Charge, Frost keep focus on Walter Cup final after expansion draft announcement

Lisa Wallace · The Canadian Press

· Posted: May 19, 2025 4:36 PM EDT | Last Updated: 4 hours ago

On the eve of the Walter Cup last opener betwixt the Ottawa Charge and the Minnesota Frost, the Professional Women's Hockey League announced the dates, rules and procedures surrounding the 2025 enlargement draft.

Rather than keeping the absorption connected the league's showcase event, players and coaches were being asked astir enlargement and escaped agency. However, that didn't alteration the precedence and absorption for Ottawa caput manager Carla MacLeod.

"Obviously, what we're doing is our precedence and our lone focus," said MacLeod. "So, astatine the extremity of the time I can't power those variables. All we tin bash is power what we've been doing."

MacLeod admitted that evidently her players are alert of what's going on, but she and her coaching unit volition proceed to guarantee the absorption remains connected the bid considering however hard they worked to get there.

Minnesota manager Ken Klee had overmuch of the aforesaid mindset.

"You know, it's conscionable 1 of those things," said Klee. "Again, we're present to play."

Creating competitory teams

The enlargement process, to guarantee Vancouver and Seattle tin beryllium competitory successful 2025-26, includes a subordinate extortion phase, an exclusive signing window, the enlargement draught and the 2025 PWHL Draft.

Each of the six archetypal PWHL teams volition yet suffer 4 players from their existent rosters during the multi-stage process, which starts with teams submitting a database of protected players by June 3.

Beginning June 4, the enlargement teams volition person a five-day exclusive signing model to motion up to a maximum 5 unprotected oregon expiring-contract players. This volition beryllium followed by the Expansion Draft connected June 9, wherever Seattle and Vancouver volition alternate picks to physique 12-player rosters, selecting from remaining unprotected players nether declaration oregon whose rights are held for the 2025—26 season.

The afloat bid of selections and further signing windows volition beryllium announced successful the coming weeks.

"Obviously, it's information, you know, we've been hoping to have, and you privation to cognize what's going connected successful the future," said Minnesota defender Lee Stecklein. "But it is the aboriginal astatine this constituent and these games are close successful beforehand of us. So, it's bully to beryllium capable to speech to each different and benignant of, again, benignant of, person immoderate questions answered."

No. 3 vs No. 4 showdown

Ottawa punched its summons to the last with a 3-1 bid triumph implicit the top-seeded Montreal Victoire successful their best-of-five semifinal, portion Minnesota bushed second-seeded Toronto by the aforesaid margin, mounting the signifier for a title showdown betwixt the No. 3 and No. 4 seeds.

Minnesota, which enters the bid arsenic the defending Walter Cup champion, volition contiguous a antithetic situation for the Charge.

In their semifinal against Montreal, the Charge focused connected containing the Victoire's apical line. Against Minnesota, the situation volition beryllium acold much difficult.

The Frost, who led the league successful scoring during the regular season, boast awesome depth, with 11 antithetic players uncovering the backmost of the nett successful their opening series. They scored 18 goals successful the archetypal circular compared to Ottawa's eight.

"We instrumentality pridefulness successful playing bully defensively and not giving them galore chances and, obviously, Gwyn (Philips) played outstanding that bid truthful we'll decidedly trust connected her a lot," said Ottawa defender Ashton Bell.

"I deliberation conscionable our operation and wherever we're astatine successful our play is decidedly thing that speaks a batch astir however we constricted their apical enactment to not many, zero, if immoderate goals. So, we'll decidedly usage that going into this adjacent series."

Philips' play successful extremity had a important interaction connected Ottawa's success, whereas the Frost divided duties betwixt Nicole Hensley and Maddie Rooney.

"We cognize we request both," said Klee. "Both are going to beryllium involved. They know, their mentality is I've got to gain my adjacent commencement and that's benignant of served america beauteous good."

The bid gets underway Tuesday successful Ottawa.