The Seattle Torrent ended their inaugural season at the bottom of the standings and recently parted ways with their first head coach, Steve O’Rourke, but at least one member of the player’s leadership group is staying in Seattle.

Forward and alternate captain, Alex Carpenter, became the first of three protected players for the Torrent during the first phase of the PWHL’s six-phase expansion player distribution process. This phase began June 2 giving each team the opportunity to protect three players under contract for the 2026-27 season.

Carpenter re-signed with the team under a 3-year standard player agreement that goes through the 2028-29 season. She helped lead the team alongside Emily Brown and Hilary Knight contributing to a tight-knit locker room.

“It was definitely a long season. It’s always hard coming into a new place and we had 20-however-many people do that. We had to put together an entirely new group in a new building with new fans,” said Carpenter. “It’s always a challenge, but extremely proud of what this team put together. It might look that way to the outside perspective, but this group has grown a lot over the past year.”

Carpenter ended the season with 20 points through 30 games which were comprised of eight assists and a team-leading 12 goals. She took 745 faceoffs throughout the season which is 170 more faceoffs than the next highest player. Of those 745 faceoffs, she won 440, 99 more than the next highest player, for a win percentage of 59.1%.

During this season, Carpenter became the first ever U.S.-born player, and the third overall player, to reach 50 career points. She’s tied for third in all-time scoring in the league with 63 points made up of 32 assists and 31 goals in 80 games. Carpenter is also tied for the most power-play assists in league history with 16.

As part of the player leadership group, Carpenter said she was just “trying to complement Brownie and Hill.” She went on to say, “we have three different personality styles and that is the most important thing in a leadership group is being able to complement one another and feed off one another.”

Carpenter also led by example, often being among the first on the ice at practice and the last off the ice as well. Her work ethic was referenced by coaches and teammates alike throughout her career, and this season was no exception. “It’s just fun,” Carpenter said. “There’s not too much behind it. It’s been something that’s fun for me for a long time now. Especially being able to come here and play in front of so many fans at Climate Pledge. That doesn’t get old.”

From the announcement of her signing to the first game to representing the Torrent in the Olympics to that uncommon, but exciting, goal celebration, Carpenter is a fan favorite in Seattle.

She also spent time at the local aquarium and with one of the Seattle locals’ favorite animals, the otters. Her time there endeared her to fans even more as she flashed many of those genuine, but rare smiles. “It’s just awesome to be able to meet so many great people at the aquarium and be able to spend time with them. They do an amazing job there.” When asked if she had a favorite animal, Carpenter said, “The otters, for sure. They’re awesome.”

Upon the conclusion of the season, media was most curious about who would want to stay in Seattle as a member of the Torrent. Of course, it’s highly unlikely any player is going to outright say, “no,” in a situation like that. However, the overall consensus among the players appeared genuine and that included Carpenter.

Carpenter sees this season as one to build upon and felt positive overall. "This team did an amazing job coming in as an expansion team. Playoffs or not, that's hard to do," Carpenter said. "I would rate that as a success that this team can consistently sell out Climate Pledge Arena every night."

The numbers, and the impact, certainly add up when it comes to having Carpenter on a team. This was a signing that fans were hoping for, and most were expecting. Her repertoire is elite and she was an amazing fit with the team, from a production standpoint as well as the culture they were working to build.

With the Carpenter signing, the Torrent have two more slots for protected players in this first phase. Clearly, some things need to change when it comes to this team. A new head coach will certainly do that, but what other pieces will be added or subtracted? While the Carpenter extension is a wise one, most fans expected Knight to be the first protected and announced. If the team protects Knight, it leaves only one spot left, and too many talented players like Hannah Bilka, Danielle Serdachny, and Cayla Barnes potentially on the unprotected list.

The Phase 1 signing period closes June 3 at noon PST. The teams must submit their protection list by June 3 at 2pm PST. Without a lot of news early on June 2, it is lining up to be a busy morning on June 3 for all the teams.