TIG Roundtable: 2025 PWHL Expansion Draft Reactions

The PWHL’s first ever expansion draft was a pioneering moment. Not only did it expand the premier rosters of the first pair of teams to be added to the league after the Inaugural Six, but it established a framework for doing so that is different from other leagues. The expansion teams and Inaugural Six teams alike were challenged to strategize in new ways. This provided intrigue, excitement, and controversy.

Which expansion team 'won' the draft?

Maya: I’ve actually been saying this to anyone who will listen, but I think Seattle won the draft and Vancouver won the signing period, which sets both teams up well for the coming season. The additions of Bilka, Eldridge, Tejralová, and Wilgren are huge for Seattle. I think this is especially true because they signed Knight and Barnes in free agency. Having the combination of Bilka and Knight, Carpenter and Eldrige, and then Barnes and Wilgren creates a level of cohesion that other players may not have. Obviously, both teams would have only liked to take the big-name players, but the salary cap is still a factor, and I think the addition of Megan Carter and Emily Brown was a good choice. 

SEATTLE'S SQUAD IS SET 🚨🚨🚨 Here's our Expansion Roster Process Recap!

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— PWHL Seattle (@pwhl--seattle.bsky.social) June 9, 2025 at 10:12 PM

Geremy: Both teams went in with two different philosophies. Vancouver focused more on the blueline, especially the puck moving aspect, while forgoing some high end forwards. Then you have Seattle going essentially all-in on forwards who are going to be major offensive threats but their blueline is more focused on the defensive aspect of the game. Based on my personal philosophy of team building I’m going to go with Vancouver. I think Minnesota has proven that this league requires a blueline that can move the puck and Vancouver got the best two in Thompson/Jaques while adding Bell/Bard as well.

Melissa: Can I cheat and say both? Just look at those rosters. Both teams managed to pick up some really good players, whether through the signing period or the draft. Things got a little slim toward the end of the expansion draft because of the ‘four players per inaugural team’ rule, but both Vancouver and Seattle have added depth. I’m leaning more toward Seattle at this point, because adding both Hannah Bilka and Jessie Eldridge is a big win in my book. 

PWHL Vancouver, ASSEMBLE! 💪 Behold our Expansion Roster Process Recap!

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— PWHL Vancouver (@pwhl--vancouver.bsky.social) June 9, 2025 at 10:02 PM

Which inaugural team 'won' the draft? (aka managed to come through with the least losses?)

Maya: I think it will depend on free agency (because I’ve been hearing rumours of Hannah Miller walking to go to Vancouver) but I think Toronto came out of the draft in a pretty good place. They lost Gosling, Daniel, Nurse, and Carter. Obviously, Nurse is a big blow, not just on the ice but off it as well. I think the loss of Gosling, Carter and Daniel is yet to be quantified because we don’t know what kind of players those three will be once they get their feet under them. They managed to protect their top defender, their captain, their starting goalie, and Emma Maltais, and they didn’t lose Watts, Kirk, Spooner, and Miller. If they can re-sign their free agents, they should be set. 

Melissa: I agree with Maya. I think Toronto’s biggest loss was Sarah Nurse. The other three are more unknowns and don’t have the same impact that some of the other players lost by teams do. I also think it could’ve gone worse for Montréal. I’m sure Victoire fans - and Sceptres fans, for that matter - aren’t thrilled about losing the players they did, but consider the players they got to hold onto.

Geremy: Doing some flip flopping here between New York and Toronto. They both lost three forwards and at the end of the day New York lost a bit more impactful pieces whereas Toronto lost a lot of potential in Gosling/Daniel/Carter. Sitting here right now, Toronto lost the least impactful players compared to the rest of the league but New York is in the best position moving forwards. Toronto might also be losing Miller and Compher whereas New York can focus heavily on their forwards with their defence all wrapped up nicely for next season. 

Which inaugural team 'lost' the draft? (either by mis-protecting, or simply losing the most talent)

Maya: I’m torn between New York and Ottawa for this one. I think New York made an interesting choice in protecting their defense over their offense. Schroeder is a huge loss either way, but at least most of their D-core is still together when Osborne takes over as the starter. I do think they were hit really hard losing Carpenter and Eldridge, and only time will tell if that is worse than losing someone like Zandee-Hart or Nylen Persson. But, defense wins championships, as they say, if they can get there. 

