When the Toronto Sceptres lost leading scorer Daryl Watts in free agency this summer, they knew replacing one of the league's most gifted offensive talents wouldn't be easy.

There may not be another Daryl Watts.

But with the eighth overall pick in the 2026 PWHL Draft, the Sceptres selected a player who shares one important trait with the former Toronto star: a rare confidence with the puck and an ability to create offense when the biggest moments arrive.

Ask Kirsten Simms what she'll bring to the Sceptres, and her answer speaks volumes.

"I think my game specifically is a creative, offensive-minded forward who likes to bring new skill, and I pride myself on my hockey IQ as well," Simms said during the club's summer camp this week. "I like to entertain. I think Toronto and this fanbase is a great crowd to get to entertain, so I'm just excited to hopefully bring that starting day one."

It's a refreshing answer in a sport where players often default to clichés.

Simms has built her reputation on creativity, confidence and a willingness to attempt plays that others might not. The University of Wisconsin star has consistently delivered in the biggest moments, one of them in the 2025 NCAA national championship game. With the Badgers trailing rival Ohio State by a goal and 18 seconds remaining in regulation, Simms raised her hand to volunteer to take and then scored on a penalty shot to tie the game before netting the overtime winner to capture the national title.

That flair for the dramatic has continued.

In February, the Plymouth, Mich., native won Olympic gold with Team USA in Milan. Just a few days later, she returned to Wisconsin and helped the Badgers capture another NCAA championship before hearing her name called by Toronto at the PWHL Draft in June, held just 20 minutes from her hometown in nearby Detroit.

"It's been a whirlwind for sure," Simms said. "We won Olympic gold, had four days there and then got back, and I'm playing a playoff game on Friday. I'm like, 'What is going on?'"

Now in Toronto for Sceptres summer camp, Simms has spent the week getting to know her new city, trying on her jersey, skating with young players and even taking in a Toronto Tempo WNBA game.

Despite all that's happened over the past six months, she doesn't sound intimidated by beginning her professional career.

In fact, pressure is something she almost seems to enjoy.

"I don't even see it necessarily as pressure," Simms said. "I see it as this is why I play, because this is the fun part of it. This is when you really get to enjoy it and kind of soak it all in."

That confidence didn't develop overnight.

Growing up playing boys hockey, Simms realized she couldn't rely on size or strength. Instead, she learned to trust her hands, creativity and instincts.

"When you're playing with the guys, you kind of want to do anything you can to be better than them," she said. "I really honed in on my skill set because the guys were naturally bigger and stronger, so I was like, 'What can I do to kind of shine in those moments?'"

The confidence she displays today, she said, comes from preparation.

"When you're confident in what you do, and you have a process and you work on things so much and you trust what you're doing, it's a lot easier to become confident."

After winning Olympic gold with Team USA, she returned to Wisconsin not as a young player looking for guidance, but as one of the Badgers' veteran leaders.

"I go to USA and I'm more of a rookie, one of the younger girls, and then I go back to Wisconsin, I was a senior veteran," she said. "You kind of get a feel of both sides of it, where I'm like a sponge soaking everything up at the Olympics. Then I come back and have to be that veteran leader presence for the girls again."

She also won't be walking into a room full of strangers.

Simms already has strong connections with several Sceptres players, including fellow Michiganders Emma Gentry and Clara Van Wieren, while she played with Kiara Zanon through Selects Academy and USA Hockey's under-18 program.

"I've known both of them from growing up, just playing against them and skating with them at skill skates very often," Simms said. "Clara I've known for a very long time. I also know Kiara Zanon from Selects Academy and some under-18 stuff with USA, so it's going to be awesome to get to be on a team with them again."

She's also eager to play alongside Toronto's veteran blue line after spending the past several years trying to beat players with Team Canada like Renata Fast and Ella Shelton.

"They're tough when you have to go play against them," Simms said before laughing about the idea of receiving breakout passes from Fast instead of trying to beat her on the rush.

"It's going to be incredible. No pinches from them and getting breakout passes from them. Neutral zone regroups from them, don't have to see them in an entry, they'll be on the entry with me, hopefully. It'll be night and day."

Several Sceptres veterans have already welcomed Simms to the organization, reaching out after the draft to introduce themselves.

"A few of the girls have reached out, just to connect with me, say hi and welcome me to Toronto," she said. "I can't wait to meet all of them."

No one expects a rookie (who turns 22 in August) to replace everything Watts brought to Toronto's offense. But if the Sceptres were looking for a player with elite offensive instincts and confidence in big moments, Simms is ready to step into the spotlight.

After the whistle.... Simms skated with a group of young girls and said, "I keep trying to tell them, I'm like, 'When you score a goal, you gotta celly' I'm like, 'just give me something, please'... She confirmed that she grew up a Canucks fan, idolizing Henrik and Daniel Sedin, and wearing number 22 until she got to a camp and was assigned 27, which she has asked for with the Sceptres ... She also mentioned that playing against some of her former teammates would be brand new: "I think it'll be interesting to play against some of the girls I played with on the national team, I've never had to play against them in a real game, so obviously it's going to be tough, but, it'll be cool to kind of get that difference as well."

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