The Ottawa Charge have been busy reshaping their roster ahead of the 2026-27 season, and while some of those decisions were made for them through the league's expansion process, the players the organization has added through the draft, free agency and trade begin to tell a story about how the Charge will look next season. And the team is viewing this as an opportunity to "reset and reload," not rebuild.

"We made a real concerted effort to get younger and build around these players that are entering the primes of their careers, Hirshfeld said. "When we look at our roster, we feel like we're in a really good spot."

The Charge added six new players to the organization in the 2026 PWHL Draft, including Neena Brick, who was drafted in the fifth round and was involved in the Buglioni trade.

Jordan Ray, drafted in the second round, remains projected to play centre for the team. On the back end, Hirshfeld stated that he sees Vivian Jungels, drafted 11th overall, and Tory Mariano, drafted 47th overall, being able to replace the minutes lost from the departures of Rory Guilday (PWHL San Jose) and Stephanie Markowski (PWHL Detroit).

While signing the five draft picks remains on the to-do list, Hirshfeld said that those discussions would happen later in the summer. "No rush to do that."

Adding a player like Buglioni, who was drafted eighth overall by the Seattle Torrent last year, is a good example of how the team expects to play with more pace and physicality on a nightly basis in the 2026-27 season.

"We started the conversation with Seattle probably a day or two before the trade happened," Hirshfeld said. "We were excited about her upside. She was a top-15 pick for us on our draft board last season. She's got speed, she's got tenacity, she can play centre, she can score goals. There will be lots of opportunities for her to play centre."

Buglioni didn't have any points in her rookie season on the West Coast, but was also limited to only 18 games and averaged 6:05 in time on ice. Zooming out to reflect on her collegiate career, which is a much better look at her potential impact, sees a player who scored 151 points in 150 career games at Ohio State. She's physical and gritty and can control the pace of the game, which will help transform the look of this team's bottom six.

Ottawa is not expected to sign any more free agents. "There's nothing else for us at this point," Hirshfeld said. That being said, the team is currently working on long-term deals for forwards Sarah Wozniewicz and Fanuza Kadirova, both protected during expansion, and both deals are expected to get done. "We feel very confident that we're in a good position to bring them back long term, and they've expressed a desire to be here long term," said Hirshfeld.

The team has also invited a USPORTS player to camp this fall, though Hirshfeld did not disclose who it was at this time.

Regarding players added through free agency, the team signed forward Dara Greig to a two-year contract. "We're really excited about the upside potential with Dara Greig," said Hirshfeld. "She really stood out to us on the analytical side. We think she's going to be a difference maker."

Recapping the rest of the team's contract announcements:

Kateřina Mrázová (two years), Brooke McQuigge (one year), Jocelyne Larocque (one year), Kathryn Reilly (one year), Vita Poniatovskaia (one year), Brooke Hobson (two years), Sanni Ahola (one year), Kendra Woodland (one year)

Of note: Hirshfeld also spoke about the team's captaincy, a position currently vacant with the departure of Brianne Jenner, who signed a three-year contract with PWHL Hamilton. Jocelyne Larocque, who the team re-signed to a one-year contract, is among the candidates for the role, as are the other four remaining from last season's leadership group. "We'll work through that as we get closer to camp, but no decision has been made at this point."