In a league that is only two seasons old, only a week after expansion ripped apart the core of every team in the PWHL and where there's no way to build long term, the term "rebuild" seems foreign. Quite simply, teams can't rebuild in a league that does not have a development league or prospect system, and that has multiple expansions in the plans.

But somehow, in the course of a week, the New York Sirens were able to do just that. They went from a troubled team with known issues in their locker room, to a group built around talented youth and well respected veterans. They might not finish atop the PWHL next season, but they'll certainly be a fun and far more cohesive team to watch.

After making one significant signing bringing in Jincy Roese in free agency, New York made nine draft picks and acquired Kristen O'Neill in the draft while shipping out Ella Shelton and Abby Roque.

 Letting Go Isn't Easy

The hardest part of this rapid rebuild wasn't within the organization, it was from the perspective of those on the outside trying to look in. The New York Sirens have been fighting themselves since year one when Howie Draper fell on the sword for a small group of players who wouldn't buy in, and wanted to run things themselves. It was an issue that wasn't unique to New York as players moved from years of guiding their own teams and training to a more traditional situation. 

With Greg Fargo at the helm, things moved in a positive direction, but the vast underperformance of several players on the Sirens roster was less to do with their coaching, personal skill sets or efforts, and more to do with the chemistry of the team. It's why when Pascal Daoust left many of his top forwards exposed ahead of the PWHL's expansion draft, fans who saw only the offensive production of players were shocked. New York also thought they'd get to keep at least one more forward, likely Jessie Eldridge who was well liked in the room, but that's not how it played out in expansion. 

There were also players who suffered from the collateral damage of New York's needed shift like Ella Shelton, who New York protected in the expansion draft but ended up trading for the 3rd and 27th overall picks in the draft. Perhaps New York's final move to change their team came with the trade of Abby Roque, something the team was rumoured to have been working on for months in exchange for Kristin O'Neill.

From top to bottom, New York is not only a new team on the ice, but perhaps more importantly, off the ice as well.

"What a great night for New York," general manager Pascal Daoust said after the draft. "It's definitely an opportunity that we had to, you know, play with the cards and find solutions, find a new angle that we haven't evaluated, and now we're very, very happy that we had the opportunity to come here with six round but nine picks, adding nine players coming from picks and adding as well a player coming from a trade."

So yeah, new faces will come, new energy will come, new culture, new leadership. And we're very, very excited," continued Daoust. "And we feel that we're a better team, than we were like 24 hours ago, or maybe 5 hours ago, where we look forward for the next season."

Young and Talented

It's hard not to be excited when you look at New York's forward group as it stands. New York will be very young and very inexperienced up front, but they'll also be coachable and hard working. Alongside Sarah Fillier up front, Kristyna Kaltounkova, Casey O'Brien, Anne Cherkowski, and Makenna Webster headline the incoming talent, while adding Kristin O'Neill as a well respected leader on and off the ice was equally important. This forward group for the first time will be a unit, and perhaps, with some luck, the shift of problems out, might be enough to help New York convince Noora Tulus to stay. Her veteran presence and two way stability would be an asset up front for New York as well. One option New York could look at if Tulus goes, is shifting Jincy Roese to the left wing in a pinch. Her offensive talents could benefit the team in a variety of positions.

The other aspect Daoust raved about from his young group is now just who they brought in, but how those players carry and conduct themselves. He believes through their thorough interview process, New York not only found the right players, but they found the right people with positive leadership traits.

Blueline Remains Deep

While New York lost Ella Shelton, comparably, it was something most teams in the league had already felt. New York didn't lose a single defender in expansion so losing Shelton now was something they could manage. There really wasn't an opportunity to add a player of Casey O'Brien's calibre outside of this trade. It left them with Micah Zandee-Hart, Jaime Bourbonnais, Maja Nylen Persson, Ally Simpson, Lauren Bernard, and the recently signed Jincy Roese. It's a deep group by PWHL standards. The x-factor of the draft for New York may have also been the selection of defender Dayle Ross. Ross is a strong skater, rarely loses a puck battle, likes to play physical, and can log minutes. She's a defensive defender who could quickly work her way into one of New York's most consistent and valued defenders, particularly by freeing up a more offensive player,  perhaps like Jincy Roese, to be able to join the attack more often. 

A Trifecta In The Crease

Who is the starting goalie in New York? It will be Kayle Osborne to start, as New York has shouted their confidence in the netminder without reserve. The interested point for New York who made nine picks in the draft, was that they used two of them on goaltenders picking Callie Shanahan and then Kaley Doyle later. One of those goalies would have been picked by another team had they not, so it not only gives New York more competition and depth at the position, but it also potentially weakened some starts elsewhere in the league. Shanahan will have every opportunity to be New York's backup and steal starts from Osborne, but Doyle was the best statistical goalie in the draft coming from the NCAA and shouldn't be overlooked.