This is the fifth in our series looking at the draft needs of each team. Read about New York here, Ottawa here, Minneota here and Boston here.
Instead of a mock draft, I'm looking at what needs I think each team has based on last season's record and outcomes as well as who they lost in the expansion process. Using the draft eligibility list, I've identified players that might be able to fit each teams' specific needs. It’s less mock draft and more sharing insight on players who I think have the skills to be successful in this league.
While things aren’t quite as bad as in New York, to me Toronto are in a similar place where I look at the personnel they had and wonder how they didn’t play for a cup in the first two seasons. They've definitely had injury woes, but I think there's been a missing spark to take the roster to the next level.
Drafting third overall puts them in an interesting spot. I expect the top two forwards to go in the first two picks, but Boston needs defense and if they take Haley Winn, that leaves a top forward for Toronto and now that both Sarah Nurse and Hannah Miller are gone, they need offense. Or they could activate their Hockey Canada roots and go with Nicole Gosling on defense. It should be mighty interesting.
Forwards
If she's still around the second go round, Kiara Zanon would be a good option for the Sceptres. She'd mesh well with former Buckeye Emma Maltais, but she's also just a really skilled player who might not have received enough attention for all she accomplished in college behind bigger name or flashier teammates. After a solid couple of seasons at Penn State where she was the 2021 Rookie of the Year and a two-time Patty Kaz top-ten finalist and CHA Player of the Year, she moved to Ohio State and handled the jump in competition well. She averaged just under a point per game with OSU (26 goals and 47 assists for 73 points in 76 games played) and basically spent her whole college career supporting and dishing passes - first to Tessa Janecke and then to Jenna Buglioni and Sloane Matthews.
While I do think Toronto has to put a focus on goal scoring, I also think they could really benefit from the dogged play and spark-providing ability of Sarah Wozniewicz. And as she proved in this year's WCHA title game, she's capable of coming up big in the most massive moments. Wozniewicz reads the game well - generally that leads to her setting up plays, but sometimes it also has her heading to the right spot. She's dogged along the boards, quick in chasing the puck and while she's not overly physical, she found herself in the box a decent bit, but it was the type of physicality that is allowed in the PHWL. She's a grinder and a hard worker and the kind of never-give-up player you want on your roster.
One forward I haven't suggested for anyone yet is Abby Newhook. She's another forward who I think did not have the opportunity to hit her ceiling in college and could really have a breakout in the PWHL. She's scrappy and fiesty and I think will do well with the physicality, but she also has the stick handling you'd expect with that last name. I think she'll take on the challenge of the pro game and has the commitment and skills to take a step up.
Defenders
Gosling would be an interesting fit here and not just because of the Canada ties. Toronto's two top signed defenders as of this writing are Renata Fast and Savannah Harmon - both also products of Clarkson University. Though their tenures didn't overlap, they'll all have come from the same system and should be able to work together pretty seamlessly. Add that to the national team stuff and it seems like a really obvious pick.
Maddy Samoskevich comes from another defense-first ECAC program at Quinnipiac. She is a solid defender who tracks the puck well and keeps forwards angled to the outside. She gets involved on offense and has a really nice touch on passing feeds. I think she'd do well under Troy Ryan.
A player that did not skate last season but who at the very least should get a non-roster camp invite and could be worth a late round pick is Whiney Dove. She's still just 27 and was outstanding in her collegiate time at Providence. She was known for her speed and the way she used her edges and could move on the ice and that kind of fluidity would do very well against the quick breakouts of opposing offenses in this league. She also had a really good shot that was not just hard, but deceptive and she had an instinct for when to best release it. She'd bring some different skills and options than anyone else on this roster.
Goalies
I don't expect the Sceptres to do much of anything with goaltending. They have Kirsten Campbell and Raygan Kirk signed and I'd bet they'll be bringing back Carly Jackson, as well. If anything, I hope the plan is to get Kirk on the ice more often. I think Campbell could do with a bit more rest and reset at times.
(Photo: PWHL)
