PWHL Mock Expansion Draft: Part 2

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In part one of TIG’s mock PWHL expansion draft, our writers protected eight players from each of the league’s six teams in advance of a two-team expansion draft.

In part two, Geremy and J Gray will act as GMs for our two hopeful franchises. The Winnipeg Valkyries and the Pittsburgh Peregrines will each select 15 players from the available pool. Each team is required to take at least six forwards and four defenders and cannot select more than three players from a single existing team.

Available Players

*Players on contracts extending beyond the 2024-25 season

Boston Fleet

Available forwards: *Sophie Shirley, Loren Gabel, Theresa Schafzahl, Lexie Adzija, Taylor Girard, Kelly Babstock, Amanda Pelkey, Jillian Dempsey
Available defenders: Jessica DiGirolamo, Sidney Morin, Emma Greco, Maude Poulin-Labelle
Available goalies: Emma Söderberg, Cami Kronish

Minnesota Frost

Available forwards: *Denisa Křížová, Michela Cava, Liz Schepers, Sydney Brodt, Brooke Bryant, Claire Butorac
Available defenders: Maggie Flaherty, Mellissa Channell
Available goalies: Maddie Rooney, Lauren Bench

Montréal Victoire

Available forwards: *Maureen Murphy, Mikyla Grant-Mentis, Kennedy Marchment, Catherine Dubois, Sarah Bujold, Gabrielle David, Clair DeGeorge, Alexandra Labelle
Available defenders: Mariah Keopple, Catherine Daoust
Available goalies: Elaine Chuli, Sandra Abstreiter, Marlène Boissonnault

New York Sirens

Available forwards: *Jessie Eldridge, Chloé Aurard, Jill Saulnier, Alexa Gruschow, Paetyn Levis, Savannah Norcross, Madison Packer, Kayla Vespa
Available defenders: Brooke Hobson, Taylor Baker, Madison Bizal, Olivia Zafuto
Available goalies: Abbey Levy

Ottawa Charge

Available forwards: Tereza Vanišová, Rebecca Leslie, Shiann Darkangelo, Natalie Snodgrass, Alexa Vasko
Available defenders: *Aneta Tejralová, Jincy Roese, Zoe Boyd, Sam Isbell
Available goalies: None

Toronto Sceptres

Available forwards: *Daryl Watts, *Emma Woods, Jesse Compher, Victoria Bach, Maggie Connors, Sam Cogan, Kaitlin Willoughby
Available defenders: *Allie Munroe, Kali Flanagan, Jessica Kondas, Olivia Knowles
Available goalies: Carly Jackson

The Draft

Round 1

Pittsburgh Peregrines: *Maureen Murphy from the Montréal Victoire
Winnipeg Valkyries: *Allie Munroe from the Toronto Sceptres

Round 2

Winnipeg Valkyries: *Aneta Tejralová from the Ottawa Charge
Pittsburgh Peregrines: Jincy Roese from the Ottawa Charge

Round 3

Pittsburgh Peregrines: Kali Flanagan from the Toronto Sceptres
Winnipeg Valkyries: Victoria Bach from the Toronto Sceptres

Round 4

Winnipeg Valkyries: *Jessie Eldridge from the New York Sirens
Pittsburgh Peregrines: *Daryl Watts from the Toronto Sceptres

Round 5

Pittsburgh Peregrines: Michela Cava from the Minnesota Frost
Winnipeg Valkyries: *Sophie Shirley from the Boston Fleet

Round 6

Winnipeg Valkyries: Maggie Flaherty from the Minnesota Frost
Pittsburgh Peregrines: Loren Gabel from the Boston Fleet

Round 7

Pittsburgh Peregrines: Kennedy Marchment from the Montréal Victoire
Winnipeg Valkyries: Sidney Morin from the Boston Fleet

Round 8

Winnipeg Valkyries: *Emma Woods from the Toronto Sceptres
Pittsburgh Peregrines: Jessica DiGirolamo from the Boston Fleet

Round 9

Pittsburgh Peregrines: Maggie Connors from the Toronto Sceptres
Winnipeg Valkyries: *Denisa Křížová from the Minnesota Frost

