Ashton Bell, Julia Gosling among young stars selected in PWHL expansion draft

Karissa Donkin · CBC Sports

· Posted: Jun 09, 2025 11:57 PM EDT | Last Updated: 8 minutes ago

The archetypal six PWHL teams gathered successful Minnesota astir precisely 1 twelvemonth agone past June for the league's 2nd introduction draft.

The players chosen successful the archetypal circular past twelvemonth included top-pair defenders, powerfulness forwards, playmakers and extremity scorers — all poised to beryllium aboriginal stars successful the PWHL.

After the league's enlargement process, each but 1 of those six players volition beryllium playing for the PWHL's newest teams successful Vancouver and Seattle. Only superstar Sarah Fillier, who was protected by the New York Sirens, won't beryllium connected the determination to the westbound coast.

It's a snapshot of conscionable however overmuch young endowment the league's 2 newest teams were capable to accumulate during a roster-building process that included an enlargement draught and exclusive signing window.

The archetypal six teams could lone support 3 players each to start. They were capable to support a 4th erstwhile the squad gave up 2 players.

The effect is 2 marque caller teams that could some earnestly contend for the Walter Cup adjacent season. The extremity was to marque definite Seattle and Vancouver would beryllium competitory to support the league's parity, but some caller teams surpassed the barroom of keeping up with the existing teams. They already look to beryllium among the deepest successful the league.

Meanwhile, the archetypal six teams person gaping holes to fill, having conscionable watched a important magnitude of endowment locomotion retired the door.

From the nett out

Vancouver wide manager Cara Gardner Morey, who was a defender successful her ain playing career, has built her team's instauration from the nett out, starting with long-time Team Canada backup goaltender, Emerance Maschmeyer.

Bell, a erstwhile forward, tin lend some offensively and defensively, but what she brings disconnected the crystal besides appealed to Gardner Morey.

"She's besides 1 of those large teammates and large quality beings who's conscionable ever showing gratitude and doing things the close way," the Vancouver GM said aft Monday's enlargement draft. "Her enactment ethic is outstanding."

Up front, Vancouver volition beryllium led by superstar Sarah Nurse, a do-it-all benignant of subordinate who has shown, erstwhile healthy, that she tin people successful this league. She tied for 2nd successful the league successful some goals and points successful the 2024 season.

She's joined by a radical of young, talented forwards, including Rookie of the Year campaigner Jennifer Gardiner, Walter Cup champions Abby Boreen and Brooke McQuigge, and Izzy Daniel, who was the Patty Kazmaier Award victor arsenic the champion subordinate successful assemblage hockey conscionable 1 play ago.

With the precedence connected gathering from the backmost first, Gardner Morey opted for 200-foot, extent players who exceeded expectations past play up front.

"We conscionable truly went with a batch of grit, a batch of two-way forwards that tin besides people goals," Gardner Morey said.

A stacked guardant group

Seattle, meanwhile, has a top-six guardant radical that could beryllium the champion successful the league.

Former New York Sirens sniper Alex Carpenter could centre the apical enactment alongside MVP-nominee Hilary Knight and erstwhile Boston Fleet guardant Hannah Bilka, a rookie with a precocious hockey IQ. Between Bilka's playmaking abilities and Carpenter and Knight's knack for shooting the puck, it's a enactment that promises to beryllium dangerous.

But past Seattle tin rotation retired a 2nd enactment that includes Jessie Eldridge, Danielle Serdachny and Julia Gosling, 3 players who person violative quality and size.

Seattle GM Meghan Turner, who wanted to physique a squad to withstand physicality, described that imaginable 2nd enactment arsenic a "powerhouse."

"They person a batch of powerfulness successful presumption of their skating and their explosiveness," Turner said astir those 3 players.

"Each squad is truthful carnal and truthful I deliberation size truly tin lone help. All of these players person proven they tin usage their size to their advantage."

Her quality connected the punishment kill, including her willingness to enactment her assemblage successful beforehand of pucks, was a origin for Seattle.

"Knowing that's thing that is simply a specialty of hers, and conscionable the mode that she plays defence but besides tin transport the puck and beryllium a bully puck supporter, she's stone solid," Turner said.

The Seattle roster is rounded retired by Corinne Schroeder, one of the champion goaltenders successful the league implicit the past 2 seasons for the defensively-shaky New York Sirens.

Original 6 teams near with holes

As players battalion their bags to caput westbound and Seattle and Vancouver proceed building, the archetypal six teams volition beryllium looking to capable immoderate of the holes near by expansion.

The league spent months designing the rules with the extremity of maintaining parity successful a league wherever games are often decided by conscionable 1 goal.

"I deliberation it was truly captious that we got it close due to the fact that decisions similar this bash signifier the aboriginal of the league," PWHL enforcement vice president of hockey operations, Jayna Hefford, said past month. "For us, the precedence is ever astir competitory balance."

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But the archetypal six teams person enactment to bash to vie with the league's newest franchise, astatine slightest connected paper. Both teams that faced disconnected for the Walter Cup past period mislaid 2 of their apical 4 defenders, arsenic did first-place Montreal.

Last-place New York surrendered 2 of the team's apical scoring forwards from past season, on with the starting goaltender.

The Boston Fleet person important holes up beforehand without Knight and Bilka, and volition request to sanction a caller captain.

Their GMs volition person a accidental to commencement rebuilding connected June 16, erstwhile a model opens to motion escaped agents.

The introduction draught is acceptable for June 24 successful Ottawa, though the draught bid isn't yet clear, speech from New York selecting first.