As for Ottawa, I think they lost the biggest key pieces. Maschmeyer is a big blow, even though Philips had a really strong rookie season. Bell and Tejralová are both really strong defenders who can log some big minutes, and Ottawa will definitely feel that loss. Serdachny is the wild card for me. She didn’t have a great rookie year, but if she can find her footing, she may be the biggest loss of all. Somehow, they did manage to keep Jenner without protecting her though, so they should consider that a win. 

Geremy: The expansion draft I think hit Montreal, Ottawa, and Minnesota the hardest. Minnesota lost two elite puck movers, one of which was huge in their two Cup wins. Ottawa lost a top pair defender and a very good top four D to go along with the forward that had the most offensive talent on the team. And Montreal lost an impact D pair along with two of their better producing forwards on a team that lacked forwards who could produce. I think who lost the most though was Montreal who didn’t lose a big contract so won’t have as much money to toss around while leaving the draft with only two scoring forwards and losing a D pair that ate minutes. 

Biggest steal of the draft

Maya: Brooke McQuigge. She proved all season that she was one of the best Minnesota Frost players this season, and she flew under the radar until the playoffs. While I think Minnesota survived the draft with a pretty good set of players still intact, I think they will feel this loss, and Vancouver will feel the benefit.

Melissa: Jessie Eldridge. I honestly expected her to go higher than sixth, and I was surprised when Vancouver chose to go elsewhere for their second and third picks. She was New York’s second-leading scorer this past season, with 24 points in 30 games, and to me, she was one of the best offensive players available.

Geremy: I’m going to cheat here and count the signings as part of the draft so therefore the biggest steal is Sophie Jaques. No one tilts the ice at 5v5 like she does. She’s not a perfect, shutdown blueliner but she doesn’t have to be when she’s preventing the puck from being in her zone the majority of the time. She’s been a top three Playoff MVP candidate in back-to-back years. 

Biggest miss of the draft

Maya: I know that the salary cap comes into play, and we don’t know how much each player makes, so we can’t exactly know, but I really think Simpson would have been a better choice to take from New York over Rosenthal. They play different positions, so it would have meant taking a forward from a different team or ending up with one less forward and one additional defender. But to me, she makes a bigger impact than Rosenthal. I’m sure she’ll prove me wrong though. 

Melissa: Thankfully for Minnesota, it didn’t end up mattering in the end, but choosing to protect Britta Curl-Salemme with their fourth slot instead of Grace Zumwinkle seemed like a big miss to me. I’d have a hard time envisioning either of the expansion teams taking Curl-Salemme given her reputation and suspension history, not to mention the general disdain of her shown by many PWHL fans, so I don’t really think you needed to use that slot on her. I can’t imagine an expansion team would want to deal with the bad PR they’d get if they took Curl-Salemme. Also, if anything, the protection acts as an affirmation of Minnesota’s faith in Curl-Salemme… even if she is the most suspended player in league history. At any rate, I would’ve protected Zumwinkle instead, but I think the Frost are lucky to have not lost her in this process.

Geremy: Probably the biggest miss in the draft is allowing Erin Ambrose to get away. Montreal was in line to lose two top pair defenders and got to keep one unlike Minnesota who lost both. I don’t think it was a money thing either as Vancovuer would go on to take Ashton Bell with the first overall pick in the expansion draft who is also on one of those big contracts. You could have gotten a better version of Ashton Bell in Erin Ambrose but Vancovuer chose the young winger in Jennifer Gardiner over her. 

Biggest surprise of the draft

Melissa: I was honestly surprised that no goaltenders were taken in the expansion draft. Granted, both Seattle and Vancouver had already signed presumably their #1 netminder in Corinne Schroeder and Emerance Maschmeyer, respectively. Still, I thought at least one of the teams would pick someone up - and I was really expecting Nicole Hensley to go.

Geremy: Going to go off Melissa’s point in a slightly different direction. I thought Vancouver or Seattle would look to supplement their number one goalies with a younger, promising second goalie and solidify their goaltending depth either with Kayle Osborne or Raygan Kirk. Much to the happiness of New York and Toronto, especially New York, they keep both of their promising goalies while Vancouver/Seattle will have to fill out their depth with other means.