Reevaluating the Sirens’ Forwards in Absence of Webster

A wrench was thrown into the New York Sirens’ plans last week, as the team confirmed to The Ice Garden that Makenna Webster will not play in the PWHL for the 2025-26 season. Ian Kennedy of The Hockey News first reported McKenna being out of the picture for the Sirens on Oct. 21, 2025.

Webster, selected 17th overall by the Sirens in June, will instead pursue a spot on the United States’ national field hockey team, with the eventual goal of participating in the 2028 Olympic Games. She currently leads the Ohio State Buckeyes with 17 goals in 13 games, accounting for a whopping 48.6% of the team's offense and good for third overall in the NCAA on a per-game basis.

New York does maintain Webster’s signing rights for this season and the next, and while general manager Pascal Daoust expects her to don a Sirens jersey in the future, the decision has major implications for the team at present. The six forwards taken after Webster in the third round (plus Nina Jobst-Smith) are expected to step right into their respective rosters and contribute, and the playoff performances of Gwyneth Philips and Klára Hymlárová last season show that a player of that draft pedigree could completely change the outlook of a team.

That said, the blow of losing Webster is cushioned by the remainder of the Sirens’ draft class, an indication that Daoust was prepared for this exact scenario to play out. The first five picks made by New York, and six of nine total, were forwards, solidifying scoring depth as a strength of theirs, even excluding Webster. Casey O’Brien (once signed) and Kristýna Kaltounková are virtual locks for the Sirens’ top six, while the versatility of Anne Cherkowski and Maddi Wheeler could see them contribute up and down the lineup. Power forward Anna Bargman can provide a scoring threat that last year’s bottom six desperately lacked, especially if she can rediscover chemistry with Elle Hartje, who she lined up alongside at Yale.

Reigning Rookie of the Year Sarah Fillier headlines the returning forwards, looking to add even more hardware to her collection following a nearly point-per-game campaign. She’s joined by Hartje, Paetyn Levis, Taylor Girard, Emmy Fecteau, and Kayla Vespa from last year’s roster. She's also joined by Savannah Norcross from the year before that, who's coming back to North America after an abbreviated yet productive stint with Luleå in the SDHL. Kristin O’Neill is the sole new face up front with PWHL experience, admirably replacing Abby Roque’s prowess in the faceoff dot while looking for a return to form on offense with a change of scenery.

Webster's removal from the depth chart also opens the door for the Sirens’ training camp invitees to potentially crack the opening night roster. Alexis Paddington is coming off the best season of her NCAA career with Minnesota State, while Kira Juodikis has started this year off strong in Switzerland with five goals in her first ten games. Both standing at five-foot-nine, the two forwards will certainly look to play up the physical sides of their games in order to carve out a spot with New York.

Losing the services of a third-round pick, especially on the heels of training camp rosters being set, could very well break a team depending on their situation. The Sirens’ offseason contingencies, at the very least, have ensured that this will not be the case for them. The group of fifteen forwards assembled by New York will undoubtedly make up the deepest offense they’ve had thus far in their short history, even with the vacancy left by Webster, but they’ll certainly need players to step up. While the Sirens may yet reap the rewards of drafting her, for now, it’s up to Greg Fargo and his staff to make the most out of their group without Webster.