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With the knowledge that there will be eight teams in the PWHL in 2025-26 with the expansion of PWHL Vancouver and PWHL Seattle into the league, rosters will be reshaped across the league.
It's likely each PWHL team will lose 4-6 players through a player dispersal process, otherwise known as an expansion draft.
The PWHL has always beaten to their own drum for rules, and executive director of hockey operations Jayna Hefford alluded to the idea that the PWHL's process for player dispersal may not look like it has in other leagues. Still, there's the expectation that each of the league's current six teams will be able to protect a limited number of players, and that the new teams will be built around a foundation of players who were left unprotected.
Without the ability to know how many players teams will be permitted to protect, we broke players into three groups. For this mock expansion process, we looked at a group of players who we believe each team will certainly protect (6-8 players), a group of bubble players who could fill the final 1-3 protected spots (4-6 players), and a group of players we expect to certainly be available. To be in the "should be protected" list, we included only players under contract (or whose rights are protected) for next season. It's believed each team will only be able to protect one goalie, so only one goalie was included in the protected list as well.
We also explained where the toughest call for each team will be. Based on the numbers, it's likely that the many of players heading to the two expansion teams will come from the "bubble players" section of this list.
Here's a team by team look:
Boston Fleet
Likely To Be Protected: Hilary Knight, Alina Muller, Hannah Bilka, Megan Keller, Daniela Pejsova, Aerin Frankel.
Bubble Players: Susanna Tapani, Emily Brown, Sidney Morin, Hannah Brandt, Shay Maloney, Jamie Lee Rattray.
Likely To Be Exposed: Kelly Babstock, Lexie Adzija, Loren Gabel, Theresa Schafzahl, Amanda Pelkey, Jillian Dempsey, Olivia Zafuto, Hadley Hartmetz, Sydney Bard, Emma Greco, Jessica DiGirolamo, Emma Soderberg.
The Tough Call: Boston's blueline is filled with solid contributors. Daniela Pejsova is a question mark for the team. They went big trading picks to move up to grab her at the 2024 PWHL Draft. Since then they haven't played her much. Would they risk letting her walk for nothing? Do they still believe in her the way they did when they drafted her? Or would they instead protect one of their veterans who is already in their top four?
Minnesota Frost:
Likely To Be Protected: Taylor Heise, Kendall Coyne Schofield, Lee Stecklein, Claire Thompson, Sophie Jaques, Grace Zumwinkle, Nicole Hensley.
Bubble Players: Maddie Rooney, Michela Cava, Britta Curl-Salemme, Kelly Pannek, Natalie Buchbinder, Brooke McQuigge.
Likely To Be Exposed: Brooke Bryant, Claire Butorac, Katy Knoll, Liz Schepers, Klara Hymlarova, Denisa Krizova, Dominique Petrie, Maggie Flaherty, Mae Batherson, Mellissa Channell-Watkins, Charlotte Akervik, Marlene Boissonnault, Kaitlyn O'Donohoe.
The Tough Call: What will Minnesota decide for their goaltending situation. Part of this depends on what the league requires for players exposed and players protected. If an under contract goalie is required to be protected, it will be Nicole Hensley who is safe, but Maddie Rooney has outperformed her this season. It's a difficult call.
Montreal Victoire
Likely To Be Protected: Marie-Philip Poulin, Laura Stacey, Jennifer Gardiner, Erin Ambrose, Cayla Barnes, Ann-Renee Desbiens, Kati Tabin.
Bubble Players: Kristin O'Neill, Abby Boreen, Lina Ljungblom, Maureen Murphy, Anna Wilgren.
Likely To Be Exposed: Clair DeGeorge, Dara Grieg, Kaitlin Willoughby, Catherine Dubois, Claire Dalton, Mikyla Grant-Mentis, Alexandra Labelle, Amanda Boulier, Mariah Keopple, Dominika Laskova, Elaine Chuli, Kelly Ann Nadeau, Sandra Abstreiter, Gabrielle David, Kennedy Marchment.
The Tough Call: For Montreal the challenge will be in selecting their final forwards for protectionn if teams can only protect six or less. Beyond their top line, there's no clear answer. On the blueline, it would be difficult for Montreal to let go of Mariah Keopple who has quietly played solid minutes for the team, but Anna Wilgren will probably get the edge.
New York Sirens
Likely To Be Protected: Sarah Fillier, Alex Carpenter, Jessie Eldridge, Abby Roque, Ella Shelton, Micah Zandee-Hart, Maja Nylen Persson, Corinne Schroeder.
Bubble Players: Jaime Bourbonnais, Ally Simpson, Paetyn Levis, Elle Hartje, Noora Tulus.
Likely To Be Exposed: Kayla Vespa, Emmy Fecteau, Chloe Aurard, Elizabeth Giguere, Taylor Girard, Gabby Rosenthal, Jade Downie-Landry, Brooke Hobson, Lauren Bernard, Olivia Knowles, Abbey Levy, Kayle Osborne, Alexie Guay.
The Tough Call: In New York, expansion could actually be a blessing. Their biggest problem is not the fact they'll lose someone they'd like to keep, rather that they need to find a way to offload a player or two they'd rather see go. Up front, beyond their top four forwards, no one has contributed enough to warrant protection, that includes Levis who has spent much of the year on their top line. New York will hope they can protect a larger portion of their blueline where they won't want to lose players like Nylen Persson, Bourbonnais, or Simpson.
Ottawa Charge
Likely To Be Protected: Danielle Serdachny, Emily Clark, Katerina Mrazova, Gabbie Hughes, Ronja Savolainen, Ashton Bell, Aneta Tejralova, Emerance Maschmeyer.
Bubble Players: Jocelyne Larocque, Tereza Vanisova, Brianne Jenner, Gwyneth Philips, Mannon McMahon, Jincy Roese.
Likely To Be Exposed: Natalie Snodgrass, Taylor House, Rebecca Leslie, Alexa Vasko, Victoria Bach, Shiann Darkangelo, Anna Meixner, Zoe Boyd, Samantha Isbell, Stephanie Markowski, Jessica Adolfsson, Logan Angers, Lucy Morgan.
The Tough Call: Ottawa has one of the most difficult decisions to make across the board. One of those could come with Tereza Vanisova who is a pending free agent. Can they salvage their top scorer and keep her in Ottawa? Will Ottawa be forced to part ways with a veteran like Jenner or Larocque, and if Gwyneth Philips is who Ottawa believes is their goalie of the future, while they protect her and expose Emerance Maschmeyer who spent the last two seasons as their starter?
Toronto Sceptres
Likely To Be Protected: Renata Fast, Savannah Harmon, Daryl Watts, Sarah Nurse, Kristen Campbell, Emma Maltais, Blayre Turnbull.
Bubble Players: Hannah Miller, Jesse Compher, Kali Flanagan, Allie Munroe, Natalie Spooner, Julia Gosling.
Likely To Be Exposed: Hayley Scamurra, Maggie Connors, Emma Woods, Laura Kluge, Izzy Daniel, Anna Kjellbin, Rylind MacKinnon, CJ Jackson, Kassidy Sauve, Noemi Neubauerova, Raygan Kirk, Jessica Kondas, Anneke Rankila.
The Tough Call: Toronto's depth is going to cause a number of difficult decisions. First, how will they approach their free agents in Miller, Spooner, and Compher. Second, will they be able to keep their young picks like Julia Gosling, Izzy Daniel, and Megan Carter. Toronto's roster will take a hit, but also should be able to fill any new void from within. The two expansion teams will be getting solid contributors from the Sceptres.
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