Hilary Knight, Sarah Nurse among PWHL players exposed to expansion teams

Karissa Donkin · CBC Sports

· Posted: Jun 03, 2025 12:09 PM EDT | Last Updated: 3 hours ago

Boston Fleet skipper Hilary Knight, archetypal Toronto Sceptres signing Sarah Nurse, and defender of the twelvemonth nominees Claire Thompson and Sophie Jaques are among the players PWHL Seattle and Vancouver volition person the accidental to adhd and physique astir during the enlargement process.

Each existing squad was allowed to support 3 players to commencement with, and those extortion lists became nationalist connected Tuesday afternoon. The existing teams volition suffer 4 players each passim the enlargement process.

Seattle and Vancouver tin statesman talking to and signing unprotected players and pending escaped agents connected Wednesday morning, arsenic they physique their rosters successful mentation to statesman play successful the fall. Over the five-day window, Seattle and Vancouver tin each motion arsenic galore arsenic 5 players.

The enlargement draught is acceptable for Monday astatine 8:30 p.m. ET. Seattle and Vancouver volition extremity the process with 12 players each.

Only 3 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 3 are nominated for the league's goaltender of the twelvemonth award.

Many teams prioritized seasoned leadership. The Minnesota Frost, for example, protected some the team's captain, Kendall Coyne Schofield, and adjunct captain, Lee Stecklein, successful lieu of players similar Thompson and Jaques. Forward Taylor Heise was besides protected by the Frost.

WATCH | How the PWHL's enlargement process volition work:

For the Frost, it was a speedy modulation from past week's Walter Cup solemnisation to having to marque a hard decision.

"Over the past 2 seasons, a instauration and civilization has been established wrong our enactment that we consciousness these 3 players, successful summation to their accomplishment and quality connected the ice, embody, and volition proceed to uphold arsenic leaders connected and disconnected the crystal arsenic we determination guardant into play three," Frost GM Melissa Caruso said connected Tuesday.

"Additionally, they are each proven winners whose acquisition volition beryllium invaluable arsenic we germinate toward the adjacent signifier of the Minnesota Frost."

Other teams prioritized apical defenders, knowing those are astatine a premium. The New York Sirens, for example, exposed Alex Carpenter, the second-highest scoring guardant connected the team, successful lieu of protecting defenders Ella Shelton and Micah Zandee-Hart. The Sirens besides protected rookie Sarah Fillier, who is simply a restricted escaped agent.

After an existing squad loses 2 players to Seattle oregon Vancouver, a 4th tin beryllium protected.

Notable omissions

Other apical players up for grabs by Seattle and Vancouver see Montreal Victoire defenders Erin Ambrose and Cayla Barnes, Sirens guardant Jessie Eldridge, Ottawa's Brianne Jenner and Emerance Maschmeyer, and seasoned Frost guardant Kelly Pannek, who is ever reliable successful the faceoff circle.

With each squad acceptable to suffer cardinal pieces of their rosters, enlargement should beryllium a league-wide reset.

"The concern that we're successful close present with the league is there could beryllium much expansion," Caruso said connected Monday. "So it's astir similar we're readying for precise abbreviated periods of clip close now, knowing that we're going to beryllium experiencing alteration again coming up successful the adjacent mates of mates of years."

For Seattle and Vancouver, it volition beryllium a accidental to physique teams that tin beryllium competitory from the beginning.

That was a extremity for a league that has ever prioritized parity, wherever immoderate squad tin triumph connected immoderate day. The league spent months coming up with the enlargement rules, the PWHL's enforcement vice president of hockey operations, Jayna Hefford, said past month.

"It was truly captious that we got it close due to the fact that decisions similar this bash signifier the aboriginal of the league," Hefford said. "For us, the precedence is ever astir competitory balance."

Finding the close pieces for the puzzle

In Seattle and Vancouver, newly-minted wide managers Meghan Turner and Cara Gardner Morey volition person tons of endowment to prime from. But it won't beryllium arsenic casual arsenic picking a roster of each stars.

They'll besides person to consider how overmuch each subordinate makes and however agelong they're nether contract.

"If we could conscionable get each subordinate we wanted, evidently we would," said Turner, who was Boston's adjunct wide manager implicit the past 2 seasons. "But the wage headdress adds an constituent of complexity."

Beyond dollars and skill, they besides person to sketch retired what benignant of squad they'd similar to physique and whether each subordinate fits into that picture.

Last week, Turner said she'd beryllium looking for players who acceptable with the civilization she's trying to create, archetypal and foremost. She'd similar bully leaders to physique astir and players who bargain into her vision.

"In this league, there's not a batch of clip for players to person the puck often due to the fact that it's truthful fast," she said. "I truly privation to thin into being capable to make a squad that has velocity and tin make velocity retired of the [defensive] portion done the neutral zone."

In Vancouver, Gardner Morey has a imaginativeness of a squad with a competitory culture, and 1 that loves to prosecute with the community.

"On the ice, I envision a squad that plays with speed, has a ton of skill, loves the physicality, and again, is competing close disconnected time one," said the GM, who spent years recruiting players arsenic caput manager of Princeton University's women's hockey team.

The extortion lists

• Boston Fleet (3): Aerin Frankel (G), Megan Keller (D), Alina Müller (F). 
• Minnesota Frost (3): Kendall Coyne Schofield (F), Taylor Heise (F), Lee Stecklein (D). 
• Montréal Victoire (3): Ann-Renée Desbiens (G), Marie-Philip Poulin (F), Laura Stacey (F). 
• New York Sirens (3): Sarah Fillier (F), Ella Shelton (D), Micah Zandee-Hart (D). 
• Ottawa Charge (3): Emily Clark (F), Gwyneth Philips (G), Ronja Savolainen (D). 
• Toronto Sceptres (3): Renata Fast (D), Blayre Turnbull (F), Daryl Watts (F).