Gutted Seattle Torrent Have Six Secured Players And A Lot Of Building Ahead

By the end of Phase 3 of the Expansion Player Distribution Process, each of the eight existing teams had six players protected. Seattle had previously protected Alex Carpenter, Hannah Murphy, and Anna Wilgren. Adding to those three, they protected Danielle Serdachny, Mikyla Grant-Mentis, and Julia Gosling, who also signed a Two-Year Standard Player Agreement.

Carpenter and Gosling were at the top of the Torrent’s stat sheet with 20 points each for the inaugural season. Having already protected Carpenter in Phase 1, it made sense and was extremely prudent for the team to then protect its other top point earner in Gosling. It’s also a great mix of having that veteran presence in Carpenter paired with a younger player in Gosling considering both signed multi-year contracts.

In her post-season media availability, Carpenter had mentioned Gosling as a player who stood out to her. “Julia Gosling really stepped up at the beginning of the year all the way to the end,” said Carpenter. “I've known playing against her a little bit, but didn't know too much of her personality, so it was awesome to get to know her on and off the ice.”

Gosling was offered a Foundational Player Offer (FPO) in Phase 2 by one of the four expansion teams but rejected the offer. The FPOs were non-binding but required the receiving player to sign with any team by the conclusion of Phase 3 if they did not accept the offer in Phase 2. It also required a contract with an average annual value of at least $73,125.

Reading between the lines a bit, one can assume that the FPO Gosling received was either from a team she wasn’t interested in playing for, or that she was keen to negotiate with Seattle. Potentially both of those can be true, and, after the Torrent lost six players during this process, fans were excited to hear that Gosling seemed to have a desire to stay.

Gosling scored the first goal, and the second, in the team’s history and instantly became a fan favorite. “Goose” signs filled Climate Pledge Arena all season. She also played for Team Canada in the Winter Olympics where she scored three goals and had two assists helping the team win a Silver Medal.

Gosling expressed her feelings about Seattle in her post-season interview. “It's been so fun. I love it here. The city is super cool and beautiful. Driving to the rink for games, you can see the mountains with the water. It's like, ‘Wow, I'm playing in Seattle and it's beautiful here, and then I'm going to play a professional hockey game with 18,000 fans.’ You can't get much better than that,” Gosling said.

She went on to speak about the fans and their unwavering support. “I just keep thinking about that, and I don't think any other city has that,” Gosling said. “Even though we weren't doing too well, they consistently came out and showed up. I don't think any other organization had that and the energy that they brought every time.”

Gosling also had a lot to say about the 2025-26 team. “I think just the type of team we built, the culture. It's the first year and I feel like we have such a close team. I want to play with all of them next year again. It's sad that it might not work out that way with expansion,” said Gosling. “We just have a tight-knit group and that made the season even though we weren't doing well. We had a blast and we wanted to do it together and do what we could. Unfortunately, we didn't make playoffs or any of that, but we had a blast and we'll remember this team forever and just the city of Seattle and how they welcomed us.”

In looking at points on the inaugural Torrent team, third on the stat sheet is Serdachny. She had a total of 16 points which were comprised of seven goals and nine assists. She had the second highest number of goals after Carpenter’s 12. This was a must-protect player for Seattle, especially after losing forwards Hannah Bilka and Hilary Knight.

Serdachny also led the Torrent forwards in hits with a total of 28 on the season which is fourth most on the team overall. “As far as hitting, I don't think I had too many penalties with that. Obviously, you want to make a clean hit, but just with the league and the rules with body checking, I think it can be a big benefit, especially for someone my size,” said Serdachny. “I'm just trying to use my body and that sort of thing in trying to help the team out. I definitely evolved, I'd say, from last year, too. I got more comfortable playing that way.”

Former Head Coach, Steve O’Rourke, talked throughout the season about Serdachny’s versatility. He often credited her ability to play both center and wing as well as shift lines as needed. “I like playing both. It’s a good element to my game being able to play both center and wing,” Serdachny said. “It offers two different styles almost. With wing you can focus most on offense, and then center you have to dial in on the defensive principles of it. I love playing both and to have them testing me on both the winter and center gives me the confidence to continue to switch it up every now and then.”

This was a tough year for Serdachny as she didn’t make the Canadian Olympic team. She was able to tell her story in an article through The Athletic to emphasize the importance of mental health and in seeing these athletes as humans and not just players on the ice. Post-season, she touched on the fact that the Olympics impacted her play, but she was able to shift that after not making the team. “I came into the year, I'd say, a little bit timid in ways, trying to play a certain way, trying to make the Olympic team. Almost trying to play what I think they would want me to be rather than how I actually see myself playing. Just continuing to be confident with the puck, make smart plays, use my speed. I think that kind of a goal, which I was happy about by the end.”

This is a great protection for Seattle to make and vital to the strength of the team moving forward. In her post-season interview, Serdachny expressed how much she enjoyed the tight-knit feeling of the players saying that this was one of her favorite seasons on the ice and off the ice. She also mentioned this season feeling like a bit of a fresh start and that the coaching staff, as well as General Manager Meghan Turner, had a lot of confidence in her which she said she’d take with her for a long time. That confidence in Serdachny from the Torrent organization was solidified with her protection in this phase as well.

Grant-Mentis has three goals and three assists in the Torrent’s first season. While that point total may appear average, Grant-Mentis brought a lot to the team, especially in light of Knight and Bilka coming back from the Olympics with game-missing injuries. Because of that, this is perfect protection since the team will no longer have those two players in this upcoming season.

Grant-Mentis showcased her speed and energy throughout the season but really shone after the Olympics. She was able to score a game-tying, jailbreak goal by flying through the neutral zone against the Fleet breathing new life into that game. Due to Grant-Mentis’ big momentum swing, Serdachny scored the game-winning goal less than two minutes later.

She took 277 faceoffs this season, winning 119 of those for a 43% win rate. When asked about her success on the dot after practice, she had an interesting source of inspiration. “It was difficult when I started the season. I hadn’t taken a faceoff in like three years, so it was a little bit rusty. I didn’t even know what I was supposed to be looking at, what I was supposed to do,” Grant-Mentis said. “About five games in, I finally figured it out. I was actually just watching TikToks which is so crazy that you can find out so much information there. It was just other people showing people how to do draws. I watched there and then started doing it in games and it started working out for me.”

Her efforts didn’t go unnoticed by staff through the season as well. “I think Buckey [Grant-Mentis] has strung together a nice handful of games where she’s just been outstanding on both ends of the ice. I can’t say enough about her. Her just growing into the player she’s supposed to be is really cool,” said O’Rourke. “From day 1, Bummer [new Torrent Head Coach Christine Bumstead] asked her to be on the power play early on in the season. She said, ‘No thanks.’ Because she wasn’t confident. She didn’t want to bobble the puck, and, now, you see her out there- five on five, and on the power play and on her penalty kill. It’s just amazing to see someone- just their belief in themselves grow, and that’s just fun.”

This protection is about a player who is really starting to hit her stride. This move will hopefully only help to boost Grant-Mentis’ confidence even further. Her potential for this upcoming season is really promising.