Round 10

Winnipeg Valkyries: Taylor Girard from the Boston Fleet
Pittsburgh Peregrines: Mellissa Channell from the Minnesota Frost

Round 11

Pittsburgh Peregrines: Mikyla Grant-Mentis from the Montréal Victoire
Winnipeg Valkyries: Chloé Aurard from the New York Sirens

Round 12

Winnipeg Valkyries: Zoe Boyd from the Ottawa Charge
Pittsburgh Peregrines: Theresa Schafzahl from the Boston Fleet

Round 13

Pittsburgh Peregrines: Tereza Vanišová from the Ottawa Charge
Winnipeg Valkyries: Mariah Keopple from the Montréal Victoire

Round 14

Winnipeg Valkyries: Paetyn Levis from the New York Sirens
Pittsburgh Peregrines: Rebecca Leslie from the Ottawa Charge

Round 15

Pittsburgh Peregrines: Madison Packer from the New York Sirens
Winnipeg Valkyries: Sydney Brodt from the Minnesota Frost

Winnipeg Valkyries

GM Commentary

Going into any draft you need a goal in mind. Now obviously the goal is to pick the players who will make you the most competitive. Knowing what we know from the first PWHL season I knew that I needed two things: goals and blueliners who can move the puck. Girard, Eldridge, and Shirley were all in the top 30 of goals per 60 minutes (G/60), plus Bach is a natural goal scorer as seen by her career. Even if the four free agents were to walk, getting Tejralová and Munroe feels like a big win. Tejralová was a steadying presence for a defensively lacking team in Ottawa and Munroe showed she can handle second pair minutes very well. Obviously it depends on how this season goes, but if Maggie Flaherty, who led Minnesota in primary points per 60 minutes in 2024, re-signed, then it’s a coup of an expansion draft for my personal goals.

As constructed this team isn’t going to be in line to win a championship out of the gate. In the draft you’d be looking for a 1C and a 1D to make this team playoff worthy, let alone championship worthy. If the previous draft is any indication though there’s elite players to be had. You just have to hope the adjustment period isn’t too rough. It’s tough putting together a team with so few options having contracts going past the 24/25 season but I think it’s doable. A great draft and suddenly this roster looks dangerous. This is a foundation you can win with. Now the existing teams will most likely be furious about losing potentially six players via this format. If the PWHL is to stay true to their goal of each team fielding as competitive as possible rosters then this is the minimum to be done. 

To be fair as well it’s not like I pulled a Robin Hood heist here either. Who knows if Bach stays or can reach the form of being a top line center. Ended up with a lot of good players but none who showed last season they can drive their own line. Considering everything I’ve said I think this is about as good of a system you can come up with. Personally I’d make it a 12-round draft and expansion teams can only pick two players per an existing team just because you get to the point where you’re drafting free agents which feels redundant. The system depends on just how competitive you want these expansion teams to be. You want them bringing in fans but not to the point where the existing teams lose what they’ve created in a significant way. This feels fair and with the amount of turnover in the league this team can be Cup competitive in 1-2 years. 

—Geremy

Pittsburgh Peregrines

GM Commentary

Going into this draft, I wanted to take two defenders high and then grab the best players available. Whatever holes were left in the lineup after that, I would fill during the subsequent entry draft and free agency. With the league’s current cap situation in mind, I didn’t focus on existing multi-year contracts, figuring that the expansion teams would represent the most cap flexibility in the league for the 2025-26 season anyway. Although Geremy took several players I would have loved to have on the Peregrines, I left myself with a need to draft defenders high and the start of a pretty intimidating forward lineup. Neither of us selected a goalie in this draft, trusting in the breadth and depth of the pool that would be available in free agency.

While the requirement for each team to expose one multi-year contract created opportunity, I don’t think that this expansion method would continue quite the same level of parity the league has aimed for to date. At the same time, it would be difficult to contemplate forcing existing teams to expose or give up more of their top players. While all teams are young, the existing teams have begun to establish their player cores and identities in a way that would be heavily impacted by the kind of draft that would truly keep all the teams even. At the same time, I’d hope that a draft like this would allow players with the capability to be game-breakers the chance to shine in larger roles than are currently available to them.

—J Gray