the first official phase of the PWHL's process to facilitate expansion to Seattle and Vancouver, the Ottawa Charge made their three-player protection list public at noon on Tuesday. Article content Article content The club has protected goaltender Gwyneth Philips, forward Emily Clark and defender Ronja Savolainen. Article content Like most of the league, the Charge followed the tactic of protecting one player at each position. The Montreal Victoire were the only team not to protect a defender, instead opting to shield a pair of forwards in Marie-Philip Poulin and Laura Stacey. Article content Ottawa's list excludes many fan favourites, including captain Brianne Jenner and Emerance Maschmeyer, two of the team's foundational signings back in 2023. They, alongside teammates including Gabbie Hughes, Aneta Tejralová and Ashton Bell, could be eligible for selection by Seattle and Vancouver in the expansion draft. Article content However, who becomes available will depend on how many players Ottawa loses during the exclusive free-agent signing window beginning Wednesday at 9 a.m., as well as who the team decides to protect with its fourth protection slot, which is at their disposal once they've lost two players. Article content Here's a closer look at the three players Ottawa has made exempt from the expansion draft on June 9: Article content Gwyneth Philips Article content Between rookie and goalie of the year nominations, a playoff MVP performance and setting numerous PWHL benchmarks, Philips went from backup goalie at the beginning of the 2024-25 season to must-keep franchise pillar by the summer. Article content Simply put, the Ottawa Charge doesn't even sniff the PWHL final without Philips. She nearly single-handely thrust the club into a playoff position down the stretch and outdueled the best goalie in the world, Ann-Renée Desbiens, in a four-game series. Overmatched against the Minnesota Frost in the final, Philips ensured her team remained one shot away from victory at all times. Article content Her playoff stat line of a 1.23 goals-against average and .952 save percentage in eight games is otherworldly. In the regular season, she compiled eight wins in 15 games with a 2.11 goals-against average and .919 save percentage.
CBC
3 days ago
- Business
- CBC
Hilary Knight, Nurse among PWHL players exposed to expansion teams
Social Sharing Boston Fleet captain Hilary Knight, original Toronto Sceptres signing Sarah Nurse, defender of the year nominees Claire Thompson and Sophie Jaques are among the players PWHL Seattle and Vancouver will have the opportunity to add during the expansion process. Each existing team was allowed to protect three players to start with, and those protection lists became public on Tuesday afternoon. The existing teams will lose four players each throughout the expansion process. Seattle and Vancouver can begin talking to and signing unprotected players and pending free agents on Wednesday morning, as they build their rosters in preparation to begin play in the fall. Over five days, Seattle and Vancouver can each sign as many as five players. The expansion draft is set for Monday at 8:30 p.m. ET. Seattle and Vancouver will end the process with 12 players each. Only three goaltenders were protected during the process: Boston's Aerin Frankel, Montreal's Ann-Renée Desbiens and Ottawa's Gwyneth Philips, who was named the playoff MVP. All three are nominated for the league's goaltender of the year award. Many teams prioritized veteran leadership. The Minnesota Frost, for example, protected both the team's captain Kendall Coyne Schofield and assistant captain Lee Stecklein, in lieu of players like Thompson and Jaques. Taylor Heise was also protected by the Frost. The PWHL expansion draft: Explained 12 days ago Duration 0:55 CBC Sports' Karissa Donkin runs through the rules of the PWHL's expansion draft, explaining how new clubs in Seattle and Vancouver will fill their roster. "The situation that we're in right now with the league is there could be more expansion," Frost GM Melissa Caruso said earlier in the week. "So it's almost like we're planning for very short periods of time right now knowing that we're going to be experiencing change again coming up in the next couple of couple of years." Other teams prioritized high-end defenders, knowing those are at a premium. The New York Sirens, for instance, exposed scorer Alex Carpenter in lieu of protecting defenders Ella Shelton and Micah Zandee-Hart. After an existing team loses two players to expansion, a fourth can be protected. Notable omissions Other top players up for grabs by Seattle and Vancouver include Montreal Victoire defenders Erin Ambrose and Cayla Barnes, Boston Fleet rookie Hannah Bilka, Sirens forward Jessie Eldridge, Ottawa captain Brianne Jenner and starting goaltender Emerance Maschmeyer, and veteran Frost forward Kelly Pannek, who is always reliable in the faceoff circle. The protection lists
CBC
28-05-2025
- Business
- CBC
After a heartbreaking loss the Ottawa Charge look ahead to the PWHL's expansion
As the PWHL prepares to welcome teams in Vancouver and Seattle, each existing team will give up four players. The Ottawa Charge will never be the same after the league's expansion draft.
